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Hello all of you out there in saxophone cyberspace! This latest installment comes to you as the trees in the Northeast are showing their brightest colors of the season. It is truly a beautiful time of year here in New Jersey and especially in New England where I grew up.

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to be with my family in Massachusetts following the passing of my father. Do not be sad for us. It was a blessing as he had suffered with Alzheimer’s Disease and he is now at peace. It was special being home with my mother, sisters and extended family. It was also special sampling the New England foliage in early October – something I haven’t seen in about 20 years!

Hello all! Skip here with another installment of my blog. This time I’m “on the road again” with much to tell about new saxophone publications, recordings and transcriptions.

My family and I are traveling the Pennsylvania Turnpike, returning from a weekend gig in Pittsburgh. No, a weekend out of town is not officially “on the road” however it does remind me of the incessant days of traveling I did with my first road band several years ago.

This weekend was a blast. On a musical note, the gig was painless and the horn section was tight. Apart from the gig, my family and I sampled the tourist attractions and learned some of the city’s history. Some of the lesser-known facts were about the nearly 100 year old Omni Penn Grand Ballroom where we played. Lawrence Welk’s original “Bubble Machine” was on display and it seems Bing Crosby proposed to his wife there in 1934 as well. Our grandmothers surely would have been impressed! J

Spending 12 hours traveling has given me time catch up and write several reviews for inclusion on SaxShed.com. Greg Fishman has written another outstanding book entitled, Jazz Saxophone Etudes Volume 2. This book follows his two very successful etude and duet books – a “must have” for any saxophone studio.

Springtime is upon us. I do feel a general renewal and regeneration of my spirit as the world around me awakes from the dead of winter. As usual, there are new reviews and transcriptions to view this time around. What is less-than-usual is the number of new submissions for review and artists worthy of a closer look. Many of you should be pleased with the addition of 10 new transcription samples and 2 complete transcriptions. Lastly, there are new Tools in the Shed, most importantly some warm ups for clarinet and flute provided by Sal Lozano.

Many of you know Sal Lozano and his contribution to the L.A. recording scene. He currently can be seen playing tenor on the hit show Dancing With The Stars. Last year I interviewed Sal for Saxophone Journal and that article is published in the May/June 2008 issue. Click here for ordering info: https://www.dornpub.com/saxjsub2.html

Eric Daniels, Jenny Hill and Liquid Horn, Bruce Mishkitz as well as Sam Newsome have all shared their newest releases relating to the saxophone. It is inspiring to continually see and hear the seemingly endless contributions to the world of saxophone. The new reviews on SaxShed.com will hopefully help many of these artists receive further recognition they so deserve.

It seems too much time passes for all of us between these blogs. Although I set out to write a new blog only weeks or a month apart, time permits only one per season as of late. Late Summer and mid Fall marked the last two entries to my blog and this one comes on the heels of Winter.

As usual, much has transpired in the past couple months. There are new reviews of the DiBlasio/Betz Project, Tipbook for Saxophone and Marsha Heydt’s inaugural Cd release. On a more personal note, it has been a pleasure to find myself in the studio more than usual. There’s lots to tell so read on…

I do spend a considerable amount of time in The SaxShed Studio playing and recording my own stuff throughout the year. Those familiar with Saxophone Journal or this blog are well aware of my contributions to the magazine. The March/April 2008 issue of SJ features my 5th effort, which is a masterclass Cd on contemporary jazz saxophone playing. Four of my own tunes are featured and offered for play-along.

Prior to the holidays I found myself recording for three local projects featuring some of the best talents of Atlantic City and Philadelphia. Billy Ruth, a Philadelphia legend in his own right, has finally recorded his own Cd. Secondly; The Ed Vezinho/Jim Ward Big Band has recorded their 3rd big band Cd entitled With Friends Like These. Lastly, Mitch Rosenberg has been working on his first release Songs for the Heart. Mitch is a local cardiologist with a passion for jazz and it was a pleasure to be involved with this grass roots project as well.