Everything Saxophone Podcast

Episode 030: Riley Richard

October 25, 2018 by Nick Mainella Leave a Comment

With his first note on the saxophone, Cleveland native Riley Richard has blazed the contemporary jazz world with his first EP titled “Evolving”. The first single “Family Ties” climbed up the Billboard charts topping out at #18, his next release “Between You & I” charted at #3 while climbing the American Music Chart hitting #1 several times.

Riley Richard has graced the worldwide stage with notable legends Najee, Boney James, Kim Waters, Roy Ayers, Ronnie Laws and James Lloyd. He has also opened for Eric Benet, Brian Simpson and Rick Braun amongst others.

His latest album out now is L.I.T., produced by none other than Darren Rahn, blends the genres of Smooth jazz and R&B.

We covered:

The best way to learn
How to recover from what you may perceive as a bad experience
Advice for finding jam sessions & musical interaction
The real truth about record sales
The process for releasing a CD (It’s not as simple as you think)
The personnel you need in your music team
Riley‘s connections with Darren Rahn and Najee

You can find out more about Riley here.

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Episode 029: Allison Au

October 18, 2018 by Nick Mainella Leave a Comment

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This week we caught up with Canadian saxophonist, composer and band leader, Allison Au. Allison is busy taking her quartet all over Canada and the US getting her music into the world and doing a lot to advance this music we call jazz. Allison is a native of Toronto and still makes her home there where she is playing gigs, teaching, and composing on a regular basis. Watch out for Allison’s tour dates as she will most likely be in a city near you sometime soon. Allison has great insight on many aspects of the music business including touring, applying for grants and scholarships, maintaining a band based around her original music and playing the saxophone at the highest level. This is an insightfulContinue Reading …

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Episode 028: Daniel Bennett

October 11, 2018 by Nick Mainella Leave a Comment

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Daniel Bennett is a saxophonist, woodwind artist, educator, and band leader based out of New York. Daniel has been hailed as one of the most original and unpredictable voices of his generation. Daniel leads his group all over the country on a regular basis, spreading his music to fans of creative music far and wide. This episode will be eye opening in many ways for all of the musicians Continue Reading …

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Episode 027: Doc Kupka

October 4, 2018 by Nick Mainella 1 Comment

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Stephen “Doc” Kupka is best known as the foundation of the horn section for Tower of Power, having performed on Baritone Sax with them for 50 years and running.Ever since co-writing “You’re Still a Young Man,” he really has enjoyed songwriting. He wanted to showcase the many songs he has written over the years, so he established Strokeland Records in 1998.Doc’s longevity with performing and songwriting is truly Continue Reading …

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Episode 026: Sylvain Carton

September 27, 2018 by Nick Mainella 2 Comments

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Multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger, Sylvain Carton has performed with a number of groups in a variety of genres.

Born in France, and having lived in various parts of the U.S., Sylvain was exposed to many types of music growing up, in particular Bluegrass, folk and world music.

His current endeavors include performing eclectic original music with such groups as Japonize Elephants and Beats Antique (of whom he was touring with at the time of this interview).

Sylvain now resides in Los Angeles, CA, where he has set up Vandoren’s Los Angeles Advisory Studio, a place to try out the various Vandoren mouthpieces and reeds.

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Episode 025: Miguel Zenon

September 20, 2018 by Nick Mainella Leave a Comment

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Miguel Zenon is an alto saxophonist, composer, and band leader hailing from Puerto Rico. Miguel has been featured on over 70 recordings as a sideman and is about to release his 11th album under his own name. Miguel is a multiple Grammy Nominee and is also a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship also known as the genius grant. Miguel lives in New York and also teaches at the famous New England Conservatory.

We caught up with Miguel to talk about his new recording set to come out on September 21st entitled, Yo Soy La Tradicion. We also managed to talk about his move to the United States, his development as a composer and saxophonist over the years and what he does to maintain his high level of playing through a busy schedule. We also chatted about teaching advanced students and asked him our famous five questions. I think you’re going to really enjoy this interview so sit back, relax, and let’s get into it with Miguel Zenon!

In this interview:

The concept and execution of Yo Soy La Tradicion.
The challenges and rewards of writing for string quartet.
The overwhelming presence of Puerto Rican traditional music in Miguel’s compositions.
The evolution of Miguel’s saxophone playing and composing process.
What it’s like teaching students who are extremely advanced.
The most important aspect of being a saxophonist in Miguel’s opinion.

Make sure you head over to Miguel’s website to check out everything he has going on and purchase his new record!

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Episode 024: Rulon Brown of Key Leaves

September 13, 2018 by Nick Mainella 1 Comment

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Rulon Brown grew up in the boondocks of Anchorage, Alaska playing saxophone in coffee shops and pit orchestras for caffeinated audiences with cabin fever. As a teenager, he spent summers in Pittsburgh studying with legendary soul saxophonist Eric Kloss.

He performs many genres of music, including Celtic Jazz and Latin music, and his commercial credits include work for interactive media, TV, radio, web, and phone systems.

Rulon created the Seattle OnHold music program, a first-of-it’s kind showcase of local musicians that attracted front-page praise from the Los Angeles Times and inspired great cities across the U.S. to emulate the program.

In addition to his artistic work, Rulon created and founded Key Leaves® – a line of revolutionary sax care products that prevent sticky sax pads by leaving keys open to dry.

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Episode 023: Sharel Cassity

August 30, 2018 by Nick Mainella Leave a Comment

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Having been nominated as Rising Star Alto Saxophone by Downbeat Magazine for 9 years in a row, Sharel Cassity is making a name for herself in the Jazz world.

She’s performed with Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Heath, Natalie Cole, Wynton Marsalis and many other Jazz legends.

She’s also performed with mainstream artists such as Aretha Franklin, Natalie Merchant, KD Lang, Vanessa Williams and others.

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Episode 022: John Mackey of ReedJuvinate

August 23, 2018 by Nick Mainella 3 Comments

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John Mackey is a MD and biomedical researcher, a passionate jazz musician, and lead alto sax player in the River City Big Band in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

John is the founder and creator of ReedJuvinate, a reed storage system that makes reeds instantly playable and germ-free.

In this episode, we cover:

The wet-dry cycle: how and why it wears down reeds and what you can do about it
Why humidifying reeds is not enough
The research behind ReedJuvinate and why it works
Why you MUST use original Listerine and not any other flavor
How long it takes a reed to get acclimated when you are playing
and much more…

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Episode 021: Adam Larson

August 16, 2018 by Nick Mainella 2 Comments

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Adam Larson is quickly becoming one of the most recognized names in the jazz world. Adam hails from Normal, IL and now lives, teaches, and performs in the New York City area. Adam has four albums as a leader and his latest album, Second City, received a four star rating in Downbeat and was listed as one of the best recordings of 2017. Adam is endorsed by P. Mauriat Saxophones and Vandoren.

His prowess on the saxophone and his work in education have impacted listeners and students from across the world. Adam is doing big things both on the playing side and he is getting ready to release his first etude book called Leaps and Sounds at the end of the month.Continue Reading …

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