Everything Saxophone Podcast

This week we welcome one of the top saxophonists in the New York area, Andrew Gould. Andrew is a full time freelance musician doing some very interesting things and loving every minute of it. Andrew has performed with James Moody, Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Wallace Roney, Jon Faddis, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Mambo Legends Orchestra, David Weiss, Bobby Sanabria, Ray Angry and many more. Andrew was a 2013 Thelonious Monk Saxophone Competition Semi Finalist and has been featured on multiple GRAMMY nominated recordings. He has been involved with recording for MTV, Universal Records, Warner Bros Music, and Capitol Records for world famous artists including Fifth Harmony, Mac Miller, 88 Keys, Sebastian Kole and more. He has also performed live on the Today Show, ABC News, WBGO Radio, and has been featured on the Amazon Prime series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” with the Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band.

Andrew is a really down to earth guy and I had a blast talking to him. He dropped a lot of knowledge in this conversation and anyone from aspiring musicians to seasoned veterans will enjoy this no doubt. In this episode:

• Andrew’s journey coming up with music and the saxophone.
• Attending SUNY Purchase and then Manhattan School of Music.
• How Andrew handles all of the roles demanded of him in his day to day life.
• Making a living as a full time musician.
• Andrew answers our famous five questions!

Follow Andrew on Instagram!

Check out Andrew’s Website!

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Back when I was in high school, I attended some jazz workshops on Long Island, and I met Andy Farber at a couple of them. We became friends, and even back then I was astounded by the knowledge he had of jazz recordings and artists.

Well, our show today will be like a jazz history lesson for you.

The people that Andy and his family have worked with are among the Who’s Who of Jazz, and the details about some of those performances and composing and arranging jobs are really interesting.

We focused a lot on the music, which is important because it’s the music that we play. The instrument is just the voice or vehicle for our expression. At the end, we get into some more saxophone-specific talk, with his recommendations on horns and mouthpieces.

Let me tell you a little about Andy…

A Long Island native from an artistic family, Andy Farber started his studies on clarinet at the age of 8, and then quickly moved over to saxophone the following year. He attended many jazz camps and workshops during his high school years (USDAN, Manhattan School of Music, Jamey Aebersold).

He studied composition and arranging with Carl Strommen and his uncle Mitch Farber, and continued his studies at the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with David Berger, and Mike  Abeme. He won the Manny Albam prize for jazz composition. 

He has continued to compose, arrange and perform, and has worked with Jon Hendricks, Shirley Horn, Bobby Short, Joe Lovano, Joe Temperley, Stevie Wonder, and many others.

He is the Musical Director for the BMI Composers Workshop, and teaches Jazz Composition and Arranging at Juilliard.

The LJCO has commissioned a work from Andy to be performed in April, 2020.

In this show, we talked about 

• What is education? Andy’s thoughts on this
• How he became friends with Wynton Marsalis and has been performing with him and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (LCJO) since 1995
• What he feels is missing from some artists today
• Andy’s recommendations for who to research for jazz composition and saxophone history to build your foundation
• A resource (under $100) that Andy finds indispensable for transcribing
• His thoughts on doubling
• Andy’s advice on equipment, and what NOT to do
• HIs suggestions for learning tunes, based on Barry Harris’ method
• And more

Some great quotes: 

From Andy:

“Learning by ear is permanent.”

“Music business has no rules, and they’re strictly adhered to!”

“If you want to find your voice, study the entire history of jazz.”

From his father, “If you’re the best musician in the room, you’re in the wrong room. You can’t learn anything that way, and it actually hurts you because the other people are dragging you down.”

From Duke Ellington – “There’s only 2 kinds of music: good music and the other kind.”

Resource mentioned:

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I have never laughed so much and had so much fun with one of my guests as I did with Theo Wanne. Theo is one of the nicest guys in the saxophone industry and most knowledgeable individuals in the world when it comes to the history, design, and elements that make a great mouthpiece. It isn’t every day that I get to speak with a world authority on what is, perhaps, the most important piece of equipment that we own as saxophonists. This episode was really special for me.

Theo started his manufacturing career early building professional bicycle frames by hand. Theo then turned his love of improvisation into becoming a saxophone repair technician and expert mouthpiece refacer under the direction of the legendary Master Refacer, Bob Carpenter. Theo worked long hours for many years turning thousands of vintage mouthpieces and saxophones into gems. Creating beautiful sound became his passion, and he soon became known as the ‘go to’ guy for vintage equipment.

Theo now owns one of the world’s most popular mouthpiece companies under his own name, Theo Wanne Saxophone Mouthpieces.

There is so much information in this episode, it’s a real treat. Some of the things we talked about:

• Studying the best mouthpieces ever made to see what made them tick.
• Learning to reface a mouthpiece and how that led Theo to designing his own pieces.
• The different elements to a mouthpiece and what effect they have on the sound including material, facing curve, tip opening, baffle, and chamber.
• How Theo embraces technology to make his design and manufacturing process second to none.
• Theo’s website and how it is educating people on the history and beauty of saxophone mouthpieces.

Check out Theo’s website for mouthpieces, history, and education!

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Saxophonist, Songwriter/Composer and Vocalist Grace Kelly is on top of the music world as of late.

In 2018, she was the Grand Prize winner for the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the Country Music category.

She appears regularly in the house band for the Late Show with Stephen Colbert , and was 

highlighted on screen as a jazz soloist for the emmy-nominated Amazon series Bosch.

Grace broke open new territory with her Facebook Live stream of her Go Brooklyn album recording session, a fully-choreographed experience that thousands of fans enjoyed all over the world.

She has won multiple performance and songwriter awards over the years.

She wrote her first song at 7 years old, recorded her first CD at 12, orchestrated and performed an original composition with the Boston Pops Orchestra at 14, and performed at President Obama’s inauguration at 16. As a bandleader, Grace has performed in over 800 concerts in over 30 countries.

You can read about Grace on her site HERE.

In this show, we talked about 

• How Grace prepares for performances with special guests

• The roles of a band leader – it’s more than you think

• How she picks her band members, and it’s not just about musical skill

• The importance of branding

• The book she recommends all artists read

• How to prepare mentally for a performance

• The one thing you need to consider before moving to a music city

• Why feeling uncomfortable is a GOOD thing

• The other skills that are important to stand out as a performer today 

• Her motto -”just do it!”

• The importance of storytelling 

• And so much more

You can find Grace on social media:

Website: https://www.gracekellymusic.com/

On Twitter: @GraceKellyMusic

Instagram: instagram.com/gkellymusic

On Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/gracekellymusic  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gracekellymusic  

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Kenyon Carter is a saxophonist, recording artist, and jazz educator who has spent more than twenty five years helping countless people become better musicians.

Kenyon has worked with middle school and high school students as a band director and frequent honor band clinician, aspiring saxophonists as a university saxophone and jazz instructor, and other musicians across the globe through his popular video lessons and private Skype coaching.

Kenyon is also an internationally known recording artist having released three full length albums. Six tracks from those albums went on to become charting singles and can be heard on contemporary jazz radio around the world.

Drawing from his diverse experiences, Kenyon is known for making the complex simple. His most recent project, “Bebop Boot Camp,” uses cutting edge brain science, clever analogies, and the power of deliberate practice to help musicians play better solos and truly improvise authentic bebop lines in just eight weeks.

Although originally from Georgia, Kenyon is currently traveling the United States with his wife Chris and their dog Maggie in a forty foot motor coach exploring America.

In this episode:

• Growing up in Georgia and falling in love with music.
• The teachers that made a huge influence in Kenyon’s musical life.
• Bebop Boot Camp and how it can turn very complicated ideas into valuable lessons and exercises.
• What it’s like to be traveling the country and meeting musicians from all over.
• Kenyon answers our 5 questions!

Grab your copy of Bebop Bootcamp today!

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At 22 years old, Austin Gatus has had many accomplishments in his young career. 

Austin has performed with Dave Koz locally here in Los Angeles, as well as on the Dave Koz Jazz Cruises to Europe an Alaska. He sat in with the Average White Band a couple of times on a recent tour, and was a featured artist with Kenny G with the Orange County Symphony and San Diego Symphony.

Austin has also had pregame performances for the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Clippers, NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix, and UCLA Bruins Basketball.

He recently wrote and performed in his own musical, performed at UCLA’s Royce Hall celebrating Filipino culture.

Austin, a cancer survivor, performs at charity events helping to fight kids’ cancer, having performed for the Starlight Foundation and Rady’s Children’s Hospital.

His original music, a mix of electronic, pop and Lo-Fi styles is featured on his latest album, Motions, available on Apple Music and Spotify.

Austin is endorsed by JodyJazz and Rovner Products

In this show, we talked about 

• Playing ballads to improve your tone

• How to incorporate transcribed licks into a solo

• His mentors, Dave Koz and Kenny G, and how he met them

• His approach to pop saxophone

• And more

You can find Austin on social media:

Website: http://austingatus.com/

On Twitter and Instagram: @AustinGatus

On Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/gotgatus

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/austingatusmusic/ 

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Steve Neff has been playing and teaching saxophone and jazz improvisation around the New England area for the last 30 years. 

He is the author of many popular  jazz improvisation books as well as founding the popular jazz video lesson site Neffmusic.com that has over 600+ video lessons on it as well as hundreds of sax related reviews. 

 

In this episode we talked about:

• The one thing you shouldn’t do if you want to keep the gig
• The crazy ear training exercise one of his teachers put him through
• The importance of your mindset in performance and practice
• How Steve got into online education and mouthpiece reviews
• What Steve looks for in a mouthpiece
• Steve’s funny as a brain tumor story
• And a whole lot more!

You can also find Steve on:

 Facebook: www.facebook.com/neffmusic

Twitter: www.twitter.com/neffmusic

Sax on the Web online Forum: www.saxontheweb.net

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This week we caught up with Kris Urbanski for an exciting conversation. Kris is a saxophonist and educator based out of London and has been dazzling audiences around the world with his amazing sound and approach to the instrument for some years now. Kris is really pushing the boundaries of jazz music through his playing and compositions and has made quite a following for fans of the music the world over. Kris has been featured in many international competitions over the years including first prize in the Saxophone Idol Competition, the Taichung International Saxophone Competition, and the Hoeliaart Saxophone Competition. He has also been a featured guest and clinician at conferences and events around the globe including the World Saxophone Congress held in Croatia in 2018.

In this episode:

• How Kris got his start in music growing up in Poland.
• Moving to the jazz center of Europe in London to pursue his career.
• Coming up with your own exercises.
• Why Kris doesn’t write many things down and prefers to learn by ear.
• Approaching technique through classical playing.

Please check out Kris’s website!

Follow Kris on Instagram for some truly amazing lessons and videos!

One of my personal favorite YouTube performances by Kris’s Band!

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Baritone Saxophonist and Jazz Educator, Claire Daly has garnered much praise and recognition during her career. She grew up in Westchester, NY, and then attended Berklee College of Music, where she studied with Joe Viola, one of her main mentors.

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