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Something from Mike Guerra

7K views 2 replies 2 participants last post by  jaysz 
#1 ·
Ok so I have been a member of this forum for some time and gathered and gain a ton of
knowledge as well as some ability and met and have been blessed by some incredible people.
So in my small way I would like to give something back. Some of you I'm sure know that
Mike taught Michael Brecker and John Coltrane as well as many others, my teacher
Bill Garton among them, so I received this from Bill.

Anyway I have heard a lot of great stories about Mike as he was the principle clarinetist
in the Philadelphia Orchestra and from what I understand from Bill he would play this piece
at top speed, the idea is to sound like a tsunami of sound and when he was done no one
else would play, lol. It is excellent for building technique and to a degree stamina, there is
another one similar to this but it is little different, if I get a chance I will upload those as well.
Now Bill Garton regularly reminds me when I am slacking on this piece that this piece(and
the other one) added the most to his technical abilities of all the exercises he has played.

http://s841.photobucket.com/user/ebaysrvice/media/Mike Guerra/Image.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

Hope ya like it, Jay.
 
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#2 ·
Jay, thanks for sharing! Any more stories? I just found out about Mike Guerra in the Joseph Murphy dissertation. Incredible list of students: Joseph Gigliotti, Vincent Abato, Gerry Mulligan, Stan Getz, and John Coltrane. And a love for teaching: "Guerra died in 1976 at age 88 during a saxophone lesson."
 
#3 ·
Yeah I have a few stories, also have some other exercises he was very big on long tones and embouchure exercises and I have those in the pamphlet that Bill Garton gives to all of his students.



Bill had been studying with Mike for a while after he had graduated from Glassboro State College with a Masters in performance in clarinet, so Bill and his wife had their first baby
a bit after he started studying with Mike. So Mike asked Bill for the child's full name and at the next lesson gave Bill a $25 savings bond for his son Tim, thought that was very cool.
 
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