Jazz recital videos, August 2017

This year I played all jazz at my Delta State University faculty recital. Program and some selected videos are below.

I’m very much a part-time jazz player, so it was fun to spend the summer trying to get my chops in shape to play tunes in a variety of styles on a variety of instruments. This was my new record for number of instruments on a recital: flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon (electric bassoon), soprano/alto/tenor saxophones, and EWI, 9 in all. I’ve written previously about the challenges of improvising on multiple instruments, which I suspect might be surprising to non-doublers or non-improvisers.

An additional challenge is that I live in a small town in an isolated area, so I had to bring in some rhythm section players from out of town and rehearsal time was extremely limited. Enjoy the videos warts and all.

I have previously done some things with bassoon and electronics, but I took that to a new level this time around with a Little Jake pickup and a few new effects pedals. This was lots of fun and I’m already brainstorming how I can use the Little Jake with some other instruments.

The pedalboard setup I used for electric bassoon and EWI

Program

 

Naming the low E-flat (contrabass? contra-alto?) clarinet

Every so often I hear from people about what I call the E-flat contrabass clarinet (or “contrabass clarinet in E-flat”), such as in my woodwind doubling in musicals list or in my woodwind methods book. Some prefer the term “contra-alto” or even “contralto,” but I find “contrabass” to be the most accurate and useful description … Read more

Favorite blog posts, August 2017

Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, August 2017 edition.

Favorite blog posts, July 2017

Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, July 2017 edition.

Favorite blog posts, June 2017

Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, June 2017 edition.

Favorite blog posts, May 2017

Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, May 2017 edition.

Favorite blog posts, April 2017

Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, April 2017 edition.

Favorite blog posts, February 2017

Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, March 2017 edition.

Review: “So You Want to Play in Shows…?” by Paul Saunders

I got a review copy of So You Want to Play in Shows…?, a new woodwind doubling etude book. The author, Paul Saunders, is a woodwind player in London’s West End. The book includes seven studies for doubler playing flute, clarinet, and alto saxophone. It also includes a piano accompaniment book, with piano part recordings available … Read more

Favorite blog posts, January 2017

Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, January 2017 edition.