Pauline Eveno is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Shape Your Own Sound mouthpiece company based out of Paris. We caught up with Pauline to talk about her studies in acoustics and how she came to find herself making mouthpieces for saxophone players all over the world. SYOS has been working closely with some of the top players around the globe to figure out what makes a great mouthpiece. With their 3D printing technology, they can tailor a mouthpiece to any preference. Pauline goes into great detail about the process and what she has learned through her time at the helm of this company.

In this episode:

• Why Pauline chose to study acoustics and what goes into designing a mouthpiece.
• How SYOS was born and has continued to grow.
• Working closely with the artists to make the best mouthpiece possible.
• The design process of a 3D printed mouthpiece.
• The difference in material between hard rubber, metal, and ABS plastic.
• New and inventive design elements of SYOS mouthpieces.

Visit the SYOS Website to learn more!

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Mobile since her birth in Singapore, composer, and saxophonist Caroline Davis lives in Brooklyn, New York. Her debut album, Live Work & Play, was featured on All About Jazz’s best releases, and she was named one of JazzTimes’ Best New Artists in 2012. Her second album, Doors: Chicago Storylines, is an audio documentary that uniquely sets stories from Chicago’s jazz scene from the 80s and 90s alongside her original music. In 2018, she won the Downbeat Critic’s Poll “rising star” in the alto saxophone category. Caroline’s third album, Heart Tonic, was released on Sunnyside Records to much acclaim in NPR, the New York Times, and DownBeat. Davis’ self-titled Alula, featuring Matt Mitchell and Greg Saunier, was released on New Amsterdam Records in May of 2019.

She has shared musical moments with a diverse group of musicians, from jazz to improvised and composed music, recently including Lee Konitz, Angelica Sanchez, Matt Mitchell, Miles Okazaki, Matt Wilson, and Billy Kaye. Her regular collaborations include Maitri and Persona (with Rob Clearfield). In March of 2019, she was a composer-in-residence at the esteemed MacDowell Colony, and was awarded the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship for her work for 2019-20.

As an educator, Caroline brings her unique knowledge of music and psychology to her teaching, as she acquired a Ph.D. in Music Cognition at Northwestern University in 2010. She has been on the faculty at Litchfield Jazz Camp for the past 10 years, Stanford Jazz Institute for the past 3 years, and has been a guest educator at Northwestern University, University of Colorado at Boulder, St. Xavier University, Columbia College, DePaul University, University of Texas at Arlington, Loyola University, Texas Tech, New Trier High School, Evanston Township High School, Denver School of the Arts, Newman Smith High School, and Jazz at Lincoln Center. She has also participated in several jazz mentorship programs, including IAJE’s Sisters in Jazz and the Kennedy Center’s Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program.

In this episode, we talked about:

• How always being mobile has influenced her saxophone playing and composing
• The influence of some of her mentors on her playing, Jimmy Greene and Teddy Edwards
• How she got started with teaching at summer jazz camps
• She details her practice regimen, including her unique approach to scale and long tone practice
• and much more

Here’s where you can find Caroline online:

Website: http://www.carolinedavis.org/

Purchase CD’s: https://carolinedavismusic.bandcamp.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/carolinedavismusic

Instagram: www.instagram.com/carolinedavismusic

Twitter: https://twitter.com/caroenildavis

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Ted Nash is a multi Grammy winning woodwind artist that has one of the most impressive resumes you could imagine. This week, we had the good fortune of catching up with Ted to talk about many things that go into his storied career. Growing up in Los Angeles, Ted’s father and uncle were both in demand studio musicians and Ted took to music at a young age. After landing gigs with Lionel Hampton, Quincy Jones, and Louis Bellson, Nash was off to New York where he would become a fixture on the scene. These days, Nash is the lead alto player in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as well as leading many groups under his own name and continuing his prolific output of recorded material.

In this episode:

• What it was like to grow up surrounded by professional musicians at the top of their game.
• Ted’s move to New York and how long it took him to break into the scene.
• Becoming a member of one of the most visible jazz ensembles in the world: Jazz at Lincoln Center
• Ted’s choice of horns and why he prefers the lesser known instruments.
• An approach to doubling that will ensure that all instruments come to be known as your friends.

Visit Ted’s Website!

Follow Ted on Instagram!

Visit the Everything Saxophone Patreon page to make sure that this show keeps coming to you each and every week in high quality. Thanks for your consideration!

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Originally from Houston, Texas, Jason Whitmore is proud to call San Diego his home. A graduate from the University of Houston with a degree in Saxophone Performance, Jason holds a deep appreciation for live performance spanning all genres of music. Jason has worked as full-time musician, touring and playing saxophone all over North America. Since the early 2000′s, he has been exploring his love for electronic dance music by performing with top DJ’s from all over the country. Whether he’s in the recording studio, dance club or on music festival he always brings a unique live element to his music that people are attracted to.

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This week’s episode is one that will open some doors for you. Ben Britton is an important Educator and saxophonist that is going to enlighten you on sound production and overtones. Ben is the author of two fantastic volumes on these two subjects called A Complete Approach to Sound and A Complete Approach to Overtones. These books have been pivotal in the development of myself and so many of my students. We caught up with Ben to talk about many of the concepts in these books as well as his life and journey as a musician and educator. This one is so PACKED with actionable information and will make you want to double down on your sound production and flexibility goals.

In this episode:

• How Ben came up in music and what brought him to where he is today.
• Why hearing himself on recording sparked his ambition to write his two books.
• What Chris Potter taught him about sound.
• How to approach embouchure.
• The physics of producing good tone.
• The role of reeds in sound production.

Visit Ben’s Website to purchase his fantastic books!

Connect With Ben on FB!

Dr. Mark Watkins Book on Sound

Please Visit Our Patreon Page and consider making a donation to keep the Everything Saxophone Podcast coming to you in high quality every week!

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This week features an amazing saxophonist, composer, educator, and woodwind artist, Geof Bradfield. Geof is an important voice on the Chicago scene where he also teaches at Northern Illinois University. Bradfield hails from Houston and attended the famous High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Since then, Bradfield has called many places home including Washington and New York.

Geof has had the pleasure of sharing the stage and studio with such amazing players as Randy Weston, Carl Allen, Brian Blade, Rodney Whitaker, Etienne Charles, Joe Locke, and Orrin Evans. He also performs and records regularly with fellow Chicago artists including Dana Hall, Clark Sommers, Jeff Parker, Matt Ulery, Marquis Hill, and Ryan Cohan, to name a few. His latest record, Yes and, ….Music For Nine Improvisors is a masterpiece of improvisation, composition, and orchestration.

In this episode we talked many things saxophone and beyond:

• How Geof started playing the saxophone and what his childhood in the Houston area meant to his development.
• Why he calls Chicago home and what the scene there means to him.
• How Geof developed his voice on the other woodwind instruments and keeps improving all the time.
• The inspiration for his latest record and why he chose the players he did.
• How he keeps his students motivated and working together.
• Geof answers our five questions with ease!

Visit Jeff’s website for more information and buy his records!

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Louis Van Taylor has performed with Ray Charles, The Gap Band, Michael Bolton, Stevie Wonder Sheila E., Billy Vera and many more, but he is best known for performing with Kool and the Gang.

Louis was born in Salt Lake City Utah and later moved to Los Angeles CA, where he attended Foshay Jr. High, then  later moved to Pasadena and was a graduate of Pasadena High School. 

Louis has always been one of the top horn live and session players in the business along with leading his own formidable “Louis Taylor Quartet: Hornlicious” featuring Louis Van Taylor and Bijon Watson, Louis Van Taylor Quintet.

You can see all of his work and credits here:

Recording for:   Mariah Carey, Kool and the Gang, Tremaine Hawkins, The Temptations, Mary J. Blige, Eric Benet, Amanda Marshall, Maxine Weldon, Gerald Wilson, Carl Anderson, Norman Conners, Stix Hooper, Wayne Henderson, Big Mountain, UnWrapped Vols 1-3 5, Kevin Toney, Jeff Golub, Ray Charles, Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd St. Band, Ike Turner, The Cheathams, Teena Marie, Smokey Robinson

Performances with:  Cameo, Kool and the Gang, Bernard Ighner, Carl Thomas, Freida Payne, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Patrice Rushen, Johnny Otis, Jimmy Witherspoon, Jimmy Smith, Marc Antoine, Micheal Bolton, Billy Vera Big Band, Norman Conners,Teena Marie, The Gap Band, Frank Sinatra Jr., Dave Stewart, Ray Charles, The Cheathams, Les McCann, Kool and the Gang,Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd St. Band, Carl Anderson, Oba Babatunde, Della Reese, 

Movie/TV credits: Soul Men, Hurricane, Touch by an Angel, What’s Love Got to Do With It, Man in the Moon, Nutty Professor, The Charle Parker Story, Life, Murder She Wrote, Night Court, Seinfeld, Friday, The Temptation Story, Star Trek Next Generation, Lemonade/Beyonce

Commercial credits:  the Gap, American Express, Honda Ridgeline, Wild Turkey 2016, Microsoft A-I Common/Carlsberg

Educational activities:  USC School of Music Jazz Studies Adjunct Lecturer 1987-1996
                                                  Theater of the Heart Youth First jazz artist in-residence Centennial High School 2015-2018  

In this episode, we talked about:

• His tips for traveling with your horn
• Improvisation advice and how he taught his students at USC
• Differences between creating solos for various genres
• and more

Louis is endorsed by D’Addario and Trevor James Saxophones.

You can find Louis on FaceBook HERE.

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This week is a rebroadcast of an interview Nick did a couple of years ago with the great, Donald Harrison. Please enjoy and let us know what you think!

Donald Harrison isn’t a new name to most jazz fans and this interview is an enlightening look into the life of a legendary jazz musician. We catch up with Donald to talk about his roots in New Orleans, what he’s practicing these days, NOLA jazz fest and what “Nouveau Swing,” means to him. 

Over three decades playing as a professional artist has placed Harrison on stage and on recordings with some of the most influential artists of the 21st century.  He has performed and recorded with an illustrious list of distinguished musicians in Jazz, R & B, Funk, Classical and other music genres. Art Blakey, Roy Haynes, The Cookers, McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis, Lena Horne, Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Eddie Palmieri, Jennifer Holiday, Dr. John, Guru’s Jazzmatazz, McCoy Tyner, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Digable Planets, Notorious BIG, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra and The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra are just a few of the artists and ensembles he has performed with.

Donald was truly a joy to get to speak with and we want to thank him for his time and gracing us with his presence. Enjoy the episode!

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Perhaps best known as the saxophonist behind the iconic solo from Whitney Houston’s, I Will Always Love You, Kirk Whalum’s passionate playing has been moving audiences all over the world.

Shaped by his Memphis Gospel roots, he shaped his tone through work in the Houston nightclubs in the early 80’s. He initially became known as a sideman and session player with such artists as Barbra Streisand, Al Jarreau, Luther Vandross, Larry Carlton, Quincy Jones, and others. He formed his own band in the 1980’s and has won many awards, including a Grammy in 2011.

Inspired by his faith, Kirk became an ordained minister and earned a Masters of Art in Religion. He serves his community in many ways, including his daily podcast, BIYE (Bible In Your Ear).

In addition to his 25 solo recordings, he is also a part of the popular soul/jazz group, BWB: Rick Braun, Kirk Whalum and Norman Brown.

We talked about:

• Kirk’s thoughts on notoriety
• How his faith plays a part in his career
• How to play soulfully
• The big lessons learned working for Whitney Houston that can help you as a side person
• His current set up, and why he changed it a year ago
• What Kirk recommends every saxophone player work on

You can follow Kirk here:

Website: https://www.kirkwhalum.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kirkwhalum

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

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

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