Everything Saxophone Podcast Host, Donna Schwartz, spoke with Reggie Padilla, Saxophonist and Author, about how being versatile created amazing opportunities.
Photo credit: Jackson Eddy
Donna sits down with the incredibly versatile saxophonist Reggie Padilla to dive deep into his musical path — from surfing with a sax to creating his EP First Light, his etude book Reflecting Changes, and how he built his home studio setup.
Born and raised in Long Island, New York, Reginald Padilla’s musical journey began early. He started playing piano at just seven years old, and by the age of nine, he had already added saxophone to his growing list of talents.
Reggie went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Classical Piano Performance from Long Island University at C.W. Post, followed by a Master’s Degree in Music Education from New York University. His classical foundation would later blend seamlessly with his passion for jazz, improvisation, and teaching.
Throughout his career, Reggie has had the privilege of studying with and participating in masterclasses led by some of the most respected names in music. His mentors include Lew Soloff, Phil Woods, Jim Snidero, Doc Severinsen, Marcus Roberts, Billy Taylor, Pete Malinverni, Bob Albanese, Don Friedman, and Martin Wind — each contributing to the rich and diverse palette of his musical voice.
In 2007, Reggie made the life-changing move to Honolulu, Hawaii. Since then, he has continued to perform and record internationally, showcasing his talents on both tenor saxophone and piano. In addition to his busy performance schedule, he runs a thriving private lesson studio, where he teaches saxophone, piano, classical and jazz theory, as well as improvisation.
As a recording artist, Reggie has released three albums as a leader and most recently an EP titled First Light — a deeply personal and musically rich project that highlights his unique voice and improvisational mastery.
Reggie is also a published author of two outstanding jazz improvisation books:
🎵 Reflecting Changes – A collection of 10 etudes based on popular jazz standards, designed to explore different ways of navigating chord changes. The book is packed with bebop vocabulary and includes a PDF, mp3s, and play-along videos.
🎵 Beats and Bop – A modern approach to bebop, this book integrates bebop language into contemporary grooves and musical styles through a series of fun, challenging etudes.
Whether he’s performing on stage, teaching one-on-one, or creating educational resources for fellow musicians, Reginald Padilla continues to inspire the saxophone and jazz community through his dedication, creativity, and love for the music.
Watch the full episode here:
Catch the key moments here:
- Musical beginnings
- What made him focus on playing saxophone
- Moving to Hawaii – better weather and more gig opportunities for him
- His home recording set-up
- Arrangement for his work for hire projects
- His EP ‘First Light’ and how he made it
- Etude book ‘Reflecting Changes’
- How he make use of Switcher Studio during the pandemic
- What convinced him to get P Mauriat saxophone
- His mouthpiece
- Reggie’s clear vibrato saxophone
- How he made playing sax while surfing possible
Reggie Padilla’s Links:
- Reggie Padilla’s Website, where you can buy his 2 etude books:
- Reggie’s Instagram: @ReggieSurfSax
- Reggie’s Facebook
- Reggie’s YouTube Channel
- Video of Reggie Surfing with his Vibrato Sax
- P. Mauriat Saxophones
P. Mauriat is a proud sponsor of the Everything Saxophone Podcast. P. Mauriat saxophones are handmade start to finish in Taiwan by skilled artisans and their families. Each P. Mauriat saxophone features a hand hammered bell; hand-hammering creates a durable alloy that is both aesthetically and sonically beautiful.
P. Mauriat is the only saxophone manufacturer in the world that manufactures a true, full line saxophone choir: sopranino, soprano saxes with two necks or unibody construction, a curved soprano, alto and tenor saxophones with traditional French bores and drawn tone holes or alto and tenor saxophones with rolled tone holes and Germanic style bores, a tenor sax without a high F# key, Low A AND Low Bb baritone saxes, a professional bass saxophone, and entry level, intermediate, and pro lines all voiced SATB.
P. Mauriat also makes entry level, intermediate, and professional clarinets, intermediate and professional flutes, and entry level through pre-professional trumpets. P. Mauriat is also fully product-supported, with an actual human being brand manager and an ever-growing parts pipeline.
Check out the new P. Mauriat Venus Alto and Tenor saxophones, made of a 95% copper alloy with silver key work and Black Pearl key touches. Great artists such as Kirk Whalum, Derek Brown, Roxy Coss, Adam Larson, Jason Marshall, Khari Allen Lee, Laura Dreyer, Dan White, and Terell Stafford have trusted their sound to P. Mauriat Musical Instruments.
Whether you’re a beginning musician, an advancing student, or a working professional, P. Mauriat has an instrument that will fit both your musical tastes and your budget. See your local dealer for details!
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