Everything Saxophone Podcast

Doug Webb, a great saxophonist based here in Los Angeles, is featured on hundreds of recordings for artists including Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, Sal Marquez, Stanley Clarke, Brian Bromberg, Quincy Jones, Mat Marucci, Bobby Caldwell, Kyle Eastwood, Rod Stewart, Carly Simon, Art Garfunkel, Queen Latifah and Cher. He played for fifteen years with the Doc Severinsen Tonight Show Big Band. 

He has recorded music for hundreds of movies and television programs, including playing for the Family Guy orchestra. He solos on the soundtrack for Million Dollar Baby and Gran Torino.

He has 16 albums out as a leader, with one of his recent ones being a collaboration with Greg Fishman.

And he has one of the most extensive horn and mouthpiece collections in the world!

In this interview, we talked about: 

• What it was like in the studio playing on the soundtrack for Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino
• The Coltrane record that changed Doug’s saxophone playing forever
• How he practiced improvisation, without any lessons from a private teacher or online videos
• His CRAZY practice schedule that made him the monster player that he is today 
• A funny experience with Warne Marsh
• What to copy when listening to the masters
• What you will learn in his 2-hour masterclass on reharmonizations and modal playing
• And so much more!

“It’s important to play a solo, not just transcribe it”   Doug Webb

You can watch the video of this interview here:

Doug’s classes on MyMusicClass.com

Website: http://www.dougwebb.us/ 

Facebook: http://facebook.com/DougWebbMusic  

Your support for the Everything Saxophone Podcast would be greatly appreciated!

Please go to our Patreon site and for a small monthly donation, you can help defray the costs of presenting and hosting the podcast and keep the great interviews coming.

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New York Born and raised multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, producer, and songwriter, Augie Bello’s musical style is distinctly eclectic and incorporates elements of funk, pop, r&b, jazz and electronic music. Taking influence from artists including, Allen Stone, Michael Brecker, Mura Masa, Amy Winehouse, and multiple others has given him an extremely unique sound. 

Soon after starting college at The New School for Jazz, Bello realized that with music as a career, he needed to create his own opportunities and success. With this knowledge, Bello started to post videos of his music to Instagram in 2018. Since then, he has grown a following of over 59k people who are eager to hear his original music. Through Instagram, Bello has met and recorded with multiple artists including, Teddy Swims, Austin Kolbe and many others. 

Since the beginning of his musical journey, Bello has been bringing his comedic personality and unique style into everything he does. With each day, his goal is to make someone smile and this shines through with the music he plays and creates.

In this interview, taken during the NAMM Show in January 2020, we talked about: 

• How he’s built a large following on social media
• How he makes the transition from the practice room to the stage
• The best goal to have as a performer 
• His mindset for playing at jams
• How to perform for your audiences
• How he approaches altissimo – he shares the exact fingerings he uses
• How he performs split tones
• His latest single at the time, Candy
• And so much more!

“It’s not how many notes you play, it’s how you play the notes”   Augie Bello

You can watch the video of this interview HERE

Augie’s Social Media Links:

Website: https://www.augiebello.com/

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/augie_bello/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGnzPW1NG9elagzN5–Qdbw

Twitter: https://twitter.com/augie_bello

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This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing saxophonist and author, Katja Rieckermann.

We had done an interview at NAMM, but the noise level was so out of control, we decided to do a separate interview now. 

Katja, originally from the northern part of Germany in a small town called Luebeck, did not start playing the saxophone until age 21. It took a number of years and a bit of a struggle until she made the leap to move to the U.S. and in particular, Los Angeles, CA.

She has performed with rock bands Scorpions and Saga, and has been in television and films like Ally McBeal and Star Trek Nemesis.

In 2001, she got the opportunity to perform with Rod Stewart on his Human World Tour, and continued performing with him for 15 more years.

Since then, she has also performed with Carole King, Al Green, Jeff Goldblum, Carlos Santana, Mary J. Blige, Toto and many others.

She has 3 studio albums out, with guest artists such as Arturo Sandoval and Joe Bonamassa. One of her big singles, Walkin’ the Dog did well on the charts in 2015.

She’s performed with Lady Gaga at the Grammy Awards and also opened up for Tower of Power in Pasadena in 2019.

In this interview, we talked about: 

• Katja’s journey starting the saxophone in her early 20’s
• How she started her performance career from nothing when she moved from Germany to Los Angeles
• Tips for networking in a new location 
• What it was like touring with mega star Rod Stewart for almost 15 years
• Her approach to playing recorded solos vs creating her own
• Katja’s solo career, and how it has evolved
• Her process for creating her 101 Soulful Funk Licks book, and you’ll hear her demo some of the cool licks
• And much more!

We did this interview while being sheltered in place, so you will also hear how she’s handling that too.

You can watch the video of this interview here:

You can buy 101 Soulful Funk Licks Here: http://katjarieckermann.com/store.html

Here’s Katja’s Video Promotion for the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb2NIXNnvSs

Here’s my Video Review: https://youtu.be/A4GZ1pOPTck 

Katja’s site: www.katjarieckermann.com 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYT5evZlESMPr4M4YJ4mPGw

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katja.rieckermann.7

Album Page:  https://www.facebook.com/Katjarsax

Instagram: https://instagram.com/katjarsax 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KatjaRieckerman

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Today’s guest is non-other than the young phenom, Alex Hahn, a multi-award winning saxophonist, educator and composer based in Los Angeles, California.

He recently won 1st place at the Michael Brecker International Saxophone Competition, graduated with his 2nd masters from the prestigious Thelonius Monk Institute, performed and studied with Herbie Hancock, and recorded on Michael Bublé’s last two Grammy Nominated albums.

He is a 6-Time Downbeat Magazine Award Winner, 3-Time Next Generation Jazz Festival Outstanding Soloist, 1st Place Winner in the North American Saxophone Alliance Jazz Saxophone Competition, and winner of the Perform with Mintzer International Saxophone Competition.

Alex has taught all over the world including the Panama Jazz Festival, Sitka Jazz Festival, and at International Jazz Day in Havana,Cuba and St. Petersburg, Russia.

Chris Potter has said of Alex: “Alex has a real melodic gift in his writing and playing”

Alex is endorsed by D’Addario Woodwinds, Andreas Eastman Saxophones and Key Leaves.

In this interview, we talked about: 

• How to get past performance anxiety
• The pros and cons of working with backing tracks
• The most important character trait for success 
• Hand position tips 
• What it was like competing in the Michael Brecker International Saxophone competition – he shares priceless info around 5 minutes into our conversation
• What he likes most about his Eastman saxophones
• You’ll hear him play solo saxophone on the tune, Cherokee
• He’s joined by Rajiv Halim to perform Bag’s Groove
• And much more!

Tweetable – “There’s no substitute for playing with live musicians.” Alex Hahn

You can watch the video of this interview here: https://youtu.be/ZHGf_Yka_ow

You can read more about Alex here: https://youtu.be/ZHGf_Yka_ow

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJF3hTBmWFhwKcywXtzRmEw

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

Instagram: https://instagram.com/realalexhahn

Twitter: https://twitter.com/realalexhahn

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Having been born in Canada, grown up in Nigeria, studied music at University of North Texas, and touring in places such as Siberia, Jeff Antoniuk, truly brings a world-wide experience to his performance and teaching. 

Jeff has performed with Tim Hagans, Sherrie Maricle, Ingrid Jensen, Walt Weiskopf and Marcus Miller. He has fronted his own bands as a performer and composer, winning accolades from JazzTimes Magazine.

Jeff is a well-respected educator, having conducted over 2500 jazz masterclasses all over the world. He started the Maryland Summer Jazz Camp 15 years ago, and is the founder and creator of JazzWire.net, an online jazz education learning resource and community for adult amateur jazz players.

We had the most fun conversation!

In this interview, we talked about: 

• What Jeff thinks about when he tries out ligatures
• Accessories and how they affect our playing, both mentally and physically 
• The biggest benefits from online learning
• How he determines his rubric for teaching adult students in his JazzWire.net community
• The distinction between practicing about music vs practicing music
• And most importantly, the hair products he uses
• And more

In addition to listening to the podcast, you can also watch the interview on our YouTube channel 

You can read more about Jeff here: http://www.jeffantoniuk.com/

And about JazzWire here: https://jazzwire.net/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC3oUqWa3fuURU3WbOWY3UA/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeffantoniuk1/

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Saxophonist, composer, educator Derek Brown, has performed over 200 international shows and in every state in the US as part of his Fifty-Fifty tour. He has well over 30 million social media views of his unique and revolutionary way of playing the saxophone, and has been featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition. 

We featured Derek for our very first episode here on the Everything Saxophone Podcast. You can find that episode on our site, saxophonepodcast.com and wherever you listen to podcasts.

Donna caught up with Derek at the NAMM 2020 show in Anaheim for a brief interview and a special performance.

In this interview, we talked about: 

• Derek’s latest projects, and how he has been able to be so innovative amongst all the noise out there
• How Derek created a true way to articulate triple tonguing on the saxophone 
• His approach to composing for Solo Sax and for big bands
• And more

In addition to listening to the podcast, you can also watch the interview on our YouTube channel by clicking HERE or on the picture below

You can read more about Derek here: https://www.derekbrownsax.com/about

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/beatboxsax

Twitter and Instagram: @DerekBrownSax

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/derekbrownsaxophone 

This episode was sponsored by:

Rovner Products

Key Leaves

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Saxophonist, composer and educator, Rajiv Halim, performs regularly with his Rajiv Halim Quintet in the greater Chicago area.

Rajiv was the saxophonist for the eclectic band, Kids These Days, and released an EP that garnered praise from the chicago Tribune, NY Times and Huffington Post.

Rajiv has also won awards as a solo artist, having placed 2nd in the Saxophone Idol competition sponsored by Keilworth in 2013. He also took 2nd place in the 2014 Taichung International Saxophone Competition in Taiwan.

He has performed and recorded with artists such as Jennifer Hudson, Chance the rapper, Ernie Watts and many others.

Rajiv is a Key Leaves artist, and we got the chance to chat at the Key Leaves booth at the NAMM 2020 Show.

In this interview, we talked about: 

• His latest album, Foundation, available here: https://www.rajivhalim.com/music
• His approach to songwriting – he shares some good tips here
• Rajiv’s tip for getting a huge tone
• Tips for trying out horns and equipment
• Breathing Gym resource: https://amzn.to/39dGrMd 
• And more

In addition to listening to the podcast, you can also watch the interview on our YouTube channel

(And please Subscribe to our Channel)

You can read more about Rajiv here: https://www.rajivhalim.com/ 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsEHleABovFRsTKWZJ_2xbw 

Twitter and Instagram: @RajivHalim

Facebook: https://facebook.com/rajivhalim 

Nick Mainella’s new book, 50 Perpetual Motion Exercises

Donna’s review of Nick’s book

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Jody Espina is the founder, president and designer of JodyJazz Saxophone & Clarinet Mouthpieces. He is a highly regarded Jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and flutist with a unique and personal sound and is also a respected Jazz educator.

He has taught in High Schools and Colleges in the United States and Spain, but because of the tremendous success of his mouthpieces, had to give up full-time teaching to devote all his time to his company.

Jody still gives Master Classes and Clinics all over the world on subjects such as sound production, practice techniques and improvising. 

Jody has done studio work, performed in the pit Orchestras on Broadway, and performed live with artists such as Mel Torme, Milton Berle, Lew Soloff, Dave Douglas and many others.

He studied mouthpiece design with the legendary Santy Runyon for many years.

JodyJazz.com enjoys the highest rating among saxophone mouthpiece companies on the World Wide Web.(as rated on Alexa.com)  As a player Jody knows the importance of intimately knowing the products that he is making and selling that is why in addition to Jody, the JodyJazz crew includes three working professional recording saxophonists.

In this interview, we talked about: 

• The 20th Year Celebration Platinum DV limited edition series mouthpieces
• New products out for 2020
• Who the new HR Dark Saxophone mouthpiece is best for
• A new acquisition that is huge for the JodyJazz company
• And so much more

In addition to listening to the podcast, you will want to watch the interview on our YouTube channel to see all the new products.

You can read more about Jody Espina here: https://jodyjazz.com/jody-espina-biography/  

Website: https://jodyjazz.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jodyjazzofficial 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JodyJazzInc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jodyjazzinc2 

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Chika Inoue, has been praised for her beautiful tone, acute sensitivity and virtuosic technique. She has received numerous performance awards in competitions, lavishing praise as a soloist and chamber musician. Chika has performed internationally at major venues, appearing as soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Germany, Italy, China, and Japan.

Chika transcribes and performs works beyond the standard classical repertoire, performing works of violin, clarinet, oboe, flute, voice and piano, expanding the limits of the saxophone technique and artistry.

A native of Osaka, Japan, Chika spent most of her youth in Frankfurt, Germany and San Diego, California.

She is currently on faculty at Los Angeles City College as well as the California State University, Dominguez Hills. 

Chika is endorsed by Vandoren, Selmer, Key Leaves, and LeFreque.

In this interview, we talked about: 

• How to shape your sound to create color/timbre
• Why singing her piano parts helped her overall musicality
• Her #1 tips for saxophone students of all ages
• The difference between projecting your sound for classical performances vs. popular music
• The benefits and problems of having perfect pitch
• Repertoire recommendations
• The benefits of transcribing classical music from other instruments
• And more

“You can do so much with just 1 tone”

Resources mentioned:

Ryō Noda is a Japanese composer and musician who has written several works for classical saxophone.

48 Ferling Etudes – in my Amazon store

LeFreque – sound bridge accessory for brass and woodwinds

Don Trimble –Orange Coast Sax Shop.   Repairs and sound screws

Matt Lee-West Coast Sax – mouthpieces, sound screws and more

Nick Mainella’s new book, 50 Perpetual Motion Exercises

You can read more about Chika on her site here: www.chikainoue.com 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMRd1Hr2I1tooP_2dEHuQLw

Instagram: @ChikaSax

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

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