Peter Magadini - Polyrhythms, The Musicians Guide

Ive just got hold of this book and it looks like a great method for studying Polyrhythms. Beginning with 6 against 4 (3 against 2) Magadini demonstrates how the basic pattern is put together both with written examples and a accompanying CD. He then develops this further with exercises that subdivide the top ratio, in this case the 6, into eighths, triplets and sixteenths. By the end of the chapter there are solos and other exercises that allow you to be comfortable with alternating between the different subdivisions. Once this has been completed one follows the same principle with 3 against 4 and 5 against 4. I have only just scratched the surface of this book, but so far it looks like a very good and complete method to studying these rhythms. My only complaint as someone who has difficulty in this area, is that while the method is very easy to understand, implementing it is not! I would have preferred a more gradual approach and a few more intermediate level exercises in the first few chapters, as the book quickly advances to some very challenging exercises. Furthermore the CD for my ear also has examples that are quite difficult to hear without slowing them down. In the end I resorted to programming the rhythms myself in a sequencer in order to really hear them well. Nevertheless, this is a wonderful book, and a must have if you want to improve in this area. You will need plenty of patience and discipline though!

Smooth Jazz Chennai

For a NDTV news clip of the smooth Jazz Christmas show in Chennai click below. Thanks Shyam! It was a great gig.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjw5YO182aE

Invitation - Yes, it's finally done!

Ok, it took a while but it's ready. The new album features Matt Littlewood - Tenor sax and piano. Mishko M'Ba - Bass. Suresh Bascara - Drums and Holger Jetter - Guitar

You can contact me for a copy at saxindia@yahoo.co.in

Cover design by Leonard, Auroville

More polyrhythms

The "Methode de Batterie" series of books by Dante Agostini are well known by drummers as a comprehensive method for the kit. Check out volume IV for a number pages of polyrhythms that can also be used by other musicians. There are two part exercises that can be played between the hands. They start progressively with 16th and 8th notes, and then explore 2 against 3, and 3 against 4. Although I have not reached the end yet, I have found this a very systematic and practical method, which followed step by step helps to learn these rhythms thoroughly.

http://www.danteagostini.com/methodes/volumes.html

Why did I wait so long? - Developing your own Personal Sound

Don't wait as long a I did to read this book! I was aware for a long time of this great book by Dave Liebeman, but never got around to getting a copy. It's a gold mine of very valuable, not to mention absolutely vital information regarding tone production on the saxophone. It is well explained, includes diagrams, and has chapters on breathing, embouchure, articulation, mouthpieces, reeds and much more.

A preview from the publisher can be found here:

http://www.dornpub.com/BooksPDF/liebsnd.pdf

There is also a review on Dave Liebman's site here:

http://upbeat.com/lieb/Publications_Reviews/soundrev.htm

James Carter

I saw this hilarious article on Kelly Bucheger's Jazz pages. Its Kelly's account of the time when James Carter, sixteen and already an amazing tenor player joined the same big band him. This is really a great story and very funny too.

http://www-cs.canisius.edu/~bucheger/JamesCarterRuinedMyLife.html

Sax Embouchure

Ive been working on some changes with my sax embouchure recently, and while doing some research on the net, came across this thread on saxontheweb with pictures of famous players and their embouchures.

http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?t=52352

There are many other articles on this subject, but this one by Pete Thomas was one the most useful I found.

http://www.petethomas.co.uk/saxophone-embouchure.html

Free Stuff!

This link regarding free downloadable books was posted recently by charlie on rec.music.makers.guitar.jazz. There are mainly guitar books here, but it looks like there are interesting articles on jazz usable for other intruments.

http://www.angelfire.com/fl4/moneychords/freebies.html

Sonny Rollins - Weaver of Dreams

Thanks Holger for putting me on to this fantastic Sonny Rollins clip on Youtube. An incredible display of presence and sound with so little fuss! Best for me though are the close ups of his hands and the way they portray such control and confidence over the instrument. A beautiful clip of a great player.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4LBDbcCR-E&mode=related&search=

Saxophone Sound

Sax players are often looking for the perfect embouchure and set up. This article on Stan Getz was posted recently by steevemcbry on the saxontheweb forum:

http://www.du.edu/lamont/Getz.html


Here too is Dave Liebman's interesting article on the search for a perfect mouthpiece:

http://www.upbeat.com/lieb/Feature_Articles/nirvana.htm

Jazz Polyrhythms

This is probably the most useful page I have found on the internet in a while. This article by Ron Jones gives detailed explainations on the most commonly used and essential to learn polyrhythms in Jazz. It's very well explained and comes with pdf examples.

http://www.iaje.org/article.asp?ArticleID=267

Jazz in India - Tour 2007

Here is a clip from a recent concert in Auroville, and part of a jazz tour of India and Myanmar featuring Holger Jetter, Steve Rudolph, Mishko M'Ba and Suresh Bascara.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/492589/jazz_in_india/

The importance of Listening

If you ever doubted the importance of listening in the study of jazz, read this article by Tenor Saxophonist Bob Anram. Its a fascinating insight into the development of ones own creativity in jazz.

http://www.saxontheweb.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=51801

Smooth Jazz in Chennai (December 9th)

For a great evening of smooth Jazz come to the Museum Theatre, Egmore in Chennai. The band features Shyam Benjamin(piano), Deepak Purushottaman (drums), `Darbuka' Siva (percussion), Aalaap Raju (bass), Donan Murray (guitar), Matt (saxophone), Thomas (trumpet) as well as guest performances by Sunitha Sarathy (vocals), Keith Peters (bass), and Augustine Paul and his group (vocals). For more information click below:

http://www.hindu.com/mp/2006/12/04/stories/2006120400110500.htm

Jalshaghar

Jalshaghar is a world music group featuring musicians from Pondicherry and Auroville. For news and demo clips, follow the link below:

http://jalshaghar.blogspot.com/

Greg Fishman - Jazz Studios

Having re-read the interview with Greg Fishman on Sax on the Web, I discovered his site dedicated to the study of Jazz improvisation. Its a very informative site, which contains lots of information including articles, licks and practice tips.

http://www.gregfishmanjazzstudios.com

More Rhythm

Below is the link to an excellent article I found recently on the importance of rhythm by Mel Martin. It covers many important and fundamental concepts, and their relationship to playing jazz. A must read.

http://www.melmartin.com/html_pages/Articles/rhythm.html

Haven't yet had the time to check them all out, but there are many other very good articles on different aspects of jazz playing at the same site.

Remember Shakti

For a good introduction to Indian music from a western perspective, and how it relates to jazz, I can recommend the recent DVD release "The way of Beauty", by the fusion group "Remember Shakti". It features interviews with John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain, as well as recordings from recent concerts and behind the scenes footage.

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=9039

To tap or not to tap

If you ever wondered about whether or not it was correct to tap your foot while playing, read the following thread from sax on the web. Very interesting reading with good arguments both ways.

http://www.saxontheweb.net/vbulletin/archive/index.php/t-21952.html

Rhythm Exercises

If you want to expand your rhythmic vocabulary check out the following link:

http://www.izap.com/~pinnacle/index.html

The site has many good exercises, and includes tips on how to apply them to different instruments.