Tenor saxophone

And All That Jazz When someone mentions the word jazz most people probably picture something along the lines of a saxophone player standing on a street corner in the French quarter of New Orleans. Or a thought of the roaring 20s' and imagine your self at a party where everyone is dancing to the sound of a live band with trumpets, saxophones, and trombones. However these are actually surprisingly accurate to what jazz really is. But how did such an innovative type of music come about? Who was…

played the alto saxophone. Unlike my bandmates, I did not know how to read music then. I played by ear, and whatever scale, jazz run, or chromatic I heard, I could play it back just like that. I played at numerous of black history programs and different events at school. My favorite saxophonist was Kenneth Williams, and I told myself that I want to play with him. Who knew that my dream would come true. As I pushed through the metal doors of Greenville High School carrying my saxophone in my…

music is written by putting the expression on the paper, rather than leaving it up for interpretation. Miller also changed the way Jazz music is written by changing the set-up of the orchestra. He changed it so the clarinets would have the melody, saxophones had the harmony, and then the brass was added for countermelodies. He also inspired many musicians by his drive for his desires and will never allow “no” for an answer. Glenn Miller lived an interesting life, was different from the other…

I began playing the alto saxophone when I was in fifth grade. I was barely big enough to be able to play it, but my elementary school music teacher encouraged me to play the instrument that I wanted to play rather than what would have better suited my current size. I have learned several other instruments since first picking up a saxophone, but I have never been as inspired to further my progression with them like I have with saxophone. I have enjoyed playing in different bands, settings and…

The album Time Out was recorded in 1959 by The Dave Brubeck Quartet. The quartet featured Dave Brubeck on piano, Paul Desmond on alto saxophone, Eugene Wright on bass, and Joe Morello on drums. Dave Brubeck was not known for his outstanding musicianship like that of Paul Desmond, Brubeck was well known as a composer and bandleader. Paul Desmond was the best musician in The Dave Brubeck Quartet and he brought his soft, melodic, and imaginative style to the band. Desmond was one of the best known…

What would you do if you were in a band with your friends, but you wanted to join the town jazz band? Mel wants to do exactly that, but he also wants to stay loyal to his friends. They are all in a garage band, and Mel thinks he is getting pretty good. Because of this he wants to join the all-city jazz band. He feels like he would be even better if he joined them. I think that Mel should join the jazz band. If he joins the band he will learn to play even better than he already does. He can…

Jazz Concert Report The performance I had attended for this report was the Winter Jazz Concert. At the concert they played six musical selections, five of which were original compositions, making them far more difficult. In this report, I will be discussing the pieces I heard that night at the performance. As a side note, though I have gone to the concert, my memories of every detail in the pieces are a bit hazy since I was not able to recored the performance. For this reason I will be using…

On October 16, 2015, I attended a concert called An American in Paris. The orchestra contained woodwinds, strings, percussion, and brass instruments. The concert began at 10:30 am and ended around 12:30 pm. Furthermore, it was located at Powell Symphony Hall. At this concert, I listened to professional musicians perform music that was composed by Bernstein, Copland, and Gershwin. Three Dance episodes from On the Town, Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront, Piano Concerto, and An American in…

Texas State Jazz Ensemble: Special Guess Steve Houghton- Music Critique The Texas State Jazz ensemble, with special guest drummer Steve Houghton, was filled with an uplifting set list. A mixture of trumpets, drums, piano, saxophones, bass, guitar, and trombones played harmoniously with distinct soloist for each song. The Texas State Jazz ensemble did a wonderful job, especially their solo performers. Steve Houghton was also quite fantastic, living up to his name. The overall experience was very…

bassist to put down his upright and pick up an electric bass. The pianist switched to keyboard where we saw the jazz organ played. The tone was different and seemed to fit in well with the way the chart was played. The piece had a few soloists, the tenor player had a lot of emotion expressed which played off the rhythm section blending together. The trombone player was bright in his tone, worked the horn from the high register and down to the lower registered and had a good drive. The guitarist…