eugesounds — Wrapping up '22! It has been a pretty nice year...

1.5M ratings
277k ratings

See, that’s what the app is perfect for.

Sounds perfect Wahhhh, I don’t wanna

Wrapping up ‘22!

It has been a pretty nice year here in Texas. We began to get back to normalcy and playing gigs without the “pall” of Covid hanging over our heads. The Captain and Camille family returned to our standing mayhem every 2nd Friday of the month at Barley House and we played several wonderful private shows this year as well. Notable is our most recent Christmas/Anniversary bash for the Gordon Highlander Corp. in Addison. A really pretty and fun party for some very nice folks. We’ll finish a robust 2022 with one more private show on NYE and that will put a nice bow on things.

The Bastards of Soul released a few new singles this year, culminating with a beautiful new video fittingly titled “It’s Gonna Be Alright”. Obviously still reeling from the loss of our brother Chadwick Murray, the core members have quietly moved on with other projects both together and separately. There may be a few things left “in the can” as they say, and it will be interesting to hear some of those remaining tracks that were recorded with Wick less than 2 short years ago.

Personally, I tried to stay busy by focusing on my teaching and recording weekly videos for my YouTube Channel. I was asked recently why I do those, and it’s simply because when I was about 7 years old, I happened upon a parade with a bunch of guys in the front row playing saxophones. It was a life changing moment and I was mesmerized by the sound. It literally was as if a higher power was saying “Take a good listen to this young man, because you’ll be doing it for many years in your life.” So I typically record acoustically with little or no effects in my office with hopes of inspiring musicians of all ages to start or maintain their own beautiful musical journey.

It has been quite a learning process and as an old and wise teacher of mine once said, “Always try to play your best because you never know who’s listening” - Thank you Moshe Paranov. My posting these little vids on a few social media outlets has led to many connections and some wonderful opportunities to make people smile, and it doesn’t get much better than that.

Gracie and I attended my 45th high school reunion up in my old hometown of Westboro, MA. It was probably the highlight of our year as the weather was beautiful and the entire week seemed to garner one long, sustained smile. The greatest kick of all was having my classmates “ooh and ahh” upon meeting “Lady Sax” for the first time. It really made the entire trip worthwhile.

Please enjoy the video above, it seems to have struck a chord with lots of folks and racked up a couple hundred views in just a few short days. I hope your holidays are merry and bright and Gracie and I wish you all the best for 2023 !

Youtube

See more posts like this on Tumblr

#Youtube

More you might like

There Will Never Ber Another You

Full disclosure: I LOVE STAN GETZ!  So it’s no surprise that I dig this take. I have been working on my improv lines to these changes for some time. I really love this gypsy swing backing track I found on YouTube (an invaluable teaching and learning tool!).  Today after playing for about an hour and feeling pretty good about myself, I happened upon Stan’s version. #humbled

Stan begins with a killer little a Capella intro.  Listen closely and you can hear a little throat groan there. His playing, while grooving REALLY hard, sounds seemingly effortless as he dives into the solo. He delivers long, flowing lines that have a beautiful wind-up and always a tasteful pay-off. His use of tension and release is nearly perfect.  And though his tone is different here, (perhaps this was his double-lip period?) this playing reminds me of his great take on I Want to Be Happy with the Oscar Peterson Trio. Some of the lines are very similar…and I want to steal them all!  

After an incredible solo, the pianist takes over and then a torrid bit of trading fours between saxophone, drums and piano occurs. The tune winds down with Stan taking the head and ending abruptly in almost hymn-like fashion. Fantastic stuff. #needtopractice

stangetz saxophone jazz
youtube.com

Tumblr 7 Year Anniversary

342 posts and counting

I was reminded the other day that I have been occasionally writing here at eugesounds for 7 years…almost 350 posts and counting!  I started writing for an audience of 1, me. As the tag line states I write about “things I love” and “things I learn”. I really just wanted a place to post stories and recollections for posterity and every now and again share something new I’ve come across that might be of interest to anyone who stumbles upon this page. 

In scrolling through the posts just now I’m once again reminded of how lucky I am to be teaching and playing music. The hardest part about getting through this most difficult year was not getting to perform live shows, missing the camaraderie of my band mates, and the “juice” that comes from seeing smiling faces grooving to our music.  I’m really looking forward to getting back at it soon!

Here are some tunes by request during this crazy time. Just a little something to brighten your day. Tip jar link below if it moves ya…either way, enjoy & stay safe!


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqa7ga1ci5FL622nz_WY8VQ

Eugene Cantera
I teach many instruments at The Dallas School of Music and perform all over the Dallas area. Saxophone is my main instrument and I enjoy res
YouTube

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=2166463695683584892


Eugene Cantera
Venmoing since Mar 2017.
Venmo.com
youtube.com

The Beatles - Lady Madonna

featuring the sax work of Phil Kenzie

Phil Kenzie

You probably don’t know the name Phil Kenzie, but you know his work.  He is a gifted sax player and arranger who has played on hits by everyone from Rod Stewart and Jackson Browne, to Stevie Nicks, Roseanne Cash, David Bowie and the Beatles!  In his long career he has been a part of no fewer than nineteen gold and platinum albums. 

Phil is originally from the Liverpool area and played many of the same places made famous by The Beatles and he even shared a bill with them at The Cavern Club. Later he was on the set of the Beatles classic “Let It Be” and he continued to play on recordings at Apple studios years after the Beatles had disbanded. He can be heard on the Plastic Ono Band’s tracks that were made at Lennon’s home and he was part of the section of horns that played on George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass”.

Kenzie has also worked with Bo Diddley, Eric Clapton, Steven Stills, Peter Frampton, Leon Russell, Manfred Mann, Meatloaf, Alan Parsons, Joan Armatrading, Leo Sayer, Black Sabbath, Wishbone Ash, Annie Lennox, David Bowie, The Coasters, The Temptations, Roger Daltrey, David Bowie, Billy Preston and The Eagles.

That’s quite a list, but wait, there’s more! Phil played on Paul McCartney’s “Band On The Run” album and on the soundtrack to the cult classic “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”.  Phil supplies the sax work on both “Year of The Cat” and “Time Passages” by Al Stewart as well as the Rod Stewart album “Blondes Have More Fun”.  Oh yeah, he has also worked  with Vince Gill, Karla Bonoff, Boy George, Carly Simon, Poco, The Pointer Sisters, Kenny Loggins, Tom Petty, Ronnie Spector and …..for good measure?…Debbie Gibson (a gig is a gig after all).

Kenzie is still busy playing and continues to work on film and TV scores as well as recording dates. The full list of his credits is almost comical and reads like a Who’s Who in modern music spanning more than 4 decades.

One of my favorite bits of work from Phil is his solo on Lady Madonna. His rollicking feel and edgy tone perfectly matches the quirky groove and feel of this tune. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfthrizXKOM

Channeling Desmond

During the course of the day I often have time to practice between my sessions at The Dallas School of Music, it’s a luxury for which I am especially grateful. One of the things I enjoy most is playing chord changes to standards using youtube “backing tracks”. 

Today I happened to hear Paul Desmond playing Black Orpheus and I remembered running through his solo and these changes a few months ago. I am currently working with several students on soloing. They each have a fairly solid understanding of chord structure and now it’s time to be “creative” in their playing. One way to start this process is to simply “imitate” by ear, or blatantly copy a solo by playing a transcription. Both ways are valid and can be really beneficial, depending of your level of playing.

I was looking a bit more closely at the transcription of this Desmond solo and noticed how “logical” his phrasing was. He was just a brilliantly cerebral improviser who also had a solid command of his horn from top to bottom. He works through these changes so effortlessly and with such a relaxed style, that you might have trouble convincing someone that the licks are not “premeditated”.  I have heard alternate takes of this song and I assure you, this solo is indeed improvised. 

If you are at the beginning of your saxophone journey, you can also get a lot out of listening to Desmond’s original Black Orpheus track. First of all, Desmond plays IN TUNE! Notice how he glides to the very top octave of the horn with not a hint of tension or “biting”. And his vibrato, though not completely “even”, suits the song perfectly and is used delicately throughout. His breathing and phrasing is spot on and his technique is darn near flawless. There is nary a hint of a flip between any notes and I can hear only a single “crack” in the entire solo, (and I’m not convinced it wasn’t on purpose)! Lastly, Desmond plays completely within himself, there is not a single passage or phrase that sounds forced. That’s a great lesson to learn!

I hope you enjoy my attempt to “channel” some of Desmond’s ideas and feel here.  Let me know if this was beneficial to you and as always - keep jammin’!

ec

jazz saxophone Paul Desmond
youtube.com

"SING, SING, SING" BY BENNY GOODMAN

He was called the "King of Swoing"for good reason

If you’re unfamiliar with Benny’s playing, please enjoy this version of “Sing, Sing, Sing”.  Listen to the clarity and fullness of his tone as well as the hard driving swing feel during his solos. Greatness!  

Goodman was born in Chicago in 1909 to poor Jewish immigrants. When Benny was 10 his father enrolled him in music lessons and in one year he joined the local boys club band. He also received instruction from the classically trained clarinetist Franz Schoepp but he loved jazz and took every opportunity to hear many of the great New Orleans players who made their way through Chicago. He was a quick study and started playing professionally by 1921.

By the age of 14 he was in a band that featured the legendary Bix Beiderbecke and by 16 he had joined one of Chicago’s top bands with which he made his first recordings.  Goodman left for New York City and became a successful session musician in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He was an experienced businessman and managed to remain so even during the stock market crash and ensuing depression. He was even able to help a young African American arranger named Fletcher Henderson and the two created a formidable musical partnership.  

Though his bands struggled in popularity during the early 30’s, by July of 1935 they were back on top with a recording of  Henderson’s arrangement of “King Porter Stomp”.  At many stops on their tour they found large crowds of young dancers, raving and cheering their new sound. News reports spread word of the enthusiastic dancing and exciting new music that was happening and the “swing” era was born.

On January 16, 1938 the Goodman Orchestra played New York’s Carnegie Hall. The show had sold out weeks before and by the time the band got to the climactic piece “Sing, Sing, Sing”  their success was assured. This concert has been regarded as one of the most significant in jazz history. After years of work by musicians from all over the country, jazz had finally been accepted by mainstream audiences.

When I was about 14 I started playing along with a Goodman record using an old recorder my mom had gotten with green stamps (yes, I am old!).  I was really just messing around, using sax fingerings and modified recorder blowing techniques (that’s a nice way of saying “guessing”) to mimic the solos and lead parts. After a few days my dad happen to hear me noodling and just got the biggest kick out of it.  He had me play everything I knew from the album and he just reveled in my attempts at copying Benny’s licks. 

I’m certain that those hours of listening and copying have really helped me establish a solid swing feel and a decent concept of “time”.  A few years later my dad took me to see Goodman perform and I got to meet him afterward…I was on cloud 9! He remains one of my favorite players of all time.

jazz saxophone clarinet Swing
youtube.com

Au Privave - Charlie Parker

The Genius Of Charlie Parker

Au Privave

Au Privave is a 1951 “bebop” jazz standard, composed by Charlie Parker. It was originally recorded on January 17, 1951 for the Verve record label and was included on the album The Genius of Charlie Parker. The songs’ title is a bit of a mystery - most say it is a “nonsense” syllable since the word “privave” doesn’t exist in French and Parker was notorious for word games. But after a bit of digging I found one explanation that at least made a little sense. It seems Au Privave may have been a misinterpretation of the the French phrase “Après Vous” (after you) which you might say upon opening the door for someone. Indeed a few years later the tune was recorded by drummer Max Roach and actually titled “Apres Vous.”

Au Privave is a 12 bar blues in the key of F but the chords do not follow a typical blues progression. Instead the song uses a more intricate “bebop” harmonic pattern that aside from the I7, IV7, and V7 chords include: a II7, #IVdim7 and a VI7b9.  Still, it remains close enough to a blues pattern that the tune is often played at jam sessions as a more interesting alternative to a traditional “blues in F”.

It’s the melody that really sets the tune apart however. It is a series of rhythmically short and seemingly disjointed lines held together by the harmony. Though they are now part of the standard bop rhythmic lexicon, at the time they were surely avant garde.

There are 2 solos for Au Privave included in the Charlie Parker Omnibook (on pages 24 and 26).  The first one includes the head of the song and the solo that Parker takes in the video below. They are both close but this one is my favorite as it has “the Parker lick” and variation at the top of the 2nd page. Both solo’s however are a tour de force of bebop ideas with a few cool quotes thrown in for good measure. Fantastic stuff!

PS - I found several really nice Au Privave backing tracks on YouTube. Many are taken at a fairly quick tempo but this one does a decent job of providing background and melody at slow, medium and faster tempos.

CharlieParker saxophone jazz
youtube.com

David Sanborn Trio feat. Joey DeFrancesco - Jazzwoche Burghausen 2010

David Sanborn

David Sanborn was born on July 30, 1945 in Tampa, Florida, and grew up in Missouri. Probably the most defining characteristic of his childhood was that he suffered from polio for eight years beginning at the age of 3.  He started playing saxophone upon the advice of his doctor who suggested it might help strengthen his chest muscles and improve his breathing. He later explained that he played alto because his “frail body was not strong enough to support the tenor”.

He attended Northwestern University and the University of Iowa as a music major and cites Hank Crawford as an early and lasting influence in his playing. He moved to California and joined the Butterfield Blues Band and later actually played Woodstock with Paul Butterfield. Afterward he landed on tour with Stevie Wonder, played with The Rolling Stones, and toured with David Bowie. It was during this time that he recorded the now infamous solo on “Young Americans”.  Interestingly, he was dividing time between playing and recording with Bowie and modern jazz pianist Gil Evans.

He released his first solo album “Taking Off” in 1975 and his solo recordings are a blend of jazz, pop and R&B. But is his work as a “sideman” with an incredible list of pop, rock, soul and jazz icons that has catapulted him to super status, the list includes; James Brown, Bryan Ferry, Eric Clapton, Cat Stevens, Roger Daltrey, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Jaco Pastorius, the Brecker Brothers, Michael Franks, Kenny Loggins, David Bowie, Todd Rundgren, Bruce Springsteen, Little Feat,Bob James, James Taylor, Al Jarreau, Pure Prairie League, Kenny G, George Benson, Elton John, Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Billy Joel, Roger Waters, Steely Dan, the Eagles, The Grateful Dead, and Toto. WOW!

In the late 80’s Sanborn could be seen on television as host of the show, Night Music which was produced by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels. He also regularly hosted the “After New Year’s Eve” TV special for  ABC and had a syndicated radio program as well. During this time music critic Scott Yannow described Sanborn as “the most influential saxophonist on pop, R&B, and crossover players of the past 20 years.” In his lengthy career he has released 24 albums, won six Grammy Awards, had eight gold albums and one platinum album.

I was lucky to see David on tour with James Taylor in the early 80′s.  The show also included some of the magnificent “section” players; guitarists Danny Kortchmar and Waddy Watchel, drummer Russell Kunkel and bassist Leland Sklar.  But it was Sanborn’s sound and great R&B feel that caught my attention. I loved how his alto cut through all the amplification and when he let loose on “How Sweet it Is…” I was hooked. Not only was his playing perfect for the big arena setting, he also managed to be tasteful, and blend nicely with the guitars - a balance that I try to emulate in my own playing in various settings.

David continues to be a highly active musician playing pop, R&B and lately, more and more jazz gigs each year. He is also a lecturer and in 2011 Sanborn had a successful tour with keyboardist George Duke and bassist Marcus Miller. The video above is an entire concert recorded in Burghausen, Germany, 2006.  It features Sanborn in great form, with Joey DeFrancesco on organ and Gene Lake on drums.  Just listen to the opening cut to get an idea of his impressive playing, control of altissimo range and formidable “chops”.

saxophone sanborn musiced jazz
youtube.com

Ben Webster & Johnny Hodges

Beautiful, simple, and elegant playing.

If you are a lover of jazz, I highly suggest you subscribe to Marc Meyer’s JazzWax blog and emails. Marc writes about music and the arts for The Wall Street Journal and is author of “Why Jazz Happened”. He founded JazzWax in 2007 and it was named the 2015 “Blog of the Year” by the Jazz Journalists Association. Marc is constantly unearthing gems like this one from Johnny Hodges and Ben Webster.

Here are Marc’s words about this terrific recording:

In the fall of 1960, Ben Webster (above) was on the West Coast freelancing and recording. Johnny Hodges was out there as well with the Duke Ellington Orchestra to perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival. On Nov. 22, two days before Thanksgiving, Webster and Hodges were in San Francisco to record an album for the Verve label that was never released. The recording took place at the city’s Jazz Cellar club, which was turned into a studio without an audience. The pair of former Ellingtonites were backed by Ella Fitzgerald’s working quartet at the time—Lou Levy on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, Wilfred Middlebrooks on bass and Gus Johnson on drums. 

The CD should be added to any list of jazz albums that will instantly convert non-believers into life-long fans.

I must admit, I don’t get to read every single one of Marc’s posts, but I am NEVER disappointed when I do set aside time to visit the material he covers. I saw the Hodges and Webster email show up yesterday at around noon, when I was in the middle of a small bucket of golfballs at my favorite driving range (lucky man). I had hoped to read the post when I finally got to my office, but realized I needed to put the finishing touches on a piece I’m writing for Saxophone Today.  What seemed like just a few moments passed and my first student showed up for a lesson. I taught for the next several hours and it wasn’t until about midnight that I finally had a chance to get to Marc’s email.

It’s a great read as usual. I especially enjoy the way Marc includes a historic timeline of events and is careful to mention as many side men as possible in his notes. After a full day of teaching and playing I soaked up this post like a glass of warm milk before bed. I turned out the lights and listened to Ben’s Web about six or seven times in a row. The playing is so beautiful, simple, and elegant that it made me realize what a blessing it is to be involved in music…to hear jazz, to play jazz, to teach jazz, and to continue to learn about jazz. I fired off a quick note of thanks to Marc for sharing this great material. It was a bonus to see his response in my inbox this morning:

My pleasure, Eugene. About as good as it gets.
Marc

Get to JazzWax as soon as you can, you won’t be disappointed!

jazz musiced saxophone
You scrolled this far. Check out the rest. Show more