Category Archives: Saxophone

Saxophone Lamp

Posted on May 29, 2018 by Gandalfe

“It’s hard to throw away history. It was like you were throwing away a part of yourself.”  ~ Jenny Han, The Summer I Turned Pretty It happened during a theater pit job, I was schlepping 4 instruments and we had precious … Continue reading →

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The Music World: Should I, Could I Be a Part of It?

Posted on December 11, 2017 by Gandalfe

“I was obliged to be industrious. Whoever is equally industrious will succeed equally well.” ~ J.S. Bach Friend: Hey Jim.  Based in large part on your enthusiasm, I plan to drive over to Spokane on Thursday to horse trade for … Continue reading →

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Matthew Stone: Cry Me a River

Posted on October 20, 2017 by Gandalfe

Matthew Stone’s YouTube recordings have long been a fav of mine, almost always inspires me to pick up my sax and give the song a go. (Click on picture for sound.) Published on 17 Jan 2013 About 25 years ago, … Continue reading →

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Jazz, I’ll just put this here.

Posted on September 2, 2017 by Gandalfe

Overheard: Wonderful piece played wonderfully. It is a little funny though that the title of the video mentions a Duke Ellington cover. There are no covers in jazz, but great pieces known as standards, which all artists interpret their own … Continue reading →

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Fantasia for Alto Saxophone ~ Claude T. Smith

Posted on July 4, 2017 by Gandalfe

This lovely piece performed by Otis Murphy presented in a form allowing you to play along. Quite the workout indeed. There is so much altissimo in this one. Still a wonderful performance by Otis.

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Professor Gadget Sax Quartet (PGSQ) 2017

Posted on July 1, 2017 by Gandalfe

This is one of my favorite gigs of the year, this year with Molly, Taylor, and Susan. There was a great turnout with over 100 in the audience, and the weather was perfect. (Update, the lock folk say calculated the … Continue reading →

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Music: This is why we do it.

Posted on June 15, 2017 by Gandalfe

So many lovely bandee friends in this one. Fab trombone (Ron) and tenor sax (Ian Basques-Jellison) solos. And of course Robin Hilt killin’ it on the vocal. And me, well I just lovin’ the bari sax hits in this arrangement. … Continue reading →

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Sax Quartet 2017

Posted on May 11, 2017 by Gandalfe

I am starting to put together this year’s sax quartet repertoire for our gig at Ballard Locks. It’s a labor of love that I’ve been doing for at least ten years now. My wife Suzy, Molly and I have been … Continue reading →

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Best Big Band Bari Sax Sound Tip (du Jour)

Posted on March 12, 2017 by Gandalfe

“If you’re going to make a mistake, make it loud so everybody else sounds wrong” ~ Joe Venuti I often play bari sax in big bands, including my own band. I find that I usually end up blowing my brains … Continue reading →

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So I dropped my sax …

Posted on January 22, 2017 by Gandalfe

I was notified that our principal saxophonist (in the WCB) wasn’t going to make it to practice, so I pulled out my Selmer Ref 54 hummingbird to work on the lovely but gnarly alto sax solo in Armenian Dances. It’s … Continue reading →

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