Jazz-Sax, all things Jazz and Sax
I’m really late in finding out about this, but Bay Area saxophonist William Trimble died on February 22nd after having a heart attack the day before. Bill was the saxophone teacher for the first 3 years of my schooling at Cal State Hayward. Thought I never really got along with him he did enlighten me…
Hal Leonard is selling a CD set of backgrounds to ALL the songs in the Real Book Vol. 1. For about $100, you get 12 CDs of piano, bass and drums background that range in time from about 2 1/2 minutes to 6. Depends on the song. A couple of songs, like Wave, have guitar…
Ok, not sax related, but I thought this was really really well done.
Back in October 2008 I did a post that estimated the cost of getting all the gear to have a recording rig for your big band. Now, lets take a look at if things have changed. The original post I went with an Alesis HD24 which was $1600 then. Its the same price now. For…
The world of programs to slow down songs to figure them out has another member, Capo ($49). Right off the bat, this program has a great interface. Smooth, and Mac. It also has a great vocal remover. And you can export sections of the songs to a file, or if you removed the vocals, you…
Back in August of 2007 and January of 2008, a Big Band that I play in recorded two live performances for a “Demo CD”. Well, in the 2 some years since we made the two recordings, the project has become a full-blown album that is currently playing on Jazz Radio stations and available on the…
Ok, forget that Eigenharp Alpha. What Akai needs to do for the next EWI is something like the Misa Guitar. Engadget describes it as “Essentially a MIDI controller, the Misa guitar has 24 frets and a large multifunctional touchscreen, which you can use to interface with the appropriate software on your pc.” Ok, now someone…
The Apple iPhone/iTouch software market is amazing. Games, tuners (like the great Strobe tuner). Even AutoTune things like I Am T-Pain. Now, there is the Pitch Primer for the platform. It is amazing. Transcription tool? Sure it could be. Amazing practice tool? YES! Amazing idea? YES! It is easiest to see a demo of it….
Kyle Evens made an electronically modified didgeridoo. While I too like my star wars type sounds, or those trippy sounds that you enjoy while fried out of your mind, the other application could be some sort of new effects processing for….oh, I dunno, saxophone or something? Though this thing looks like something out of a…
I’m not really sure what to make of this. The Eigenharp Alpha. “A professional level instrument which allows the musician to play and improvise using a limitless range of sounds with virtuoso skill. The unique design of the keys makes this the most expressive electronic musical instrument ever made. The Alpha can play and record…
I’m not too sure who came up with this at the Woodwind and the Brasswind. But seriously, is this the only way to sell instruments now? You have to give them an iPod or a Dell laptop? Why not just lower the prices? I know the markup on a lot of these, and it is…
Read More “Free Laptop or iPod with an Instrument Purchase? Say What?” »
Greg Fishman has a number of excellent books out. I’ve reviewed and highly recommend his Jazz Etudes Book Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 and his Saxophone Duets book. His latest book is Jazz Phrasing For Beginners, which is aimed at the beginning student. It contains 10 melodic tunes that great examples of idiomatic “classic” jazz…
After YEARS of waiting, and PG Music saying it was coming…it is here. Band in a Box 2009 for Macintosh. I could hardly believe it myself. Yes, the languishing program that was 7 versions behind the Windows version (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2007.5, 2008, 2009) has been brought back to life. I wondered what happened…
There are a lot of cheap student model altos out on the market now. Heck, even Costco sells instruments now. I have a couple of students who have the Costco instruments. They are crap. With a new store in my area that is peddling these Selmer student models for nearly $1600 (a price where you…
Not to be outdone by Sibelius, MakeMusic announced Finale 2010. Actually, lets reword that. Failing to incorporate any of the ideas presented in Sibelius 5, and failing to come up with anything new and interesting, MakeMusic announced Finale 2010. Ok, so, what is new for the $99.95 pre-order price? Not much at all. They finally…