Tengu01
07-13-2008, 12:28 PM
Hi SOTWers,
I was in Montreux in Switzerland yesterday for the jazz festival and had the good fortune to see a David Sanborn workshop. Apologies for the long post but there was a lot of good stuff said.
Topic 1: Introduction & Preparations
He started off talking about his particular neuroses with reeds. He admitted to not being a "slap-'em-on-outta-the-box-and-play" guy. He soaks his reeds for about 2 hours, puts them in a jar with a little water to retain humidity and then lets them 'cure' so to speak. He cleans them frequently to prevent them from "growing potatoes" as he put it, plays them and grades them in order of preference from one to ten. When he’s on the road, he can knows the best reeds to play, saving time. He then produced the jar which contained his “reeds du jour”. Everyone was most amused. By way of contrast, he recounted an occasion where he was playing with Bob Berg who, while on stage, was able to, during a non-sax part of a tune, open up a box of reeds, stick one on to his mouthpiece and right on cue with the music, jump straight in.
Topic 2: Influences & History
He identified a number of artists as inspiring him to play the particularly bluesy style for which he is known. In particular, he name-checked Hank Crawford, David “Fathead” Newman and Phil Woods. As a youth he was inspired to play by Hank Crawford play “What will I tell my heart?”. The key point was of space. The space you leave is just as important as where you play. He then proceeded to play a version of the tune and demonstrated why, as Skip Sprat (saxshed.com) put it, “space is the place”. It was a good demonstration of how leaving space in the tune and in your solo can add to the music.
Topic 3: Equipment
Selmer Mk 6 1965 or 1966 was his “preferred vintage”: Something to do with how the horn resonates under his fingers. He stated that the whole horn has to vibrate so he can feel it under his fingers. He wasn’t fan of complete overhauls for his horn, just one thing at a time so he can pinpoint the effect of any one change. He referred to his horn as sometimes being a “pain in the a**” because it is old and requires some looking after.
Dukoff Silverite Mouthpieces: He has used them for many years but is looking for a reasonable alternative as he seems to bite through them on a regular basis, something to do with the softness of the “silverite” with which they’re made. He joked about how he seems to go through one every two years or so – “either the material is getting softer or I’m just more tense than I used to be”.
Reeds: Vandoren V16 2.5s
Topic 4: Physical Limitations
David spoke of the limits on his playing ability, also having physical causes. As a child he suffered from polio and now suffers from post-polio syndrome, where his playing ability and the relevant motor skills can vary from day to day. I had no idea of this which increased my respect for him all the more. Also, he noted that he had less dexterity in his left hand. They way he stands and plays: He demonstrated the way he played, slightly leaned off to the side and with a wry smile noted “it looks cool, doesn’t it?” But then he pointed out that he couldn’t lift his left arm above a certain point, so he leans a little to make up for that. He put his mouthpiece in at a somewhat upward angle, like a clarinet player and angled his neck to ensure that his throat was as open as possible to allow maximum vibrancy, airflow and not to constrict the airflow. He was also very clear that that this is what worked FOR HIM, not as a guide to the “right” way.
Topic 5: Jamming with other musicians:
Travelling on the road, he didn’t get to jam all that much. Musicians he has played a lot with quite often – the two I remember were Pat Metheny (who lives in close proximity, so can just play around with stuff with Pat) and Christian McBride (unfortunately I’ve forgotten the others he mentioned. I was busy being awestruck)
Topic 6: New Saxophones
It’s all about the sound he has in his head therefore what he has at the moment works well for him. There are many good modern saxophones, but he noted something which I think is worth emphasising. “It’s also a question of what you’re used to and the sound you hear in your head” therefore maybe the new saxophones will play the way he likes after they’ve been played for 30 years.
Topic 7: Advice to new musicians:
“DON’T DO IT” He joked. His answer, in short was that he wasn’t able to answer that question because the music world has changed dramatically since he started. He wouldn’t know what the pressures facing new musicians now are. He laid the roots of his success down to being very lucky, being in the right place at the right time and loving music. If one wanted to be a professional musician, the person had better love the music, as it would need to sustain him or her through the good times and the bad times.
Topic 7: Practice routines & important skills:
Determined by the reeds he is experimenting on, things which prove difficult to him at the moment e.g. dexterity things for his left hand. He practices some patterns to increase finger dexterity and to help get him out of some musical tricky corners but not too many as he is wary of his playing becoming a collection of licks and tricks. Most importantly though: LONG TONES. These are vital. They help with the focusing the breathing and mentally preparing. He conceptualised the horn’s sound as a pebble thrown into water – the fundamental is the point where the pebble goes in. The overtones can be seen as the ripples which expand outwards from that point.
Topic 8: What creates the magic when playing with other musicians?
He didn’t hesitate in the slightest in answering this one. LISTENING. Suppressing your ego in service to service the music rather than your own need to be heard all the time. The best musicians do this well. Listen to the others musicians with whom you are playing so that the whole becomes more than the sum of its parts.
Topic 9:What do you think of the new reference saxophones?
“The politically correct answer is that they’re great”. His wry grin said it all and the audience laughed heartily.
Topic 10: Developing a Musical Personality
Copying your idols and learning to play like someone is good, but you need to go beyond that and find your own musical personality. As an example he pointed out that places like the famous Berkeley churn out load of tenor players who can play Giant Steps wonderfully, but who stop there. Being able to play Giant Steps should not be the destination unto itself. It should be a means to an end. A great saxophone player (Coltrane) already played it wonderfully, so use it as a means of getting somewhere but it is important to move beyond copying your idols to a musical personality of your own.
Conclusion
David Sanborn is a very honest and humble man with a wry sense of humour and is not above laughing at himself. He gave me an autograph, a handshake and allowed me to have a picture taken with him. A great experience of a man who’s plied his trade around the world for a long time. Any misconceptions are mine, as it was a long night afterwards and I am trying to get this all down before it fades from memory as Sunday intrudes upon my memories of Saturday.
I was in Montreux in Switzerland yesterday for the jazz festival and had the good fortune to see a David Sanborn workshop. Apologies for the long post but there was a lot of good stuff said.
Topic 1: Introduction & Preparations
He started off talking about his particular neuroses with reeds. He admitted to not being a "slap-'em-on-outta-the-box-and-play" guy. He soaks his reeds for about 2 hours, puts them in a jar with a little water to retain humidity and then lets them 'cure' so to speak. He cleans them frequently to prevent them from "growing potatoes" as he put it, plays them and grades them in order of preference from one to ten. When he’s on the road, he can knows the best reeds to play, saving time. He then produced the jar which contained his “reeds du jour”. Everyone was most amused. By way of contrast, he recounted an occasion where he was playing with Bob Berg who, while on stage, was able to, during a non-sax part of a tune, open up a box of reeds, stick one on to his mouthpiece and right on cue with the music, jump straight in.
Topic 2: Influences & History
He identified a number of artists as inspiring him to play the particularly bluesy style for which he is known. In particular, he name-checked Hank Crawford, David “Fathead” Newman and Phil Woods. As a youth he was inspired to play by Hank Crawford play “What will I tell my heart?”. The key point was of space. The space you leave is just as important as where you play. He then proceeded to play a version of the tune and demonstrated why, as Skip Sprat (saxshed.com) put it, “space is the place”. It was a good demonstration of how leaving space in the tune and in your solo can add to the music.
Topic 3: Equipment
Selmer Mk 6 1965 or 1966 was his “preferred vintage”: Something to do with how the horn resonates under his fingers. He stated that the whole horn has to vibrate so he can feel it under his fingers. He wasn’t fan of complete overhauls for his horn, just one thing at a time so he can pinpoint the effect of any one change. He referred to his horn as sometimes being a “pain in the a**” because it is old and requires some looking after.
Dukoff Silverite Mouthpieces: He has used them for many years but is looking for a reasonable alternative as he seems to bite through them on a regular basis, something to do with the softness of the “silverite” with which they’re made. He joked about how he seems to go through one every two years or so – “either the material is getting softer or I’m just more tense than I used to be”.
Reeds: Vandoren V16 2.5s
Topic 4: Physical Limitations
David spoke of the limits on his playing ability, also having physical causes. As a child he suffered from polio and now suffers from post-polio syndrome, where his playing ability and the relevant motor skills can vary from day to day. I had no idea of this which increased my respect for him all the more. Also, he noted that he had less dexterity in his left hand. They way he stands and plays: He demonstrated the way he played, slightly leaned off to the side and with a wry smile noted “it looks cool, doesn’t it?” But then he pointed out that he couldn’t lift his left arm above a certain point, so he leans a little to make up for that. He put his mouthpiece in at a somewhat upward angle, like a clarinet player and angled his neck to ensure that his throat was as open as possible to allow maximum vibrancy, airflow and not to constrict the airflow. He was also very clear that that this is what worked FOR HIM, not as a guide to the “right” way.
Topic 5: Jamming with other musicians:
Travelling on the road, he didn’t get to jam all that much. Musicians he has played a lot with quite often – the two I remember were Pat Metheny (who lives in close proximity, so can just play around with stuff with Pat) and Christian McBride (unfortunately I’ve forgotten the others he mentioned. I was busy being awestruck)
Topic 6: New Saxophones
It’s all about the sound he has in his head therefore what he has at the moment works well for him. There are many good modern saxophones, but he noted something which I think is worth emphasising. “It’s also a question of what you’re used to and the sound you hear in your head” therefore maybe the new saxophones will play the way he likes after they’ve been played for 30 years.
Topic 7: Advice to new musicians:
“DON’T DO IT” He joked. His answer, in short was that he wasn’t able to answer that question because the music world has changed dramatically since he started. He wouldn’t know what the pressures facing new musicians now are. He laid the roots of his success down to being very lucky, being in the right place at the right time and loving music. If one wanted to be a professional musician, the person had better love the music, as it would need to sustain him or her through the good times and the bad times.
Topic 7: Practice routines & important skills:
Determined by the reeds he is experimenting on, things which prove difficult to him at the moment e.g. dexterity things for his left hand. He practices some patterns to increase finger dexterity and to help get him out of some musical tricky corners but not too many as he is wary of his playing becoming a collection of licks and tricks. Most importantly though: LONG TONES. These are vital. They help with the focusing the breathing and mentally preparing. He conceptualised the horn’s sound as a pebble thrown into water – the fundamental is the point where the pebble goes in. The overtones can be seen as the ripples which expand outwards from that point.
Topic 8: What creates the magic when playing with other musicians?
He didn’t hesitate in the slightest in answering this one. LISTENING. Suppressing your ego in service to service the music rather than your own need to be heard all the time. The best musicians do this well. Listen to the others musicians with whom you are playing so that the whole becomes more than the sum of its parts.
Topic 9:What do you think of the new reference saxophones?
“The politically correct answer is that they’re great”. His wry grin said it all and the audience laughed heartily.
Topic 10: Developing a Musical Personality
Copying your idols and learning to play like someone is good, but you need to go beyond that and find your own musical personality. As an example he pointed out that places like the famous Berkeley churn out load of tenor players who can play Giant Steps wonderfully, but who stop there. Being able to play Giant Steps should not be the destination unto itself. It should be a means to an end. A great saxophone player (Coltrane) already played it wonderfully, so use it as a means of getting somewhere but it is important to move beyond copying your idols to a musical personality of your own.
Conclusion
David Sanborn is a very honest and humble man with a wry sense of humour and is not above laughing at himself. He gave me an autograph, a handshake and allowed me to have a picture taken with him. A great experience of a man who’s plied his trade around the world for a long time. Any misconceptions are mine, as it was a long night afterwards and I am trying to get this all down before it fades from memory as Sunday intrudes upon my memories of Saturday.