But before I could do that, I had to wait for the geese to cross the road in front of my hotel.
Okay, Alexander technique. I thought this method was only for actors, but many of the concepts can be applied to any discipline, including playing an instrument. It is more than posture and deals more with balance, "non-doing", letting go of tension, body kinesthetics, and awareness. It requires recognizing a bad habit and replacing it with a better habit. With the saxophone, much can be done just by adjusting the neckstrap to a place where the weight of the horn is less severe on your neck body alignment.
Following the Alexander lecture was a presentation by Pedrosaxo. www.pedrosaxo.com if you are interested. He was "discovered" by Jeff Coffin, who persuaded NASA to feature him at this year's conference. "Break your limits" to quote Pedro, and he broke limits. His music creates soundtracks and sonic landscapes without overdub or electronic assistance (except for maybe a bit of resonance through his computer). His music is personal, emotional, and impressively performed. For his presentation he performed four pieces, one of which was played without the mouthpiece and another played on just the mouthpiece and neck of the horn. Not just sax tricks though, he used throat singing, multi-phonics, and singing and playing simultaneously.
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| Pedrosaxo |
Mind blown, I headed over to hear a panel discussion about the history of classical saxophone pedagogy. Members of the panel were none other than Fred Hemke, Steve Mauk, and Eugene Rousseau.
Over lunch I listened to some fine student sax quartets and took a spin through the exhibit hall. I was excited to find some publications of music of Rudy Weidoeft (that I can't wait to get home and try out!) and a book of Bach music transcribed for saxophone. I also took the opportunity to try out the new Keilwerth MKX. Not only is it a beautiful horn, it plays great. So great, I didn't really want to put it down. Always a good sign of a quality instrument. I also tried a couple of the new model Buffet saxes. Not as much to my preferences, but built well. I noticed that the finishes really made a big difference with these horns.
After the test drive and shopping session, I wandered back over to the lecture hall to hear a talk that really boiled down to fundamentals as they relate to classical style versus jazz style. It was just the kind of nit-picky, lazer-beamed, hyper-focused lecture that academics are known for. But I still managed to pick up some information that may be useful with my students.
The evening concert was a superb showcase of ensemble and chamber work featuring saxophones. A duet with piano, a quartet, saxophone with percussion ensemble, the Moanin' Frogs sax ensemble, the Eastman Saxophone Project, and Jeff Coffin and Futureman returned to the stage. Bravo!
And thus concludes day 2: chicken soup for the saxophone soul.
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| Jazz on Stage 5 |
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| Oh yeah. Doxy. |
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| NASA-ers |
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