Improvising Alto Sax Basic Blues in G

[jak Swift]

Thanks Jeff. Busy day, but just wanted to check in, say thanks, and re iterate how much I enjoyed your experimental track on SoundCloud.
Your doing great man !!
As for the other stuff; forget about it. I think the member responsible has got the message.
Safe & happy day Jeff. Be great to see you in the UK some day…best. Jak

[Anonymous]

Hi Jak, I wish it had been me that played this track. No, sxpoet created this tune, and he does live in the UK so you might meet him.

I’ve just played Alto for two hours with friends on Tenor and Soprano. It’s good fun to be able to mix the tones with other players. Cheers

[jak Swift]

Man, I’m meeting myself on the way back, I’m that busy. Apologies for the confusion…again !!
So….Sxpoet. Great man, just great. Unless you try you won’t ever know. That split altissimo G ( if I remember rightly ) is fabulous.
You should check out Bert Wilson. He sadly passed recently, but he’s the guy who taught Lenny Pickett. Yup…THAT GOOD !!
Its all on you tube.
Sxpoet, always a place at chez jak, if you fancy a trip to Liverpool.
Safe & happy day gang….jak 😉

[Anonymous]

Well goodbye – hello Jak – LOL. If you are wondering what I sound like here’s a tune I wrote after spending some time on Johnny’s Blues course.

Penta Blues

Johnny asked me to change it to 8 bars, but I tried and just couldn’t make it work. I guess I’ve not learnt enough yet!

[jak Swift]

Hi Jeff, sat down…ping !! ( g mail ). Gonna eat now , but yeah lookin forward to hearing this later.
Cyber see you then bud !!☺

[jak Swift]

Hi Jeff…OK. Chocolate milk, headphones….

[jak Swift]

Right, if you were a student of mine. Firstly a compliment. Good attack on the bottom end notes. They ” crack ” out.
Johnny’s point about 8 bars. I personally would say 12 bars. A straight ahead blues. It is so important to know your blues progressions in every key, but hey, lets walk before we run.
You seem ” tentative ” in the upper register. So do I and I’ve been doing this for ever. I guess, I’m a bari player first; no issues. Tenorsax…I have to constantly remind myself..# diaphragm # realax and most important, one of my own…” Blow THROUGH the horn , not into it.
Coupla questions….how long have you been playing now.?
Second…horn \ mpc reeds ?
If you don’t want to give out that stuff, no worries man. Practice every chance you get. Even if its five minutes, one note. Remember, constructive practice takes you out of your comfort zone. I could hear that in the second half of the soundbites.
All in all, your doing great Jeff.
Nice one…jak ☺

[Anonymous]

Hi Jeff,
i just listened to your penta blue – very good melody, i can hear where you’re going with it, what i’m hearing in my head is all the other instruments playing with it. A realy tight section.

dah dada dada dada dada-da-dahda-dah boom boom boom boom
du dudu dudu dudu dudu-du-duhdu-duh waaaaaah aaaah yaaah

well done

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the comments Guys. This was recorded in October 2015, I have better tone now but I’m not sure if my finger speed has improved much. I must get back into the teaching Etude books that I have, which have increasing difficulty. I’ve been playing for nearly four years and have progressed from a Yamaha 4C to a Selmer S80 MP. Sorry Jak my mistake, it should have been 12 bar blues but I couldn’t shorten the tune in anyway that made sense to me. Cheers

[jak Swift]

Jeff, just caught me taking my morning coffee.
Did you check out Bert Wilson on you tube…??
Really interesting, important stuff. Essentially , how it all goes back to Coleman Hawkins.( before he talks multiphonics, altissimo, split tones ).
Its a fabulous, inspiring, half hour watch.
Let me know what you think !!
Safe & Happy day …jak☺

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