Los Angeles-based saxophonist Bob Reynolds is a Grammy-winning member of the instrumental group Snarky Puppy, an award-winning composer, and a prolific recording artist with 10 top-selling solo albums to his credit.
Widely known for his work with both Snarky and John Mayer, he’s been a featured soloist with Grammy-winning instrumentalists like Larry Carlton, Chris Botti, and Jeff Lorber and worked with a host of pop artists including Michael Bublé, Idina Menzel, Josh Groban, The 1975, and USHER.
The New York Times called him “a self-assured saxophonist and an unassuming yet effective composer,” and his solo albums showcase his melodic improvisational style, tuneful songwriting, and, as the LA Times put it: “hip-swiveling” grooves. His Guitar Band album, filmed live in concert, has over 4 million views on YouTube.
A pioneer in online education, Bob has coached thousands of musicians since 2010 through his innovative Virtual Studio, and more than 76,000 people subscribe to Bob’s YouTube channel where he shares behind-the-scenes videos of what it’s like balancing his music career with raising a family.
In this episode we talked about:
- Biggest influences when it comes to playing, composing, and improvisation
- What does jazz really mean?
- The importance of learning jazz when it comes to improvisation
- Why you should learn and play rhythm section instruments
- His first tool for composing
- The under $100 tool he can’t live without
Links:
Website: bobreynoldsmusic.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bobreynoldsmusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bob_reynolds/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/bobreynolds
Bob’s Virtual Studio: www.bobsvirtualstudio.com
You can watch the video of this interview (& Subscribe to our channel!) HERE
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Bob Reynolds has been my initial inspiration, and it’s so good to hear him share his experiences and outlook. He is a very fine human being and an example of living a balanced life, not to mention a great Sax player and teacher.
He certainly is, Joel! Thanks for your comment 🙂
Great interview. Discovered this thanks to Bob Reynolds’ mailing list. What a resource of stuff to check out!
Glad you found us, and enjoy the other 100+ episodes, Michael! Please Share with your friends 🙂
There is no doubt he is a great musician. And, what I know about music compared to what he knows will fit on the corner of a head of a pin. It was an interesting discussion about what jazz is. I agree with much of what he said especially about jazz festivals and how headliners are often pop artists or not even close to jazz; However, at times during this interview, I felt a sense of snobbery and arrogance. And did he really say something like “I would take people down to see, uh, young females, like people had no exposure to jazz….” So why did that young female comment need to be made at all? I hope it wasn’t intentional, but it was borderline insulting the way that came out. Everyone has their opinions, I guess, but that didn’t escape my ears. I love all of these podcast interviews, especially the ones with female guests and would encourage we hear even more of those (kudos to you Donna for featuring so many already….).
Thanks for your honest comment, Laura. I don’t think that comment was intentional, but I am truly sorry that it made you feel that way.
The great thing is that you are finding the nuggets f gold for you in each episode.
I appreciate all your incredible support 🙂