Live Latin Jazz Music

Yesterday I had the pleasure of performing at The Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach. I was so excited to play at this legendary jazz club for so many reasons, but mostly because I love playing alto saxophone! This club has a long, long, long, history of hosting some of the most important historical figures in jazz. One of my favorite jazz musicians, Bud Shank used to regularly perform here regularly along with Art Pepper and other members of the Stan Kenton Jazz Orchestra i

Here is my list of the top ten most influential jazz alto saxophone players in music history 1. Charlie Parker 2. Cannonball Adderley 3. Sonny Stitt 4. Phil Woods 5. Johnny Hodges 6. David Sanborn 7. Jackie McLean 8. Lee Konitz 9. Eric Dolphy 10. Paul Desmond #altosaxophone

Here is a quote from David Crosby about why having a good instrument makes such a difference. "You pick it up and it brings magic. It makes you want to play" #guitar #Davidcrosby #music #art

I've been listening to this tune a lot recently. It is a great example of a simple and positive song. It is beautiful. Here are the lyrics: Morning has come with the first rays of sun Breaking through our windowpane Songs fill the air but there's no singer there Just an old wooden guitar playing Writing this song won't take very long Trying not to use the world "old" Thinking about taking chances and doubts That still linger in the cold Looking forward, all tha

I just learned that Vandoren has come out with a new chamber size for their V16 Jazz Mouthpieces. From the Vandoren website: "• S+ : The new S+ chamber is the next step in the evolution of the V16 alto mouthpiece. It offers a richer depth of sound while keeping the free-blowing nature and projection that characterize the V16 alto models. The S+ chamber accommodates more air providing the musician greater flexibility and a wider array of colors with which to work. The S+

I highly recommend the Yamaha 221 Flute. Mine is a made in Japan model and I have been impressed with the quality of my flute for years! It is extremely reliable and sounds beautiful. For my needs, having a C foot flute has been perfect. I have never found the need to upgrade to a B foot or closed tone holes Unfortunately, Yamaha doesn't make the 221 model any more...The closest thing to this model is the new 222. While they are similar, I highly recommend the 221 becau

At a dinner party the other night, a friend of mine sparked up a conversation about the late great Leon Russell. I first heard of him while reading Willie Nelson's autobiography. He was his close friend and was the first person to sign Willie Nelson's guitar named "Trigger". According to Nelson, Russell suggested that he sign his name with a ball point pen so that it would leave a permanent scar in the wood. Man, he played with everyone in rock an roll history from Elton

I've been playing a lot of bass recently. My favorite tune to jam out to as of late has been "Roots Radical" by the great Jimmy Cliff. He is the performer of the hit reggae tune "I can See Clearly Now" which was featured in the movie Cool Runnings back in 1993. I love the energy in his music and also gravitate toward the beautiful melodic lines he chooses to utilize in his various up beat compositions. I remember how much of a struggle it was for me to choose which bass

My recommendation for a great mixer is the Soundcraft EFX8. It is compact, well built, strong, reliable, and comes with great sounding Lexicon effects built into it. I have used a lot of delays for recording and experimentation purposes and prefer the spring reverb for live sound purposes. It also has a great sweeping midrange so you can really tune in your sound. I take this thing everywhere and use it for speeches, recitals, dj music, jazz gigs, acoustic gigs, etc. I h