I was too excited about this to type it out…so I made a little video.
Here’s the track (but make sure to get the album; half the fun is the liner notes and outtakes):
Ben’s buttery phrase closes out his chorus ~3:30.
Enjoy!
Saxophonist. Composer. Melody Architect.
by Bob Reynolds Get exclusive music
I was too excited about this to type it out…so I made a little video.
Here’s the track (but make sure to get the album; half the fun is the liner notes and outtakes):
Ben’s buttery phrase closes out his chorus ~3:30.
Enjoy!
Bob Reynolds is a jazz saxophonist and 3x GRAMMY Award-winning member of the instrumental supergroup Snarky Puppy. He's toured and recorded with John Mayer and released 11 albums as a solo artist. Bob teaches jazz improvisation and saxophone lessons through his Virtual Studio and an annual retreat for saxophonists.
Justin Nelson says
Yes sir.
briandurandwood says
There might be fewer mosquitos and less humidity in the Sierras… Just a thought. 🙂
Bob Reynolds says
That’s true. The mosquitos — and humidity — are no joke.
Mark Foster says
Let the congregation say, ¨Amen!¨ 🙂 Good one!
Ben Byrne says
I’ve always been such a huge Ben Webster fan. If it wasn’t for Ben Webster, I probably would have never continued playing saxophone. I love how he just plays the nicest melodies. This is probably my favourite version of Stardust as played by Ben Webster https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsBxRVNcRP4 I love how he barely strays from the melody.
Bob Reynolds says
Killer! Glad there’s some young players out there (you, in this case) who are aware of — and interested in — folks other than Mark Turner and Chris Potter. 😉
[https://twitter.com/JazzIsTheWorst/status/400361566266093568]
Ben Byrne says
Haha. I have to admit that it’s very hard not to wish I had those Potter chops and crazy amazing ideas. I probably have done a few more Potter transcriptions than Webster transcriptions. This being said, yesterday I listened to 3 versions of Stardust, Branford’s, Redman’s and Webster’s, and I just couldn’t get over how wonderful the melody was, and how not showing chops just sounded so great.
I read an article recently that questioned how most jazz majors are taught at a tertiary level (http://somethingelsereviews.com/2013/03/02/youre-doing-it-wrong-why-do-jazz-educators-teach-us-to-think-first-and-listen-second/) and I have to say, sometimes I find it really hard not to go to my habitual licks and lines and not trust a strong melody. Sometimes I wish I spent less time learning to outline changes and spent more time just practicing strong melodies instead. I feel like there’s a fair amount of pressure in the Jazz world to show off your chops. I think it’d be cool if the world was a little less chops orientated and a little more melody orientated.
Bob Reynolds says
You’re going to love the album I just recorded with my best friend of 21 years, Juan Rollan. We hit the studio to play melodies, blues, swing…no pyrotechnics. Just a musical conversation between two life-long pals. It’s killer (if I do say so myself), and our template was the old Hawkins/Webster album.
Ben Byrne says
Awesome! Looking forward to it. I caught a bit of the online workshop you guys did. You guys sounded great!