Saxophone players like myself who cut their teeth on the contemporary jazz and dance music of the 70s and 80s remember what it was like to turn on the radio and hear a sax solo on every other song played. No more my brother. No more. Again? We can only hope. Today, there are two very popular choices for the young saxophonist – traditional or smooth jazz. They can immerse themselves into the traditional followings of Bird, Trane, Cannonball, Dexter, Sonny Rollins or Stitt and their disciples. Otherwise, there are plentiful, commercial opportunities to showcase skills as a contemporary or Smooth Jazz player. Classical saxophonists, on the other hand, are a unique group of musicians who work toward mastery of this instrument in a different manner. Many non-saxophonists consciously or passively exclude the saxophone’s regular presence from the traditional concert halls. Well, maybe that’s a bit strong. This is, after all, 2007. Classical saxophone and the literature available have come a long way. One just can’t find much programming available for it outside of academia.
With fewer choices and outlets for playing the horn these days, I find myself echoing the sentiments of the “older cats” when I was young. They used to say, “There’s not as many clubs to play as there once was and there are fewer bands that use a lot of horns.” That statement I first heard in the 70s was made referring to the big band era and what came thereafter. Now I find myself making the same statement, “There’s not as many clubs to play as there once was and there are fewer bands that use a lot of horns.” The statement rings true but now we are talking about 1 horn instead of 3. In the 70s they were talking about 5 horns instead of a big band – crazy. Maybe it’s just the way you see things as you become older and more established – dunno. I AM turning into my father though!
Last week I got a valuable window into the mindset of some younger saxophonists on the college level. The University of the Arts had me speak and play as a guest lecturer/clinician for the saxophone majors. We talked shop about equipment, the business and finding a voice on the horn. This was accomplished through a focus on style playing. Style playing has been forward in my thoughts lately as the “Styles Masterclass CD will now be released in Saxophone Journal in May/June 07. (yes delayed one more issue) Nonetheless, in talking with students about style, they mentioned favorite players like those mentioned earlier. They included Trane, Cannonball, Stitt, and Dexter as being great stylists. I agreed, but added easily identifiable players such as Gato Barbieri, Clarence Clemons and Junior Walker to the list of “stylists” on the saxophone. Man, the majority of the audience of 20 or so sax majors didn’t even recognize the names. I spoke with Ron Kerber, head of the UArts saxophone Department before, during and after the clinic. He came to the conclusion that the college students enrolled now aspire to be “artists” more so than when we were coming up. That’s not to say we didn’t aspire to be original-minded performers and artists, but we wanted to WORK. We wanted to GIG. We wanted to get paid to PLAY. Ideally, we might become artists with a name and stature but first we wanted to gig. The players coming up now can’t go to the corner bar or local club and see a sax player on stage with a cover band. It barely exists. How can a kid aspire to begin playing in a situation 6 nights a week when that beast is extinct? So, it seems the only direction these young, talented players can look is the saxophone greats or smooth jazz. I suspect more of the students listened to or enjoyed contemporary jazz but it didn’t seem to be “politically correct” to admit it in front of their Bebop-worshiping peers. The end result of the clinic was a great experience for myself. I presume it was an eye opener for these younger players as well. Thanks to Ron Kerber and Marc Dicciani for bringing me in on this one. I hope to do more like this in the near future.
How can I write this entry without mentioning Michael Brecker one more time? I can’t. We all miss him. So many in the saxophone as well as the broader music community grieve the loss of Mike. There are stages of grief no matter what the loss. It could be a loved one, an appendage, a friend – or in this case an inspirational fixture like Mike. I’m feeling the loss along with many, many others. Denial first, then Anger comes. Later can come Depression for some and ultimately for all – Acceptance. In our own way, we will all grieve for some time over this loss. In the meantime, I have been thoroughly enjoying rediscovering Michael Brecker’s recordings at home and video tributes online. We can all find inspiration in this vast body of work he has left behind. Thank you for that Michael Brecker.
Stay well and play well.
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Answer: Why that’s what Rick James said right before the sax solo on Superfreak of course!
