Maynard could not describe how he played high notes or what gave him the range. He was 100% a natural player, he willed the notes out because that's what he heard in his head and he would not accept anything but that coming out of the horn. By the way, I played with you in the Eddie Olinski Orchestra in Buffalo, NY in the 70's. You played with us from time to time to pick up a little extra pocket cash. Fond memories! Also, you are exactly correct, Maynard loved playing melodies "making music" and he like the way it sounded up a minor 3rd so that's what he did. He wanted to hear it up a minor third and he made it come out of his horn. That's it, no other secret to it.
Also know Brother Yusef did not embrace the term jass……so, …..read and explore his positive contributions to culture.. his books, art, compositions, recordings. That in itself is a life time study…..AXE’
This repository is deeper that what meets one’s eye, or ear. Also the scales given to Brother Yusef by Eric Dolphy, and the mystic wheel by John Coltrane. You will never need another book on scales. It is a lifetime study. Yusef let interpretation up to the seeker. This was who he was / is…..
Great vid. I wish I had seen this before buying my V16. It is mellow, in tune but not enough projection for the big band, compared with my Runyan Delrin or Jody Jazz Jet. I keep going back to it, hoping I can coax it into better projection with different reeds etc but always disappointed. Also, if you are playing a synthetic reed e.g. Legere then the ligature does not fit tightly and when I did pluck up enough courage to play it at a gig, in the second set during a number the ligature slipped off.
I had to do this with a Guidance Counselor I could imitate at my high school. I had done the morning announcements as a novelty kind of thing, then one day the teacher had stepped out and the office called over the P.A. so I broke into the Counselor voice and they thought I was him . I said the teacher was on her way bla bla bla. They thanked me and the class just cracked up.
Wow! Most comments here a couple years old and very few have seen this video. I have to try and remedy that. Jazz was and is so much a player’s music. Every individual has a story worth hearing.
The first two times I tried to get into this book, I got nowhere. Then I figured it out, at least for myself, what I needed to do. Here are, more or less, the steps that I use. Let’s start with the preparation of the major triad section. Ex. 1-12 Step 1. Be able to spell all 12 major triads up and back at a fairly rapid pace. Ex. 2 is a good one for this. CEGEC FACAF BbDFDBb etc. Step 2 Say out loud the names of each note in the major arpeggio while visualizing your fingers playing those notes on the instrument. Have no instrument in you hand. Do this throughout the range of the instrument as you would a scale. Step 3 Once you can do step 2 on a particular arpeggio, practice playing that arpeggio slowly throughout the range of the instrument. If you make mistakes, go back to step 2. Step 4 Once you have mastered steps 1-3 on all 12 major triads, you will find you will have little trouble playing Ex 1-12 at some tempo. Practice slowly with (hopefully) no mistakes. Step 5 Once you can play an exercise slowly, you can gradually increase the speed. Remember, with accuracy comes speed not the other way around. Step 6 Do the same with the Major 6th chord section. Notice that you can work the preparation process for more than one section at a time. A good good chunk to start with is Ex, 1-28.book.
For a monster of a player, Denis is such an understanding and empathetic teacher. He really tries to find the most effective, least jargon-filled, and most musical paths to learning music and improvisation strategies. Wonderful!
9:31pm. First time I saw Maynard was summer of 1962 or '63 at Hershey Park PA in the outdoors Starlight Ballroom. I was up next the stage and saw a guy intently watching the band who looked familiar. It was Stan Mark whom I had met in several high school Regional Band festivals. We chatted a bit.. At one point Stan said, "I'm going to play in Maynard's band someday." And he did. For more than a few years. Jim
Denis, I attended the Jamey Aebersold camp at Elmhurst in 1988. Unbelievable experience! The evening jam sessions were mind-blowing. Besides your time with Maynard, that's how I came to know of your work.
man, thank you so much for all of these insights. Its pure gold for us fans. yeah, I remember picking what profession I was going to take on, and I wondered between regular appliance repairs or full blown electronics study. My grandfather looked at me like, you question that? He steered me, as did my mom and dad.
funny how that tipping thing works. I had a situation once where you give the doorman a good cigar and you got special treatment. Try it sometime. lol. Love your stories man.
ROTFLMAO. I was going to say Maynard was a National treasure, but he belonged to the earth or universe even. Never will be another like him!!! So grateful to see his band a few times live. Thad was another one. OMG
