Plenty of videos out there show people how to play scales and patterns, etc. to gain some competency. This is about taking it to the next level and developing your own style and playing with feeling. He's one of the most creative improvisers and greatest sax players ever. Very cool lesson.
I always wondered how to improvise creatively and spontaneously instead of being a "clone" of somebody you;ve studied, that question has now been explained by Joe Lovano. Playing from your heart, mind, and fingers. This is a great video. Thanks
That's the topic of my thesis and he has nailed it here because some cats want to copy others for the rest of their lives. In fact what is very important is to play creatively from your own heart more especially after you have been playing scales and transcriptions. You cannot be a baby sucking for the rest of your musicianship, you've got to ultimately become yourself, forgetting all that you have copied, as the great Charlie Parker once said. Joe Lovano is doing a great job by showing how it's done, and nobody can tell me he has no technique...it's not about technique it's about your own feelings. At the end of the day people are interested in your technique, they are just interested in what comes from your heart. This lesson is not fro beginners, it's for those who are at the stage of establishing themselves as saxophone players in their own right...not for copy cats!!!
Don't worry about the upload; it's a useless "lesson". He talks mostly in nebulous terms, and provides almost no concrete advice or techniques to increase your level of playing. If you want to learn, check out Alex Terrier (JVL) or Bob Reynolds.
"Useless" is a pretty harsh word. One of the things about jazz is that individual musicians have very different thoughts and concepts, and all have different ways of trying to talk about what they're doing. Some musicians talk better than others. There are plenty of videos out there with guidance on how to practise, what scale to play over what chord, etc... nuts and bolts stuff, which is important. However, jazz also has an almost mystical element. Joe gets a bit mystical at times... but he also talks about the importance of horn players learning to play 'like piano players", which is incredibly important and something that's lacking in a lot of horn players - learning the bass motion, the harmony, the linking tones, and feeling it in different meters. Incredibly useful stuff.
Paul Harrison, you are right, of course. I was just quite frustrated that someone as accomplished as Joe would be so "namby-pamby" as an instructor. Contrast what he says with Jerry Bergonzi (one of my early instructors) and you will see what I mean.
the Gonz is insane. I've heard the quote, which I'm not sure if it's true, of the question asked to Brecker was something like "are you the best sax player in the world" answered "have you heard Bergonzi play?". The Gonz gives great lessons, and I've heard early on that Metheny did, too. Some of these guys (many probably) can't really explain what's in their head, and I'm not sure I can blame them.
