This is one of the greatest, if not the most important, videos on Jazz improvisation. Most of us have been taught to use scales and modes and in most cases, many of us with our modern Jazz Education end there...period!!!
I've also met Eric Alexander many times here in Chicago. Great musician great guy I'll tell you a quick story to show you what type of guy he is. I was at one of his concerts the jazz showcase in Chicago. There was a break and I had left the first set to go home .I had met Eric many times and I didn't want to bother him so I didn't bother to say hi as I got in my car and pulled away from the club and I'm headed to the expressway I saw Eric walking the street downtown Chicago So I stopped and I said hey what's up Eric Great show He says hey "take me to the store , I pulled over He got in for my car He didn't quite recognize me because he meets so many people but I said oh wow yeah I'll be happy to take you to the store. He said yeah I got to go back to the hotel toon no problem I said we started talking and I told him I met him a few times before this previous concerts so he says oh okay of course he couldn't remember me He says what's your name I said Tony Harris. So what's up Tony we took a couple pictures together in my vehicle . I took him to the store we talked music a little bit I brought him back to the club He says hey man thanks a lot where you going ? i says what I'm going to go home now I had your first show so and it was great He says man parked the car come on come back in I said really are you serious ? So they're not going to let me back in He says you're with me No problem come on I said wow I can't believe this I'm going to hang out with Erica Alexander You talk music we talked about mouthpieces for a while great guy as we walk into the club he looks at the door person He said hey this is Tony he's with me I said wow we walked into the club He says where you going? I said I'm going to sit back here He said no way you're going to come up front . He said yeah come on all the way in front all the way . Eric was the coolest laid back superstar musician I ever met it was like he was my friend it was like he knew me. That was a great night for me. I got a chance to sit right there next to Eric Alexander listen to him warm up . Hell of a saxophonist with a hell of a sound a hell of a soul That night I will never forget. fantastic guy I bought him a beer. I have met many saxophonists over my years here in Chicago many famous saxophone players Eric was the nicest warmest most relaxed didn't have a eagle didn't have a big ego a coolest person I ever met on his caliber. And I met many many famous saxophone players just a few name a few . Bradford Marsalis , Joshua Redman Stanley turrentine ,Michael brecker who was also a very nice guy very humble. Tim Warfield, who was a very nice guy also etc !! but nobody was as cool to me as Eric He act like he did remember that he met me in the past I met him maybe four or five times and of course he can't really remember me maybe he'll remember the next time I see him . that I gave him a ride cuz I think I'll say to him hey what's up Eric want to go to the store I'll take you 👍
Hello from Kansas City, Missouri. Outstanding video Jay and Eric. The first thing to keep in mind is that their isn't just one way to teach or learn Jazz.Their are many ways. Eric is absolutely right about Improvisation. Its not about playing something brand new every time. Its about Creative Reorganization of things we already know. In other words what you practice is what you are going to play whether its a Gig or Recording Session or Jam Session. Also let the songs teach us what to play and also how to Write and Arrange. Its about Language in the Context of Songs. You can be a great Jazz musician and work out SOME solos or parts of solos but absolutely not ALL of your solos. Its also not only about Recognizable Language but Appropriate Language depending on the type of song. One more thing, telling a Story with a solo doesn't always mean the solo has to have a volcanic eruption climax at the end. It simply means having an Emotional Connection with the listener. Thats why all these years later we still want to listen to the greats. Its the Emotions that we feel when we listen. For anyone thats interested, Jerry Coker wrote two great books about Jazz Language. Complete Method For Improvisation and Elements Of The Jazz Language. Thanks.
It is interesting to hear the idea of "playing the changes" put so forcefully. Having the technical ability and ears to do that is brilliant (and it is part of my practise routine), but one of my teachers always said that our primary job as horn players is to focus on being melodic as a) we can't physically play chords :), and more importantly b) a soloist already has some folks outlining the changes... they are known as the "rhythm section" :) Having said that, I always think that it is a good idea to have as many tools in the improvisation toolbox as possible - some days/songs I am inspired to be melodic, other days/songs I need to rely on technical aspects like the changes, licks, patterns etc in the hope that they lead me somewhere!
You can play melodically and still deal with changes. You just need to play the "different" notes, for example, the G# of E7 when playing in C major, say in "On the Sunny Side of the Street" or "All of Me." It's easy to just play G natural there, but playing the G# reinforces the harmony and lets everyone know where you are in the song.
I share others’ frustration with the mixed or contradictory advice saxophone students are told: you have to be able to read music vs. you should learn to play by ear instead; melody is king vs. just learn to play the changes; you have to learn everything in all 12 keys vs. just learn them in the 2 or 3 most-common ones. I think we can learn from all of these seemingly contradictory messages, and that what you take from them depends on your aspirations, abilities and limitations. Not every method of learning sax works for everyone, and you have to find out what works best for you. Some people may learn better reading sheet music, while others may learn better playing by ear. And, let’s face it, none but a very few are going to become the next John Coltrane or Chris Potter, etc. You can play with feeling and still play badly enough that audiences don’t want to listen to you and other musicians don’t want to play with you. So I agree with Alexander’s point that in order to play jazz with others you have to learn the vocabulary and play the changes. For some students, that will be easy and for others it will be hard. Jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco took up the sax 2 1/2 years ago and sounds like he’s been playing it for 20 years. As for me, it’s hard. I practise 1 to 1 1/2 hours 6 days a week, and progress is painfully slow. That might seem like a lot of hours of practice to me, but Wynton Marsalis and other famous jazz musicians have said you need to practise at least 4 hours a day to play at the level of a pro. So how hard you have to work depends on how easily you learn and what level you aspire to play at. Fortunately, I don’t aspire to become a pro, because I’d never make it. But I would like to not suck, so I’ll keep plugging away at learning how to play changes.
Well said. I was a pretty accomplished Trombone player in my youth, and practiced at least 3-4 hrs a day, Could pretty much play anything if I had sheet music, but never no matter how i tried could get improvisation down. Finally threw in the towel and decided music wasn't for me. Too much of my young life wasted for so little reward. I don't care what anyone says, musical ability at a top level , just like being a great artist is god given, and not learned. IMHO.
@@monkeyman41333 Nope. Not god given. For every Parker and Coltrane there are hundreds (thousands?) of people born with the same level of natural talent who disappeared into obscurity because they didn’t work hard at their craft. You never heard of them. Nobody did. But for every one of THOSE guys there are countless others who weren’t born gifted but you know their names because they put in the work and achieved greatness. Nature’s rare blessing is given to an infinitesimally small fraction of the population. Of those, an even tinier fraction is willing to do the work. That’s why we have a small handful of “musical geniuses” per century. And many hundreds of great musicians we know, love and remember, who were also greats, though they didn’t shake the foundations. Better to be a worker than think it comes pre-ordained. This “from god” business is hooey.
Ultimately you are always playing by ear: you hear everything coming out of your instrument. If it doesn't sound right, then it's not right. It's exceptionally important to develop your ear, and a great way to do that is playing along with records, the radio, etc. This sort of playing comes up frequently in live gigs, where you may have to play a song you don't know, or a song you know in a new key. It's important to read music as well--if you're in a larger group, you're going to get sheet music, and the quicker you can process it, the better. It helps to be able to see written music in larger chunks: a D minor triad, for example, instead of D F A. So when you're practicing your arpeggios from memory/by ear, you build up these larger chunks. There's no "right" way to practice, but in general, you want your building blocks--scales, arpeggios, chords, and patterns--to come from memory. You wouldn't use a written book to have a conversation, and improvisation is the same way. If someone tells you that theirs is the only correct way to practice, take it with a grain of salt. Try it out and take what works.
@@jamessidney2851So true. And there are plenty of people who have put in the work, but aren't household names--perhaps due to location or to personal/family commitments. You have to do what's right for _you_ .
Eric thank you for this. I caught it late last night before drifting off to sleep. Didn’t think too much of it except “hmm, okay, yeah.” But it kept coming back to me in little waves of memory throughout the day today, and it buoyed me through my practice routine for several hours. I had to go back, look it up and watch it again. So refreshing and liberating. I love your attitude and your honest cynicism. To have somebody of your stature tell me I don’t have to “tell a story” every time I solo. Damn. Thank you. I was beginning to arrive at that conclusion on my own, but this nailed it for me. Now, ironically, I think I might actually wind up telling a “story” without even trying to from time to time, but what a relief to just play the changes. Also great shit about the concept of playing “outside.” And cool insights into your way you practice. I especially loved how you too were once at really tough place where you tried to gobble up and retain EVERY melody/song you learned (that’s where I’m at right now). Man, there’s a lot of advice on TH-cam and it’s all over the map, but this really hit me right in the gut. I’ve seen you at Smoke and Smalls and all over town and always thought you were great but I never had any idea where you were coming from on this level. So thanks for putting it out there. Very inspiring.
@@bettersax For what it is worth, I don't know him other than this video but he doesn't come across as a great person, he seems like an asshole. I do not mean to be offensive but think you should know what impression he is leaving. He may not care.
Steve Coleman is in my opinion one of the most original saxophonist around today……I couldn’t stop listening over and over to try and find out his thinking behind his lines….very very underrated in my humble….not in your face….or big ego … but something v special happens…..an original …certainly not a clone…
I’m a tenor player and my hero is George Coleman because he’s got probably the most expressive sound of most of them. Breaker….seen him.. amazing but Coleman….got the lot in my humble. Amsterdam after dark ….those who haven’t heard this album….better get it… a masterpiece in sound ideas ….a true master….
Jay, this is a great interview! Eric nails it. Real. Common sense teacher. I loved his playing with Chick Corea. Good job Jay. All improvisers should hear this. Luv u bro.
Sounds very interesting, and useful but at the same very oriented for people with quite a few years of horn experience behind them. It feels like I would be quite intimidated by this approach. For some of us just the idea of playing a lick in 12 different keys takes a full session.
To fully appreciate the content you will want to have a good deal of fundamentals together both on the horn and in music theory. The course can also be approached simply though. You don't have to take everything through the keys right away.
Lester Young, a smooth and quiet gentleman, talked about the importance of "telling a story" in a solo. An outspoken, hyper-confident, tell-it-like-it-is (and very proficient) saxophonist says on youtube "forget the story, play the changes. Use literally what's in the book I'm trying to sell you and you'll finally be a jazz master" and you've got 130 comments saying "yeah! thanks for telling us that, so liberating. It just what i wanted to listen!!" Funny isn't it? Thanks for the interview Bettersax. It is important and interesting, but not in the way you thing.
Point taken and agreed! But I'll also play devil's advocate: was Lester Young using chord scales and modes? I think it could be argued that the story being told is with solid melodic phrases that have close ties to the harmony, which I believe is the heart of what Mr Alexander is saying here.
You're right that you don't need to buy his book, and I think it would be better to learn licks from recordings organically. However, you could also quote Bird whose advice sounds more like Eric's - 'I just try to play clean and find the pretty notes'.
Lester played the changes to songs. His melodies followed the song's harmony. And he told a story that way. The phrase "tell a story" is highly abstract, and doesn't give useful advice about how to arrive there. "Transcribe these two Lester solos, then practice the turnarounds in all 12 keys" is way better. The written books like Eric's on the market take this sort of thing a step further: Eric has done the work to transcribe Hank Mobley, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, etc., then written down the most important (to him) patterns. They may not be important _to you_ , but you will sound authentic with them. And if you're an amateur player, pressed for time, that may be OK.
Oh man, I started the course and knew from the first exercise that I finally hit the jack pot (I play the tenor)... Just what I was looking for. A true gem, a gold mine in the field of saxophone studies on-line. Thank you Eric! Thank you Jay! Next course with Sonny Rollins? (-:
Glad to hear this from you Micha. I agree, Eric is a treasure in the jazz education world. I would be happy to just get an interview with Sonny Rollins!
This is the best thing I've seen in a long time. Lots to think about. You guys make a good team. It reminds me of a story Jerry Bergonzi told about how he dropped in on Horace Silver's band one night and then again the following day. To his surprise the band was playing the exact same solos. When he asked the horn players if it was the same solo, they said, "Yes, we are recording soon and Horace wants the Solos perfect.
I get what he's saying... If you're playing standards or music with a lot of chords, you definitely need to be playing something that either relates to them or that resolves to them. Most "outside" playing within a harmonic context is stuff like using chord substitutions which keep the strong chord tones (tritone subs), or substitute progressions which resolve by a different path (Coltrane changes, backdoor ii-V). That said, I think in a less harmonically dense space like on modal tunes scalar ideas work very well (as there isn't a cadence). And if course, there is such thing as free playing, like Ornette, where the tonality is allowed to change at will, which requires its own approach. If you're playing a standard, the most direct route to getting to to sound good is playing it like itself, in essence playing changes. Playing strong chord tones on strong beats will always work when you have a strong progression like most old tin pan alley standards have.
Some of Eric’s best work was with the late great Charles Earland! He had so many tunes and devastating solos with Charles man, it’s just ridiculous. He is also very close with the great George Coleman which he’s one of my All-Time favorites. Many guys sleep on Grover Washington Jr’s skills, especially back when he was playing straight Jazz. I know later on he crossed over and obviously was still great but he was ice cold with those Jazz tunes man, ice cold. Eric to me is the combination of everybody that I grew up listening to. Charles Earland once said that Eric was on his way to being the best saxophone player in the world, that’s strong coming from him.
A quote from Charlie Parker on the recorded interview with Paul Desmond: "There's definitely stories and stories and stories that can be told in the musical idiom, you know -- you wouldn't say idiom, but it's so hard to describe music other than the basic way to describe it; music is basically melody, harmony and rhythm, but, I mean, people can do much more with music than that. It can be very descriptive in all kinds of ways, you know, all walks of life." - CP Bird continues in response to Desmond by stating that telling a story is "More or less the object, that's what I thought it should be." Music is more than JUST making changes. Or maybe I'm just misinterpreting the message?
So many people never even make the changes that it really bears emphasizing. Of course you want to move past it to playing meaningful music, but if you can't immediately play solos that follow the changes, they're not going to sound good, let alone meaningful.
@Better Sax Since Eric mentioned (The Great!) George Coleman - ask Eric if he’s familiar with a particular live bootleg recording of George playing ‘Good Bait’. John Farnsworth “hipped” me to it years ago and it’s a great example of someone not building to a climax. George starts at #11! It was amazing!
I’m a Londoner and still love our late Tubby Hayes…..Albeit dated … but check out Tubby Hayes Airegin…..a masterpiece….technique…..sound….emotion….got the lot…
Thanks so much for checking it out! I was actually at Smoke last year right before the pandemic when Jaleel and Chad were playing together - I remember seeing you but had to leave to catch the train before I could say hi. Everyone was on fire that night
this is great advice from a master. I will take issue with the idea that people don't play "out". Lister to Coltrane Evolution, live in Seattle. go to about the 17 and 1/2 minute mark, and tell me if what you hear is chord substitutions, or something else entirely. thank you.
Nobody is imposing a way of playing on you. You can take it or leave it. But I think it would be pretty foolish not to consider what a player at Eric’s level has to say about the craft.
Of course you can't impose your own improvisational will on others. But it's very difficult to deny that jazz is a language, and not try to learn that language through others' improvised solos. You're going to sound like yourself regardless: that comes from who you are, how you approach your instrument, your body's relation to the horn and such. But ultimately how you choose to relate to the song is important, and it's easy, especially for young players, to start on the root of a scale for each chord. It's also easy to sort of glide over changes with pentatonics; it's a sound, but more R&B-like. Doing that on a D7#9#11 is going to sound like ketchup on a nice Italian meal.
I did see the option of purchasing the physical book with the 21 improvisation course, but I didn't see a way to include it in the order . Please advise. Thanks for all your great tips and instruction.
i bought the books, but there is nothing i have found that compares with David Baker'a "how to play bebop vol 2 " for a wealth of patterns to develop one's vocabulary.
Not every story ends in a false volcanic eruption Why is it difficult to say learn the language and play the changes in a way that makes sense and then if you have a story to tell Occasionally - be it angry, sad, reflective or what have you - tell it. You love Mobley - if you aren’t hearing stories in his playing That’s a shame - that’s why I want to play and why most people find this music compelling. Parker, Trane, Tubby Hayes , Montgomery, And on and on - all playing stories - again not all time. But enough to find Eric’s comments perplexing.
With all respect to Eric, I think he's missing the point of playing music, which is to communicate deep emotions. All that he says about playing the changes and learning from the great masters is correct and useful, but that's where you go to get the tools- and then you put those in service of communicating something other than music theory- you might, in fact, tell a story. We wouldn't be listening to Charlie Parker ("If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn") or John Coltrane (who saw his art as profoundly spiritual devotional music in the latter part of his life) if we weren't deeply moved by the deep feelings behind the playing and what they were communicating to us on a soul level, no matter how innovative or technically astounding they were. And the contemporary players I admire, like Bob Reynolds, Ben Wendel, Miguel Zenon, are all technically advanced, theoretically sophisticated- and emotionally resonant in their playing.
Thank you! Someone who finally understands that music is more than technique. It’s how you use the technique to TELL A STORY AND CONVEY EMOTION that matters. Eric was spouting nonsense when he said that you don’t need to tell a story or convey emotion.
@@bounderby99 I think when he tells - you don't need to tell a story- just not to focus to it, because it is very abstract conception, and as you play, you are allredy telling kind of a story, but rather first to explore cord changes as much as you can...
This guy maybe a great musician and a former great debater...but totally disagree with him. Music is NOT Math and playing over the changes...he contradicts himself so much I don't even know where to begin.
Might not be a great idea to interview Joel Frahm ...his playing goes way outside of the chords at times....but it's still great ....and it makes sense to me....but maybe not to everybody Both he and Eric are great players though and I love them both
Fun to hear Eric speak like he plays - clear, logical, rich and pithy with a deep groove! “No one memorizes whole improv solos” - Eric A I was working with a student the other day on their jazz band blues solo. They were struggling with ideas so we took something they were familiar with, a lick from Mile’s ‘So What’ solo (band teacher’s assignment), and turned it into a blues riff. I told them to memorize the 12 bars so that when they inevitably screw it up, the door will open to actually improvising. At least they’ve got something to launch with. Also, about “telling a story” - That’s another way of saying good voice leading aka using the guide tone lines. The solo goes somewhere, makes sense and sounds like you’ve “told a story”.
Melodic leaps work great, too: jump up a minor 7th or something, and it's pretty attention-grabbing. Do that on every bar, and you sure miss those guide tones!
@@jorymil I respectfully disagree. One can incorporate large leaps while still resolving guide tones. That actually sounds like a great exercise - create a guide tone line but move the resolution note up or down an octave each time. Good work-out!
Yeah. I was talking to a drummer the other day about jazz. I ask him if he knows any jazz tunes. He said, "why would I need to know any, it's just free, man". I dismissed him right away.
Refreshing! I can't tell you how many players I have heard whose musical expression sounds like a practice session on how many notes they can play, but melodically make no sense and leave me completely confused and cold bevause what I am hearing sounds like an "intelligent monkey on a typewriter" ... there are just a lot of notes and I am left with the impression that the player is playing for him/herself and has forgotten there's an audience. There is an audience and your music language needs to be something someone can follow and wants to listen to. Good advice!
Ultimately you need to deal with the changes. Sure, you can choose a scale or two and improvise with that, but if you're not dealing with the Ab of D7b5 in "Take the A Train," it's going to sound odd. It's going to be way easier to listen to as much music as you can and transcribe your favorite patterns than to try and work everything out from scratch. And it's even easier still to take patterns from a book and memorize them than to transcribe. I'm not sure why teachers stop at scale/chord theory: it might be better to approach things from a "favorite recordings" or "fundamental recordings" place, then gradually introduce scales & chords. But it's more time-consuming, and requires a much larger commitment from students.
Just a jazz fan here, nothing more, nothing less. So, from the listers side, the public, the ones that eventually will pay to listen to pros in concerts, or even pay for master classes or summer classes and all the stuffs that go around. Well, I did listen to some CD of EA and wasn't touched by him and after this interview, it is even more clear why: "don't tell stories" (poor jazz singers, by the way), "play changes" etc... by the way, reducing "telling story" to a crechendo matter, is just trying to mistaking the ones that don't have enough musical culture, and is not fare from him. Nothing to be pround. Guys: keep playing technical ticks, modern-intellectual-robotic and so many changes as you want, but don't ask yourself why jazz is not popular and successfull (anymore). But probably it is a fact that we are some how pround of... sade
Listen to his recording of “Stand Pat” and you will hear people communicating with each other. Listening to a conversation is like listening to a story of human connection
One thing that would help is stop hooking the word acending to the word melodic minor. Half the teachers do it. And the ones that do it won't explain why they did it. All bet many students have been styfuled by that
Q: “What did you see today?” A: “8 post office monkeys, dogs and Frenchmen.” OK, enough of me being a pedantic dick. For those of you watching his advice is important, especially at the beginning of learning how to play. In the famous words of Hal Crook “How are you going to break the rules if you don’t even know what the rules are? If you’re going to play basketball and you’ve never seen a basketball game, never seen or touched a basketball, don’t even know how to spell basketball, how can you go outside of some thing you don’t even know anything about?”
Very disappointing but typical. Playing changes well is the most basic requirement for playing jazz. No mention from Eric at all of channeling cosmic energy flow. Nothing about what Jerry Bergonzi calls “intuiting” the changes. Nothing about tapping into what Getz called the “Alpha State” of relaxed concentration, a trance state for improvising. Nothing about the crucial importance of playing expressively and putting humanness into your playing. Playing the changes is punching the clock. Making a real artistic statement is about TRANSCENDING the changes.
We sax players have to think like a drummer a drummer don't think that a G7 so I have to hit the drums this way it's what sounds good to the hear it rhythm not so much not so much the not as Dizzy once said I might hit the wrong note here are there but my rhythm is on time
This is why I've never liked Eric Alexander very much. Of course you need to learn how play the language, but that's so basic. I've always viewed him as a recreator, not a creator and everything he plays has been played better by his predicesors because at least they were breaking new ground. Such superficial advice.
It’s times like this when I realise that American English is very different to British English. Apart from that why are only male Saxophone players ever referenced? Just curious questions as a beginner… and apart from these thoughts quite interesting ideas.
There aren’t many female sax players from back in the day other than Vi Redd. There are many great ones playing today, but they aren’t mentioned just as modern men like Michael Brecker weren’t mentioned. The language of bebop was pioneered in the 40s and 50s, so when people are learning the music, they will naturally go to the source and due to that, their influences will be the men that came in that time. Down the road, people will look to our female players today for inspiration, but they won’t have the deep influence as the people like Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, and John Coltrane will. Melissa Aldana’s main influence = Sonny Rollins Michael Brecker’s main influence = John Coltrane More people look to Coltrane more than Brecker for inspiration as he was the source of what they will be going for. The same will hold true of all players around now regardless of gender.
Eric’s great but….I’ve returned to the oldies…like Getz….Desmond…..very few notes but….the most important ones and with an enviable sound. The new wizards …yes.. brilliant but?????
You have to play changes, don't tell a story, very opinionated player this person is. Some of it I would consider it false information. Some of the things he says are contradicting.
I disagree.......tell a story.......otherwise you are just talking without conversating....talking to oneself.......jazz is for others.....not for self
This was an incredibly helpful watch! Thank you Jay and Eric!
This is one of the greatest, if not the most important, videos on Jazz improvisation. Most of us have been taught to use scales and modes and in most cases, many of us with our modern Jazz Education end there...period!!!
I've also met Eric Alexander many times here in Chicago. Great musician great guy I'll tell you a quick story to show you what type of guy he is. I was at one of his concerts the jazz showcase in Chicago. There was a break and I had left the first set to go home .I had met Eric many times and I didn't want to bother him so I didn't bother to say hi as I got in my car and pulled away from the club and I'm headed to the expressway I saw Eric walking the street downtown Chicago So I stopped and I said hey what's up Eric Great show He says hey "take me to the store , I pulled over He got in for my car He didn't quite recognize me because he meets so many people but I said oh wow yeah I'll be happy to take you to the store. He said yeah I got to go back to the hotel toon no problem I said we started talking and I told him I met him a few times before this previous concerts so he says oh okay of course he couldn't remember me He says what's your name I said Tony Harris. So what's up Tony we took a couple pictures together in my vehicle . I took him to the store we talked music a little bit I brought him back to the club He says hey man thanks a lot where you going ? i says what I'm going to go home now I had your first show so and it was great He says man parked the car come on come back in I said really are you serious ? So they're not going to let me back in He says you're with me No problem come on I said wow I can't believe this I'm going to hang out with Erica Alexander You talk music we talked about mouthpieces for a while great guy as we walk into the club he looks at the door person He said hey this is Tony he's with me I said wow we walked into the club He says where you going? I said I'm going to sit back here He said no way you're going to come up front . He said yeah come on all the way in front all the way . Eric was the coolest laid back superstar musician I ever met it was like he was my friend it was like he knew me. That was a great night for me. I got a chance to sit right there next to Eric Alexander listen to him warm up . Hell of a saxophonist with a hell of a sound a hell of a soul That night I will never forget. fantastic guy I bought him a beer. I have met many saxophonists over my years here in Chicago many famous saxophone players Eric was the nicest warmest most relaxed didn't have a eagle didn't have a big ego a coolest person I ever met on his caliber. And I met many many famous saxophone players just a few name a few . Bradford Marsalis , Joshua Redman Stanley turrentine ,Michael brecker who was also a very nice guy very humble. Tim Warfield, who was a very nice guy also etc !! but nobody was as cool to me as Eric He act like he did remember that he met me in the past I met him maybe four or five times and of course he can't really remember me maybe he'll remember the next time I see him . that I gave him a ride cuz I think I'll say to him hey what's up Eric want to go to the store I'll take you 👍
Eric is my private lessons teacher. I will bring up this story to him and see if he remembera
Hello from Kansas City, Missouri. Outstanding video Jay and Eric. The first thing to keep in mind is that their isn't just one way to teach or learn Jazz.Their are many ways. Eric is absolutely right about Improvisation. Its not about playing something brand new every time. Its about Creative Reorganization of things we already know. In other words what you practice is what you are going to play whether its a Gig or Recording Session or Jam Session. Also let the songs teach us what to play and also how to Write and Arrange. Its about Language in the Context of Songs. You can be a great Jazz musician and work out SOME solos or parts of solos but absolutely not ALL of your solos. Its also not only about Recognizable Language but Appropriate Language depending on the type of song. One more thing, telling a Story with a solo doesn't always mean the solo has to have a volcanic eruption climax at the end. It simply means having an Emotional Connection with the listener. Thats why all these years later we still want to listen to the greats. Its the Emotions that we feel when we listen. For anyone thats interested, Jerry Coker wrote two great books about Jazz Language. Complete Method For Improvisation and Elements Of The Jazz Language. Thanks.
It is interesting to hear the idea of "playing the changes" put so forcefully. Having the technical ability and ears to do that is brilliant (and it is part of my practise routine), but one of my teachers always said that our primary job as horn players is to focus on being melodic as a) we can't physically play chords :), and more importantly b) a soloist already has some folks outlining the changes... they are known as the "rhythm section" :) Having said that, I always think that it is a good idea to have as many tools in the improvisation toolbox as possible - some days/songs I am inspired to be melodic, other days/songs I need to rely on technical aspects like the changes, licks, patterns etc in the hope that they lead me somewhere!
You can play melodically and still deal with changes. You just need to play the "different" notes, for example, the G# of E7 when playing in C major, say in "On the Sunny Side of the Street" or "All of Me." It's easy to just play G natural there, but playing the G# reinforces the harmony and lets everyone know where you are in the song.
That part about Coltrane and Joe Henderson playing more in is so beautiful and true.
I share others’ frustration with the mixed or contradictory advice saxophone students are told: you have to be able to read music vs. you should learn to play by ear instead; melody is king vs. just learn to play the changes; you have to learn everything in all 12 keys vs. just learn them in the 2 or 3 most-common ones. I think we can learn from all of these seemingly contradictory messages, and that what you take from them depends on your aspirations, abilities and limitations. Not every method of learning sax works for everyone, and you have to find out what works best for you. Some people may learn better reading sheet music, while others may learn better playing by ear. And, let’s face it, none but a very few are going to become the next John Coltrane or Chris Potter, etc. You can play with feeling and still play badly enough that audiences don’t want to listen to you and other musicians don’t want to play with you. So I agree with Alexander’s point that in order to play jazz with others you have to learn the vocabulary and play the changes. For some students, that will be easy and for others it will be hard. Jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco took up the sax 2 1/2 years ago and sounds like he’s been playing it for 20 years. As for me, it’s hard. I practise 1 to 1 1/2 hours 6 days a week, and progress is painfully slow. That might seem like a lot of hours of practice to me, but Wynton Marsalis and other famous jazz musicians have said you need to practise at least 4 hours a day to play at the level of a pro. So how hard you have to work depends on how easily you learn and what level you aspire to play at. Fortunately, I don’t aspire to become a pro, because I’d never make it. But I would like to not suck, so I’ll keep plugging away at learning how to play changes.
Well said. I was a pretty accomplished Trombone player in my youth, and practiced at least 3-4 hrs a day, Could pretty much play anything if I had sheet music, but never no matter how i tried could get improvisation down. Finally threw in the towel and decided music wasn't for me. Too much of my young life wasted for so little reward. I don't care what anyone says, musical ability at a top level , just like being a great artist is god given, and not learned. IMHO.
4hours? 11h per day min
@@monkeyman41333 Nope. Not god given. For every Parker and Coltrane there are hundreds (thousands?) of people born with the same level of natural talent who disappeared into obscurity because they didn’t work hard at their craft. You never heard of them. Nobody did. But for every one of THOSE guys there are countless others who weren’t born gifted but you know their names because they put in the work and achieved greatness. Nature’s rare blessing is given to an infinitesimally small fraction of the population. Of those, an even tinier fraction is willing to do the work. That’s why we have a small handful of “musical geniuses” per century. And many hundreds of great musicians we know, love and remember, who were also greats, though they didn’t shake the foundations. Better to be a worker than think it comes pre-ordained. This “from god” business is hooey.
Ultimately you are always playing by ear: you hear everything coming out of your instrument. If it doesn't sound right, then it's not right. It's exceptionally important to develop your ear, and a great way to do that is playing along with records, the radio, etc. This sort of playing comes up frequently in live gigs, where you may have to play a song you don't know, or a song you know in a new key.
It's important to read music as well--if you're in a larger group, you're going to get sheet music, and the quicker you can process it, the better. It helps to be able to see written music in larger chunks: a D minor triad, for example, instead of D F A. So when you're practicing your arpeggios from memory/by ear, you build up these larger chunks.
There's no "right" way to practice, but in general, you want your building blocks--scales, arpeggios, chords, and patterns--to come from memory. You wouldn't use a written book to have a conversation, and improvisation is the same way.
If someone tells you that theirs is the only correct way to practice, take it with a grain of salt. Try it out and take what works.
@@jamessidney2851So true. And there are plenty of people who have put in the work, but aren't household names--perhaps due to location or to personal/family commitments. You have to do what's right for _you_ .
Eric thank you for this. I caught it late last night before drifting off to sleep. Didn’t think too much of it except “hmm, okay, yeah.” But it kept coming back to me in little waves of memory throughout the day today, and it buoyed me through my practice routine for several hours. I had to go back, look it up and watch it again. So refreshing and liberating. I love your attitude and your honest cynicism. To have somebody of your stature tell me I don’t have to “tell a story” every time I solo. Damn. Thank you. I was beginning to arrive at that conclusion on my own, but this nailed it for me. Now, ironically, I think I might actually wind up telling a “story” without even trying to from time to time, but what a relief to just play the changes. Also great shit about the concept of playing “outside.” And cool insights into your way you practice. I especially loved how you too were once at really tough place where you tried to gobble up and retain EVERY melody/song you learned (that’s where I’m at right now). Man, there’s a lot of advice on TH-cam and it’s all over the map, but this really hit me right in the gut. I’ve seen you at Smoke and Smalls and all over town and always thought you were great but I never had any idea where you were coming from on this level. So thanks for putting it out there. Very inspiring.
I had a jazz improvisation as a final for my jazz class last week, this would’ve been really helpful
Imma retry my improv now to see if this helped
I am taking this course and have to say, it's absolutely incredible. What a game changer!
Awesome
Great player and a great person. Met him after he played in a club once and he’s a real nice guy. Very smart and salt of the earth.
Yes, yes and yes.
@@bettersax For what it is worth, I don't know him other than this video but he doesn't come across as a great person, he seems like an asshole. I do not mean to be offensive but think you should know what impression he is leaving. He may not care.
@@fxaarchable he seems ok, but sorta has that "THAT'S NOT HOW YOU PLAY" vibe.
I have enjoyed all the interviews you have done, Jay. Keep 'em coming. Eric was very informative.
Steve Coleman is in my opinion one of the most original saxophonist around today……I couldn’t stop listening over and over to try and find out his thinking behind his lines….very very underrated in my humble….not in your face….or big ego … but something v special happens…..an original …certainly not a clone…
Wow! I really loved listening to his approach here. Something I'm a firm believer in too! LANGUAGE!
Thanks Kyle. That’s part of why you sound great.
@@bettersax Merci mon frere saxophone!
I’m a tenor player and my hero is George Coleman because he’s got probably the most expressive sound of most of them. Breaker….seen him.. amazing but Coleman….got the lot in my humble. Amsterdam after dark ….those who haven’t heard this album….better get it… a masterpiece in sound ideas ….a true master….
this dude is awesome and deserves so many more views
Jay, this is a great interview! Eric nails it. Real. Common sense teacher. I loved his playing with Chick Corea. Good job Jay. All improvisers should hear this. Luv u bro.
When did Eric ever play with Chick?
I think you’re referring to the wrong Eric lol. Mr Alexander didn’t play with Chick to my knowledge.
Sounds very interesting, and useful but at the same very oriented for people with quite a few years of horn experience behind them. It feels like I would be quite intimidated by this approach. For some of us just the idea of playing a lick in 12 different keys takes a full session.
To fully appreciate the content you will want to have a good deal of fundamentals together both on the horn and in music theory. The course can also be approached simply though. You don't have to take everything through the keys right away.
What a legend EA is! Speaking truth!
legend indeed!
Lester Young, a smooth and quiet gentleman, talked about the importance of "telling a story" in a solo. An outspoken, hyper-confident, tell-it-like-it-is (and very proficient) saxophonist says on youtube "forget the story, play the changes. Use literally what's in the book I'm trying to sell you and you'll finally be a jazz master" and you've got 130 comments saying "yeah! thanks for telling us that, so liberating. It just what i wanted to listen!!"
Funny isn't it?
Thanks for the interview Bettersax. It is important and interesting, but not in the way you thing.
Point taken and agreed! But I'll also play devil's advocate: was Lester Young using chord scales and modes? I think it could be argued that the story being told is with solid melodic phrases that have close ties to the harmony, which I believe is the heart of what Mr Alexander is saying here.
You're right that you don't need to buy his book, and I think it would be better to learn licks from recordings organically. However, you could also quote Bird whose advice sounds more like Eric's - 'I just try to play clean and find the pretty notes'.
Lester played the changes to songs. His melodies followed the song's harmony. And he told a story that way. The phrase "tell a story" is highly abstract, and doesn't give useful advice about how to arrive there. "Transcribe these two Lester solos, then practice the turnarounds in all 12 keys" is way better. The written books like Eric's on the market take this sort of thing a step further: Eric has done the work to transcribe Hank Mobley, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, etc., then written down the most important (to him) patterns. They may not be important _to you_ , but you will sound authentic with them. And if you're an amateur player, pressed for time, that may be OK.
@@michaelmullmusicYep. Lester wasn't a slave to chord scales, but for sure he knew his scales and arpeggios.
Great content! Eric is such an awesome player and apparently an amazing teacher!
Yes and Yes! thanks
Great video!!! Eric is an absolute milestone of a player
Thanks!
Oh man, I started the course and knew from the first exercise that I finally hit the jack pot (I play the tenor)...
Just what I was looking for. A true gem, a gold mine in the field of saxophone studies on-line.
Thank you Eric! Thank you Jay! Next course with Sonny Rollins? (-:
Thanks a lot for this recommendation, Micha. I think I will buy it too :)
Glad to hear this from you Micha. I agree, Eric is a treasure in the jazz education world. I would be happy to just get an interview with Sonny Rollins!
This is the best thing I've seen in a long time. Lots to think about. You guys make a good team.
It reminds me of a story Jerry Bergonzi told about how he dropped in on Horace Silver's band one night and then again the following day. To his surprise the band was playing the exact same solos. When he asked the horn players if it was the same solo, they said, "Yes, we are recording soon and Horace wants the Solos perfect.
My favorite player. Period
Great interview as always
Jay - you are amazing! It’s almost like you have developed a bespoke course personally for me!
Thanks Peter. Eric's approach works and a lot of players will feel the same as you I'm sure.
What an honest guy. I am gonna sign up for this course for sure
Very exciting. I love how clear and direct he is!
Thanks for this interview! Eric Alexander, along with Chris Potter, James Carter, Isaiah Collier & Josh Redman are my favorite (living) tenor players.
Thanks Rob, glad you enjoyed it! I'm working on getting some of the others on your list as guests...
I get what he's saying... If you're playing standards or music with a lot of chords, you definitely need to be playing something that either relates to them or that resolves to them. Most "outside" playing within a harmonic context is stuff like using chord substitutions which keep the strong chord tones (tritone subs), or substitute progressions which resolve by a different path (Coltrane changes, backdoor ii-V). That said, I think in a less harmonically dense space like on modal tunes scalar ideas work very well (as there isn't a cadence). And if course, there is such thing as free playing, like Ornette, where the tonality is allowed to change at will, which requires its own approach.
If you're playing a standard, the most direct route to getting to to sound good is playing it like itself, in essence playing changes. Playing strong chord tones on strong beats will always work when you have a strong progression like most old tin pan alley standards have.
Very cool. I listen to a lot of George Coleman and Charlie Rouse who are great to try to copy. Jay this was great! Ordered!
You are the boss of jazz interviews!!
Thank you bro.
Some of Eric’s best work was with the late great Charles Earland! He had so many tunes and devastating solos with Charles man, it’s just ridiculous. He is also very close with the great George Coleman which he’s one of my All-Time favorites. Many guys sleep on Grover Washington Jr’s skills, especially back when he was playing straight Jazz. I know later on he crossed over and obviously was still great but he was ice cold with those Jazz tunes man, ice cold. Eric to me is the combination of everybody that I grew up listening to. Charles Earland once said that Eric was on his way to being the best saxophone player in the world, that’s strong coming from him.
Eric is such a vibe. Need to take a lesson with him ASAP
A quote from Charlie Parker on the recorded interview with Paul Desmond:
"There's definitely stories and stories and stories that can be told in the musical idiom, you know -- you wouldn't say idiom, but it's so hard to describe music other than the basic way to describe it; music is basically melody, harmony and rhythm, but, I mean, people can do much more with music than that. It can be very descriptive in all kinds of ways, you know, all walks of life." - CP
Bird continues in response to Desmond by stating that telling a story is "More or less the object, that's what I thought it should be."
Music is more than JUST making changes. Or maybe I'm just misinterpreting the message?
So many people never even make the changes that it really bears emphasizing. Of course you want to move past it to playing meaningful music, but if you can't immediately play solos that follow the changes, they're not going to sound good, let alone meaningful.
@Better Sax
Since Eric mentioned (The Great!) George Coleman - ask Eric if he’s familiar with a particular live bootleg recording of George playing ‘Good Bait’. John Farnsworth “hipped” me to it years ago and it’s a great example of someone not building to a climax. George starts at #11! It was amazing!
Great interview Jay! Liked your bullet points. 😊 He does come right to the point. No BS there. Just may have to participate on this one. Thanks!
Thank you Bob.
This is a great video, thank you for sharing!
I’m a Londoner and still love our late Tubby Hayes…..Albeit dated … but check out Tubby Hayes Airegin…..a masterpiece….technique…..sound….emotion….got the lot…
Great to gain more insight into Eric's approach and concepts. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks man! Amazing transcription work!
Thanks so much for checking it out! I was actually at Smoke last year right before the pandemic when Jaleel and Chad were playing together - I remember seeing you but had to leave to catch the train before I could say hi. Everyone was on fire that night
Jazz definitely has rules. Learn them and follow them if you want to get good.
Another great interview Jay! More Eric playing alto on that Yanagisawa!! LOL!
I posted a clip on Instagram today where he’s playing my new burnin mouthpiece check it out.
this is great advice from a master. I will take issue with the idea that people don't play "out". Lister to Coltrane Evolution, live in Seattle. go to about the 17 and 1/2 minute mark, and tell me if what you hear is chord substitutions, or something else entirely. thank you.
There are different ways to improvise. You may have a particular preference but you can't impose your way on anybody else.
Nobody is imposing a way of playing on you. You can take it or leave it. But I think it would be pretty foolish not to consider what a player at Eric’s level has to say about the craft.
Of course you can't impose your own improvisational will on others. But it's very difficult to deny that jazz is a language, and not try to learn that language through others' improvised solos. You're going to sound like yourself regardless: that comes from who you are, how you approach your instrument, your body's relation to the horn and such. But ultimately how you choose to relate to the song is important, and it's easy, especially for young players, to start on the root of a scale for each chord. It's also easy to sort of glide over changes with pentatonics; it's a sound, but more R&B-like. Doing that on a D7#9#11 is going to sound like ketchup on a nice Italian meal.
I really enjoyed this video! Good stuff. I could not agree more. Thank you.
Haha! Wow. That was amazing. You guys do not mince words! Very cool.
Thank you David
let it flow let it go feel it
That was a treat, thanks for that. Great information.
Lets see how many notes we can Cram
Into a Measure
Lmaooo
I did see the option of purchasing the physical book with the 21 improvisation course, but I didn't see a way to include it in the order . Please advise. Thanks for all your great tips and instruction.
What I would like clarification on is the definition of "Real Language." What makes some phrases language and others not ?
Brilliant interview!
This is great. Thank you.
Glad you liked it!
Yes thank you Eric...somebody has to say it.
If it doesn’t have feel
Ain’t got nothin’
i bought the books, but there is nothing i have found that compares with David Baker'a "how to play bebop vol 2 " for a wealth of patterns to develop one's vocabulary.
I've played worked out solos before. It's not impossible, it may not be ideal but it did build a bit of confidence.
This was a good session
thanks for watching
What was the name of the palm key stuff you use? Great video👍🏽Thanks for info✌🏽🎶🎵🎷
Not every story ends in a false volcanic eruption
Why is it difficult to say learn the language and play the changes in a way that makes sense and then if you have a story to tell
Occasionally - be it angry, sad, reflective or what have you - tell it. You love Mobley - if you aren’t hearing stories in his playing
That’s a shame - that’s why I want to play and why most people find this music compelling. Parker, Trane, Tubby Hayes , Montgomery,
And on and on - all playing stories - again not all time. But enough to find Eric’s comments perplexing.
I love this guy 😁
With all respect to Eric, I think he's missing the point of playing music, which is to communicate deep emotions. All that he says about playing the changes and learning from the great masters is correct and useful, but that's where you go to get the tools- and then you put those in service of communicating something other than music theory- you might, in fact, tell a story. We wouldn't be listening to Charlie Parker ("If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn") or John Coltrane (who saw his art as profoundly spiritual devotional music in the latter part of his life) if we weren't deeply moved by the deep feelings behind the playing and what they were communicating to us on a soul level, no matter how innovative or technically astounding they were. And the contemporary players I admire, like Bob Reynolds, Ben Wendel, Miguel Zenon, are all technically advanced, theoretically sophisticated- and emotionally resonant in their playing.
Excellent points.
Thank you! Someone who finally understands that music is more than technique. It’s how you use the technique to TELL A STORY AND CONVEY EMOTION that matters. Eric was spouting nonsense when he said that you don’t need to tell a story or convey emotion.
@@bounderby99 I think when he tells - you don't need to tell a story- just not to focus to it, because it is very abstract conception, and as you play, you are allredy telling kind of a story, but rather first to explore cord changes as much as you can...
What he is saying is that you HAVE HAVE HAVE to be fluent in the language to be able to tell a story and to focus on speaking before anything else
Eric nailed it !!!
Most guys don’t play changes that well..
Understanding harmony is 12:39 the singular thing that most players are lacking!!
This is good shit
I'd like to to get a solid real copy of this book like you show, where do I get it.
You can order the physical copy as an add on to the digital version of the course.
This guy maybe a great musician and a former great debater...but totally disagree with him. Music is NOT Math and playing over the changes...he contradicts himself so much I don't even know where to begin.
I love this
נגני ג'אז צריכים ללמוד חוקי הלחנה מהמלחינים הקלאסיים הגדולים: באך, שופין, מנדלסון, ודומים:. המשכיות וסדר והגיון במנגינה. מוטיבים ומשפטים מוסיקאליים ופיתוח מוטיבים, משפטים מוסיקליים.
Nice sir
Might not be a great idea to interview Joel Frahm ...his playing goes way outside of the chords at times....but it's still great ....and it makes sense to me....but maybe not to everybody
Both he and Eric are great players though and I love them both
Does this come in concert C? Asking for a friend... ;)
i like stitt too
He is a badass
Fun to hear Eric speak like he plays - clear, logical, rich and pithy with a deep groove!
“No one memorizes whole improv solos” - Eric A
I was working with a student the other day on their jazz band blues solo. They were struggling with ideas so we took something they were familiar with, a lick from Mile’s ‘So What’ solo (band teacher’s assignment), and turned it into a blues riff. I told them to memorize the 12 bars so that when they inevitably screw it up, the door will open to actually improvising. At least they’ve got something to launch with.
Also, about “telling a story” - That’s another way of saying good voice leading aka using the guide tone lines. The solo goes somewhere, makes sense and sounds like you’ve “told a story”.
People memorize entire solos, but like they memorize poetry. Only little chunks come out in conversation, which is totally okay.
Melodic leaps work great, too: jump up a minor 7th or something, and it's pretty attention-grabbing. Do that on every bar, and you sure miss those guide tones!
@@jorymil I respectfully disagree. One can incorporate large leaps while still resolving guide tones. That actually sounds like a great exercise - create a guide tone line but move the resolution note up or down an octave each time. Good work-out!
"play things that sound good" is great. it's ironic that it needs to be said
Yeah. I was talking to a drummer the other day about jazz. I ask him if he knows any jazz tunes. He said, "why would I need to know any, it's just free, man". I dismissed him right away.
Anybody has tried the course? how's it?
Very nice! Someone should buy the guy a steam iron though 😭
Refreshing! I can't tell you how many players I have heard whose musical expression sounds like a practice session on how many notes they can play, but melodically make no sense and leave me completely confused and cold bevause what I am hearing sounds like an "intelligent monkey on a typewriter" ... there are just a lot of notes and I am left with the impression that the player is playing for him/herself and has forgotten there's an audience. There is an audience and your music language needs to be something someone can follow and wants to listen to. Good advice!
Ultimately you need to deal with the changes. Sure, you can choose a scale or two and improvise with that, but if you're not dealing with the Ab of D7b5 in "Take the A Train," it's going to sound odd. It's going to be way easier to listen to as much music as you can and transcribe your favorite patterns than to try and work everything out from scratch. And it's even easier still to take patterns from a book and memorize them than to transcribe.
I'm not sure why teachers stop at scale/chord theory: it might be better to approach things from a "favorite recordings" or "fundamental recordings" place, then gradually introduce scales & chords. But it's more time-consuming, and requires a much larger commitment from students.
Transcribe some Sonny Stitt.
Just a jazz fan here, nothing more, nothing less. So, from the listers side, the public, the ones that eventually will pay to listen to pros in concerts, or even pay for master classes or summer classes and all the stuffs that go around.
Well, I did listen to some CD of EA and wasn't touched by him and after this interview, it is even more clear why: "don't tell stories" (poor jazz singers, by the way), "play changes" etc... by the way, reducing "telling story" to a crechendo matter, is just trying to mistaking the ones that don't have enough musical culture, and is not fare from him. Nothing to be pround.
Guys: keep playing technical ticks, modern-intellectual-robotic and so many changes as you want, but don't ask yourself why jazz is not popular and successfull (anymore). But probably it is a fact that we are some how pround of... sade
Listen to his recording of “Stand Pat” and you will hear people communicating with each other. Listening to a conversation is like listening to a story of human connection
2-5-1
One thing that would help is stop hooking the word acending to the word melodic minor. Half the teachers do it. And the ones that do it won't explain why they did it. All bet many students have been styfuled by that
What's so hard to understand about the term ascending melodic minor?
Q: “What did you see today?”
A: “8 post office monkeys, dogs and Frenchmen.”
OK, enough of me being a pedantic dick. For those of you watching his advice is important, especially at the beginning of learning how to play. In the famous words of Hal Crook “How are you going to break the rules if you don’t even know what the rules are? If you’re going to play basketball and you’ve never seen a basketball game, never seen or touched a basketball, don’t even know how to spell basketball, how can you go outside of some thing you don’t even know anything about?”
STUDY THE GREATS... On your own or with a friend today...... B-)
Very disappointing but typical. Playing changes well is the most basic requirement for playing jazz. No mention from Eric at all of channeling cosmic energy flow. Nothing about what Jerry Bergonzi calls “intuiting” the changes. Nothing about tapping into what Getz called the “Alpha State” of relaxed concentration, a trance state for improvising. Nothing about the crucial importance of playing expressively and putting humanness into your playing. Playing the changes is punching the clock. Making a real artistic statement is about TRANSCENDING the changes.
We sax players have to think like a drummer a drummer don't think that a G7 so I have to hit the drums this way it's what sounds good to the hear it rhythm not so much not so much the not as Dizzy once said I might hit the wrong note here are there but my rhythm is on time
This is why I've never liked Eric Alexander very much. Of course you need to learn how play the language, but that's so basic. I've always viewed him as a recreator, not a creator and everything he plays has been played better by his predicesors because at least they were breaking new ground. Such superficial advice.
It’s times like this when I realise that American English is very different to British English. Apart from that why are only male Saxophone players ever referenced? Just curious questions as a beginner… and apart from these thoughts quite interesting ideas.
There aren’t many female sax players from back in the day other than Vi Redd. There are many great ones playing today, but they aren’t mentioned just as modern men like Michael Brecker weren’t mentioned. The language of bebop was pioneered in the 40s and 50s, so when people are learning the music, they will naturally go to the source and due to that, their influences will be the men that came in that time. Down the road, people will look to our female players today for inspiration, but they won’t have the deep influence as the people like Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, and John Coltrane will.
Melissa Aldana’s main influence = Sonny Rollins
Michael Brecker’s main influence = John Coltrane
More people look to Coltrane more than Brecker for inspiration as he was the source of what they will be going for. The same will hold true of all players around now regardless of gender.
He said 'obtuse' but meant to say 'abstruse'.
The word he was searching for was abstruse.
What are changes lol
Eric’s great but….I’ve returned to the oldies…like Getz….Desmond…..very few notes but….the most important ones and with an enviable sound. The new wizards …yes.. brilliant but?????
I lost
I'm 3 minutes late
You have to play changes, don't tell a story, very opinionated player this person is. Some of it I would consider it false information. Some of the things he says are contradicting.
I would consider your entire comment false information, but that's my opinion 😂
I disagree.......tell a story.......otherwise you are just talking without conversating....talking to oneself.......jazz is for others.....not for self
I know! Coltrane, Brecker, Potter and their 'volcanic eruptions'. How fake! We want changes!
Couldn’t disagree more.
Coltrane is gibberish..
Way over my head. Just made me frustrated rather than inspired.