Awesome....met Tom at jazz alley when David Sunborn had him sit in with them last year and he was meeting folks in audience and he handed out his cards....looking forward to taking lessons from him someday to try to nail down my altissimo
Just found an interesting quote by David Sanborn from a brief ‘92 Baltimore Sun article. "It's like kind of a physical thing based on your own physiology and your relationship with the horn. It's a lot of trial and error and determination. That's what does it -- because the notes are there."
That was a fantastic interview. Tom is amazing and puts in the time needed for that great range. I thought it was also useful to know that above the high g there are no fingerings. I always thought you need them even though i only practice up to d above the high f. Lucky for me i don't perform where you need alot of really high altissimo. Thanks again for that fantastic interview. Patrick
James Carter, multi-instrumentalist, is perhaps the today's all-time master of altissimos. In the '40's and '50's, Earl Bostic's "Up In Orbit" told the story of his altissimo prowess. Then came the '60's: King Curtis ("Let It Be") and Junior Walker ("Hot Cha") were determined 🔥 to make altissimos a frequent part of their arsenal in a melodic way. A 27-year-old Grover Washington, Jr., a then-rising star for Creed Taylor's Inc. Records, effectively used altissimos ("Mr. Magic") in melodic context, under the tutelage of Bob James. Those recordings saw Grover at his Classical Best 👌 - Classical Jazz with second-to-none arrangements by Bob James and first-class delivery by Mr. Grover Washington, Jr. on soprano, alto and tenor saxophones. His baritone feats came later ("Just The Way You Are" by Billy Joel. How could one have forgotten Sil Austin, Organic Jazzician who crossed over into what is now mis-classified as "Smooth Jazz", a misnomer, with his "Oh, Danny Boy" in which he accurately hit the tenor saxophone altissimo "A" in context of a melodic utterance - not for the mere sake of playing an overtone "A"! Lennie Pickett and your guest are agreeably great, too. Thanks, Nigel.
Hi Jose. Working on some Overtones can really help. Check out this: Getting started with Saxophone Overtones - Saxophone lesson from Sax School. How to play saxophone ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fKDl_CnA8nY.html
Hi Nigel. Sorry for so many bari sax questions. It's just I have been really trying to get altissimo on the bari sax after working on overtones for a while but there no fingering charts or videos. Is it possible?
Overtones. And tongue. Air speed. Relax…. The rest is just gear. Yes gear affects the ease and color but that’s it. If you can’t do it on a student mouthpiece you’ll struggle on a pro mouthpiece
I think altissimo is overrated, like who has the huskiest pickup truck. Listening to Ben Webster, Lester Young, or Trane I just don't hear them going there a lot.
