Bob Reynolds

Saxophonist. Composer. Melody Architect.

You’ve got to hear this Ben Webster phrase

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):
http://youtu.be/x0_GJSpV_u4

Ben’s buttery phrase closes out his chorus ~3:30.

Enjoy!

About Bob Reynolds

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.

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  4. 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!