From the category archives:

Jazz Saxophone

Working With Antoinette Perry & Don Menza

by Rachel on February 28, 2010

Being a teenage musician in a place like Los Angeles has got its perks. I’ve got access to the Hollywood Bowl, the Baked Potato, the Monterey Jazz Festival, and the California Institute of the Arts — not to mention access to thousands of musicians associated with LA-based music organizations. Nevertheless, it’s still exciting to meet [...]

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‘Trane

by Rachel on August 24, 2009

So now that we’ve talked about Miles Davis and Red Garland, let’s move on to the next member of the Miles Davis Quintet: John Coltrane.
Like Miles Davis, one of Coltrane’s biggest influences was Charlie Parker (he says the first time he heard him play “hit [him] right between the eyes”). Coltrane’s career pretty much began [...]

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Sonny Rollins

by Rachel on July 20, 2009

I was first introduced to Sonny Rollins through the Community Arts Program (CAP) at CalArts (which I’m so incredibly lucky to have nearby). I was just learning my blues scales then; with a group of about 5 or 6 musicians, we learned the Rollins tune, “Tenor Madness.” It’s a pretty catchy piece in the Bb [...]

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Goose, geese. Moose…meese?

by Rachel on July 8, 2009

Who is Charlie Parker?
Charlie Parker is bebop. Charlie Parker is saxophone. Charlie Parker is notes everywhere; scales up and down, arpeggios right and left. And Charlie Parker is never, ever ending. Ever. The notes just don’t stop. But you don’t want them to, either.
Charlie’s standards: 1…Billie’s Bounce. 2…Anthropology. 3…Ornithology. 4…Confirmation.
Ever heard the tune Birdland? By [...]

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