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Jazz Saxophone and Finding Your Sound

Jazz is an art form that is very personal by nature. Every jazz musician, both professional and amateur, strives to find his or her own voice on their instrument. This is something that must be taken seriously and cannot be rushed; developing your own "sound" is the single most important thing you can do as a musician. This takes many hours of practicing and exploring methods, techniques, equipment, and one's own personal feeling of what they wish to sound like and what they want to express on their instrument. As daunting as this task may seem, one needs not start from scratch. There is a near endless supply of material you can draw from for inspiration.


The following collection of videos represents some of the top working professionals in the world of jazz saxophone, both past and present. I have spent many hours pouring over recordings of these individuals as well as attending concerts to see many of them perform live when possible. Spend some time listening and find someone who speaks to you, and then seek out recordings, videos, educational materials such as method books they've authored or transcriptions of their solos, and if at all possible seek out opportunities to see them live. Jazz is a language that is best learned by listening to it and experiencing it. The more you listen and the more you expose yourself to it, the easier it becomes to learn to speak the language yourself.

Alto Saxophone

Charlie Parker

Cannonball Adderley

Paul Desmond

Phil Woods

Kenny Garrett

Vincent Herring

Maceo Parker

Marc Russo

Tenor Saxophone

John Coltrane

Sonny Rollins

Dexter Gordon

Michael Brecker

Chris Potter

Joshua Redman

Branford Marsalis

Eric Alexander

Jeff Coffin

Bob Sheppard

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