Old time r&r

[saxomonica]

Hiya @Jake
OK thanx heaps, Superlungs, hey i’l work more on projection and humming, thanks for sharing your mp/ reed details too, you beaut!
Been sticking a T shirt down the bell lately and hey it gives the horn a lot more rasp probably got me humming and pushing ..
Again, thank you.

Saw this from FB Saxophonists posted by Scott –
“Do I have more technique and facility now than in those earlier years? Yes, I think so. I’ve made very few changes in mouthpieces and reeds. During the time of “The Chase,” I had an Otto Link mouthpiece which had been made for me and I used that until it got stolen around ‘52 or so. That’s when I got the mouthpiece I have now. However, they’re both metal mouthpieces. So in the last 17 or 18 years or so I guess I’ve had just the two mouthpieces. I use a medium strength reed. I’ve been using a La Voz for several years. It’s made in California and I think it’s the best reed on the market myself. It’s pretty consistent.

“I kinda feel sorry for guys that constantly go through the mouthpiece and reed scene. I wonder how they do it. It must be a real panic scene. Naturally the mouthpiece, the reed and the horn you use are all very essential, but basically your tone, your sound is inside of you. You hear it before you produce it. The real ingredient of the sound is within the individual the way he hears things.

“Actually this present mouthpiece of mine is relatively small. It’s just medium–size—a five–star. It’s been straightened out a little bit, but it’s not a big mouthpiece. It blows very free and gets a nice substantial sound. Most people are surprised because they think it’s a much larger mouthpiece than it is. They think it’s maybe an eight or nine or something like that, but it’s not. So that’s why I say it’s the projection that counts.”
– Dexter Gordon, 1962

[john]

you’re doing good Jake!… I did a lot of those gigs myself.
Just remember to have different volumes for those different things; so background parts lay way back off the mic and also play more laid back. then when it’s solo time step up a bit, but not only physically, more lung power too…people will feel your energy more.
the worse thing we sax players can do is play constantly throughout a song at the same volume and energy level.

[Anonymous]

Hi Saxo, I would sum the sax learning experience up as ‘learning to sing through a saxophone’. I don’t think equipment is as important as all the hours spent practicing (long-tones) with the instrument. One first has to learn the skills to control the body properly first, before equipment really influences ones performance. We don’t require a race-car to learn how to drive. Doing live gigs like Jake does, really forces one to concentrate and play for longer periods.

I like the Ben Webster and Gene Ammons sax tone best, like in the following video.

[Author]

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