Why do jazz musicians hate each other? 

Dude really wrote that Leo should trade fours with Gary Smulyan prolly without the knowledge that legends like Joe Temperley AND GARY SMULYAN were his teachers at MSM

I love the saxophone and find it fantastic that there is such a variety of players of this instrument. These days I'm totally impressed and listening a lot to women players such as Roxy Coss, Melissa Aldana, Nubya Garcia, Nicole Glover, Amy Dickson, etc... Every individual player has something to offer and it's great that their hard work and talent is being recognized. There's no need for all this bickering. Open up your heart and LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN FOR THE LOVE OF THE MUSIC.

Arts people can get reeeaaaaallllllyyyyyyyy far up their own asses if they're not careful. They can get sucked into really esoteric stuff and then suddenly anything that appeals to the general public is seen as "easy" or "selling out" or "boring" when really it's their own tastes that have just gotten so specific. It's so easy to forget just how difficult it is to reach people and entertain people with music. It takes an entirely different skill set compared to mastering the technicality of your medium. The harsh reality is that art rarely speaks for itself. It is up to you, the artist to become an advocate. The people mentioned in your video have done an amazing job of stepping up and bringing people into the community and should be commended, not shamed.

Chad and Leo P are amazing players. They’re both entirely unique yet breathe life into the jazz saxophone scene. Also, they’re both gorgeous 🤩

Great comments, Dave, and thank you. I haven't played for years and have just picked up the horn again recently. I've been listening to Chad, Jay Metcalf and you for the last few months and learning a lot. Years ago I was discouraged and was simply no longer motivated to keep playing. After 30 years, I'm inspired to play again. Thank you. As far as it goes for Chad, he's phenomenal. I love listening to him play.

They just have hatred in their heart because they haven't had their souls saved by the Chosen One yet. I always wear Kenny G shirts to my local jazz jams and it always riles up at least one player - honestly one of the best investments you can make if you like rustling feathers.

What an excellent way to start 2023, Dave! Thank you very much for the wonderful perspective and insight! Life is way too short for negativity, let's all find the joy and goodness in everyone's efforts!

Chad is 100% class act. Not only is he incredibly skilled, but he is an inspiration to so many, even me. I joined his studio and Chad (and Andrew Gould - another fantastic player) have always been incredibly kind, patient, and immensely helpful. I will defend Chad’s musicianship and his character any day.

I came across Chad’s videos recently and as someone who comes to RU-vid to learn stuff rather than find music to listen to I think he is fantastic. For starters he seems a genuinely nice guy who is putting content out there to help players improve. Whether or not I think he is the next John Coltrane or Wayne Shorter or Chris Potter doesn’t matter to me in the context of RU-vid. I’ve learnt a lot from him already and I have only watched a fraction of his stuff. If I didn’t even play an instrument I think I’d watch his videos because he cheers me up😊

Very well said. I have been a member of a couple of online sax forums including, for a number of years back in the early 2000s, one which I think is probably the biggest and best known. I stopped using it around 2007 and pretty much dont engage with forums anymore for this exact same reason. There are some lovely and helpful people to be found on jazz forums. There are also a lot of very opinionated people who have set themselves up as arbiters of what is acceptable to listen to or to play. I got so fed up people tearing down or ridculing others or of people (including me) being told that their horn was sh*t because it is not a certian make or vintage. Shame because the good stuff was good but life is too short for all that negativity. As for Kenny - if I were him I wouldn't give the haters a second thought. Best selling instrumentalist of all time or something like that isn't he??

Thank you for this video Dave!

And no one could’ve said it better😌😤Thanks Dave

I was on a forum years ago and I was made a moderator. I learned there’s a lot of crap being spewed on forums. Today I no longer live on forums like I once did.

Good job bro! Tell them like it is! Happy new year! Cheers from Bulgaria!

Very well presented. Thank you for what you do.

Great commentary! Music is not UFC or any other sport for talking smack. Music is art and is to be celebrated. Thanks Dave!

Dave, NAILED IT!!!

thanks for this video!!

Chad received an e mail from Kenny G " Hey thanks for taking the heat off me dude !"

Well said Dave! I think people are just envious or jealous of other people’s success, so yeah they have to tear them down. Sad and pathetic really, we should be supporting each other in the jazz community!

Totally agree with you! I have experienced a lot of gatekeeping and elitism in the realm of playing saxophone. No reason for it.

Right on for standing up for Chad, Leo, and Kenny. I am a student of Chad via the ebooks and it's been great.

Dave - Excellent commentary! GO PHILLIES 2023

Thanks Dave! Spot on

You hit the nail on the head!!

Like 2 weeks ago I was looking for some reviews of jlv material and found those exact posts from sotw. Laughed a bit, left that place and went back to watching the videos lol. Shame on the amount of hate I the world..

Spot on Dave! It’s bad enough that it occurs between amateurs, but when people in the industry do it, it’s especially disappointing. I can definitely relate. When asked to name a saxophone players that inspired me by a guy in the industry, I named one of my saxophone heroes (Jay Beckenstein of Spyro Gyra). He immediately scoffed at Jay as being a “smooth jazz playing hack” instead of a serious jazz musician like Michael Brecker (who also happens to be a personal favorite). When I pointed out to him that “serious” musician Michael Brecker (and Randy Brecker) played on the first 5 albums of Spyro Gyra, he was in disbelief, until I proved it to him. It just goes to show that the jazz snobs that critique more popular guys like Kenny G, Jay Beckenstein, Dave Sanborn, etc. as being somehow inauthentic aren’t as knowledgeable as they would have others believe.

Preach Dave!!

Great video Dave. The enlightening part of the your video is your turnaround of the Kenny G. In the 80's when I played with a group from Colorado "Kenesis" which was a Jazz/Fusion group that opened up for Jeff Lorber. I spoke to Kenny for hours and he such a humble guy, doing what everyone else is trying to do which is GET BeTTER!!! Great video Dave, I enjoyed it and totally enjoy your transcriptions. You're command of the jazz language bebop to modern is amazing !!!

Thanks for your thoughts on this Dave. I ask myself the same questions all the time and see a lot of these disturbing comments. Here's my assesment of what is going on... The saxophone and music are hard to get good at. It takes a lot of work that very few people have the will power and dedication for. There are many people who would like to identify as saxophone players though (rightly so since sax players are generally awesome). Thanks to social media, people can now identify themselves as experts or especially knowledgeable about any given topic without having to do any of the work normally required. People can voice opinions in public forums without qualifying their expertise in any way. The bar for entry is having an email account. Some of these people take their frustrations out on others specifically targeting the people who have, ironically, done the most hard work (ex. Chad, Leo, Kenny, you). While I have a lot empathy for anyone who is frustrated with their saxophone or musical progress, the truth is that this behavior is lazy and vicious. There is no place for it in music. You are right to call them out, but the motivation behind these personal attacks is clear. People leaving those comments are masking their personal frustrations by attempting to bring down the tall poppies of the world. The only cure for this is doing the work. Anyone who has been humbled by the task of truly working on getting good at something so difficult is much less likely to feel so threatened by others' successes. Happy New Year to you bro.

Music is LOVE. Gotta get there my brothers and sisters. Then you will play and be in the white light and transcend.

Well said Dave 🙂

Love ALL of this Dave! Great message overall, it would be amazing if "those" people hating took your advice and looked within. That's where the truth lies. Take care buddy! 😁🙌

Well said !

I've recently started watching some of your content, Dave and then this video popped up in my feed. Hallelujah and AMEN! I could say so much but you have already put it out there. I've met some musicians who have been instrumental in inspiring me and even though I might not inhabit their genre, I admire, respect and thank them for igniting and propelling me in my personal journey. I've heard other musicians whose taste and style are not my preference but I also appreciate what they bring to the table and those they also motivate and influence for good. I may not be anywhere close in skill or proficiency or financially successful as many of my heroes but they have given me wealth and fulfillment I could not obtain by myself. One very famous and beloved saxophonist and content creator publically dissed Kenny G on his own channel a few years ago and I quickly (and respectfully) expressed my disappointment at his conduct. Many others eventually chided him. He ended up apologizing and also (eventually) featuring Kenny one video. Much to my pleasure, Kenny as very gracious - he did NOT have to be. We can and should demand better from our community members and influencers. I have even greater respect for you now, having seen this video, Dave. Thank youfor doing this. Respect!

Love CLB ! All round nice guy and brilliant musician

Great sentiment. Thanks for sharing! Both these musicians are amazing and creative entrepreneurs taking their careers by the bullhorns. Navigating the current media scape and winning.

Amen and amen. Well said.

Leo P is a great saxophonist. I hope people who like him find all the people that inspired him too (Ronnie Cuber!), but I'm grateful for all of the attention Leo has brought to the baritone!

I don't get it. Chad is beyond talented. That guy's talent is like the the Bugatti of musicianship.

this is an amazing video

Greats Video !!

Right on!

Getting jealous of another person's skill will only hinder your progress. Instead of getting upset try to learn from them so improve your own playing!

Bless up bro💪👌

i saw the post about chad and just tought that all the people hating were jealous

Great video! Haters always project their insecurities

chads the goat!

Believe it or not it is widespread. I used to play in an orchestra, lead, and the composer I later found out was going onto forums and biography pages of me and ripping me to others. He did it ‘anonymously’ but then stupidly put his name on one of his comments which had the same language of all the other hateful comments about me. Very hurtful, and kind of killed my belief in what I was doing and why. I never forgot his cruelty and hypocrisy.

There is room for all genres of saxophone playing. I have my personal preferences but absolutely love how diverse the music that is played on the sax is and how that is good for the instrument and for all musicians. How can anyone have the view that music/ notes/ sound should have limited expression? That seems like a very egocentric view. Thanks for naming and speaking this out Mr Dave!

Shame on Phil Barone for the dirty joke mocking on a young player's manhood in public social media. If you don't like Leo's playing, just say you don't like him and that would be fine. What in the world that you call him small PP? Isn't this a bully in sax community? He even wrote a "book" recently on SOTW to defend himself.

I've been asking the same questions

The problem is, music has an emotional impact on the listener. If music can make you feel a whole palette of positive feelings, it should also follow that it has the potential to make you feel a spectrum of negative feelings. It can and it does. Some people really do play in a crude, gross way that is much worse than silence because it actively forces the listener to feel something unpleasant. It is the responsibility of the artist to send the best, clearest message they can, and like any other field in life, some people work hard at it and some people slack off. Some people try to improvise, some people regurgitate the same licks over and over and it comes off as lifeless and lazy. Why should someone who never practices be received as positively as someone who really dedicates themselves to creating beauty. There's no other field in life that you'd expect every output, regardless of quality, to be received with the same enthusiasm. It's a weirdly authoritarian mindset to demand that every person who picks up an instrument, regardless of how much effort they put into it, be received with positivity. Being bad is very different from being unique. Warne Marsh was unique. Lester Young was unique. Tons of other guys who aren't well known are also brilliant and unique. But also, lots of guys are just bad. When you don't distinguish between what's good and what's bad, the naturally heavier output of bad crap buries the good stuff, and it dies a silent death in obscurity. Just my take on it, I don't mean any offense. I don't rag on musicians personally (outside my head), and I think your channel is great.

As are Leo P and His Highness. Glad you spoke up

Words of wisdom! I guess anyone who sticks their head up, above the crowd is going to receive criticism by people who are envious and have nothing better to do. I saw a post that said, "Kenny G doesn't play jazz!" My response, "Have you listened to his 'Brazilian Nights' album?" -- No reply.

That's why we love you Dave. And by the way, can you imagine Coltrane, Dolphy, Shepp, Coleman et al in the social media era? And so, after long, deep reflection, I can only come to one conclusion: some people are just stupid or bored or insecure or immature or all of it at once. That's all there is to it.

6:01 this line killed me💀💀💀Well said King Dave🤝

I always see those rude comments under posts of great players, I always think about responding saying how everyone can have their own taste and style of playing and then realize it’s like talking to a brick wall. Hope the community will be more inclusive someday.

Great video Dave. Glad you raised this topic. Loads of talentless, jealous haters out there...

What a GREAT video that deals with the issue of snobbery within the jazz community honestly! I appreciate and respect your courage for speaking out! I personally fell into the same negative opinion regarding Kenny G in the 90's when I was in college, but later realized it was just jealousy and very unprofessional to bash Kenny. It all came to light for me when I auditioned for various top 40 or even original pop/rock bands and was told that they didn't want any Charlie Parker or Coltrane licks within their band. I was offended, and of course, didn't get the gigs. Then a keyboard friend of mine encouraged me to play more like Whitney Houston and Kenny G if I wanted more gigs. The moment I started transcribing these people, among other pop stars, I started getting called so much more that before! Kenny G (and many other smooth jazz artists) is the reason why jazz became popular again in the 90's. It might not have been "our brand of jazz," but we all benefited from more gigs because of it.

This is such a great video. I would love to see the person that made that comment ACTUALLY put his sixth grader to the test next to Leo P! HAHA!!! You are a great man Charlie Brown. You have such an enormous skill to back up anything you do and you are speaking the mind of everybody here that has questioned the same thing...why is this a competition? This reminds me of an article I read YEEEAAARRSSSS ago and I can't find it anywhere now. Brecker was a guest with one of the top navy jazz bands. He noticed the negative vibe in the band and he actually had to say something to the guys in the band. If I remember right he had mentioned..."It's MUSIC!!!! This is not a democracy!!!" Wish I could find the article. The negativity ran rampant in the military. :/ I love the fact you are very bold about this. I know many wish they had your skills...myself included (one day when time permits)...but the fact you call out the haters for the rest of us is beyond amazing!!! Because you do this I feel that others will slowly follow suit to basically say STOP!!! We are all trying to learn how to speak the language. I also equate this to native language speakers like French in Martinique. Back in the day, I have come across that if you don't speak the language or if they detect a HINT of an American accent, they will have NOTHING to do with you. That's been my experience.

Chad LB is great!

I loved watching the HBO Documentary on Kenny G. It presented a fully complex view of how the music world has condemned his art despite how involved in the music world he has been

Thank you so much for saying this. You are spot on. I really wish the jealous snobs would knock it off. it’s ugly.

It's a shame that people vibe each other for little to no reason... Chad's vocab is insane, so what if he uses the same licks on turnarounds... It's the sound that he wants to hear. Also for the argument that he's just playing licks, like who doesn't? He just made it and we didn't.

Haters gonna hate... There was a pretty good documentary about Kenny G not too long ago that I saw. And while I'm not a fan of his music, I respect that he can poke fun at himself, and that he's very sanguine about what he does. He plays music that people (a LOT of people judging by his record sales) like. But I agree he helped put the saxophone back on the map as a pop instrument, something few (if any) other wind instruments have achieved/sustained. Leo P is animated, and is doing something new with bari sax, which has long been the redheaded stepchild of the saxophone world. I love playing bari, and appreciate that Leo brought new language to it from EDM, and is a great showman. ChadLB is very visible on social media, and is a relentless self-promoter of his educational material (not a bad thing, as you point out). I appreciate how much teaching content he publishes on YT for free, and have bought a few of his PDFs as material to work on in the shed. What these three have in common (along with others like Bob Reynolds) is that they 're finding success pretty much on their own terms, which is actually hard to do, and something that many of us (myself included) have yet to really crack the code on. So there's a hefty amount of envy going on there, which shows up as whiny comments from anonymous weasels. YT and the Internet are many things (not all good, some downright awful), but it continues to be an amazing medium for teaching, and letting students have access to great teachers who live on the other side of the country, or the world for that matter, in ways that weren't previously possible. It's also a place where anyone can publish their work to the world. Getting it noticed is a huge challenge, but it creates unprecedented opportunities for those who can find a way to break through.

I remember years ago when my brother was a semi-pro sax player, he gave me his take on Kenny G: "Dude can play, I just don't like what he plays". Which y'know, fair. Personally I never really had an issue with Kenny, so I had to learn this lesson about Andre Rieu instead: when someone is making art music accessible to a mainstream audience, that's a very good thing and we should be happy about it. We know that a mainstream audience generally won't appreciate the stuff that us music nerds are into, so of course mainstream offerings are unlikely to be our cup of tea - that doesn't make it bad. This thing makes a pretty broad category really: Kenny G and Leo P in jazz, but then you've got folks like Ray Chen and TwoSet Violin over in classical. On bass guitar we've got Charles Berthoud who's incredible, but Davie504 launched his career (and continues to do great work himself). Basically, let's hear it for the popularisers. And even more so when they're actually incredible musicians also, which most of them are. Oh, and special shout-out to Linsey Pollak - 100% he's doing way more good in his chosen career path, than if he'd just stayed in college and wound up playing clarinet in a traditional orchestra. And hell yeah he can play. And just to go even further afield, this same argument plays out about science communicators vs 'serious' scientists. I mean I appreciate all the working scientists out there, but I also have a whole lot of respect for folks like Richard Feynman and Bill Nye (plus a bunch of miscellaneous RU-vidrs) who are so good at explaining science to non-scientists. And the Mythbusters of course - not rigorous, but incredibly effective at driving interest and literacy in science.

Completely agree with you... The Internet is a very powerful media and gave voice to everybody...but most of people abuse such power... anonymity also plays a role: such bullies would never, ever, say such things to the person itself, I mean , to their face. They feel protected behind their keyboards, inside their houses. And, most of time, they produce nonsensical stuff... in their heads they feel superior diminishing others... of course they will only target the successful ones, like Chad or Kenny G.

Every person is unique... Every player is unique in their own way that is the beauty of "music" You know how boring music would be if every single musician played the exact same thing and exact same way...there would be 1 song in the entire world..lol everyone has different styles and tastes..like what you like... Hatred for someone else in what they do or like is stupid... If bird ,coltrane, cannonball all played exactly the same and the same thing how would they have been the inspirations they are... Hatred needs to go away... Play how and what u want. Play what type of music you get gigs for.. brush the haters off and be you... Beautiful video Dave..💯 more love needs to be spread Sax4lyfe-

100% And perhaps your hope for a more accepting sax environment will reduce the number of eye-rolls I get when I tell people I play in a ska band

Chad is an amazing musician 🎶🎶🎶

Haters gonna hate. As a Kenny G advocate, I've grown accustomed to jazz musicians hating on (what I can only assume is) success. #vibing

Haters: "I don't like Leo P!" Leo P: "OK cool. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jqrsnpK3Wm0.html "

Misery loves company. I used to be a person who behaved this way online all the time, and frequently in person to other people. At some point I realized that despite all of whatever superiority I felt I had, I was just miserable and whining about things. Anymore now, I realize that if something doesn't necessarily jive with my favorite aesthetic, that doesn’t mean its invalid. It’s been a long journey, and myself and many others still have a long way to go lol

Jealousy breeds hate and the internet is a cesspool that manifests it. Sad times we live in right now.

Hi Dave! This kind of video was necessary. Unfortunately some people just need to get rid of their frustration. All the artists you mentioned have inspired us and deserve respect to say the least. Thanks for this!!

I think a lot of players are frustrated with their own progress or "success". The world doesn't reward everyone equally. Talent and ability is only part of the equation. Tearing someone else down just makes people feel better about what they see as the "unfairness" of it all. But hey, life is not inherently fair! Just keep working on your own stuff and put your energy there, instead of thinking about what everyone else is doing.

"why pat why..."

@Dave Pollack Would you be willing to put out a video on how to constructively critique a piece of music or a musicians playing?

I think part of the problem here is that the people posting negatively are usually neither jazz musicians or saxophonists.

Credit to Kenny for being so cool around Dave despite all the joke Dave makes about him and smooth jazz. I don’t enjoy Kenny’s music much but I respect the guy. I don’t always enjoy my own playing but I still respect myself enough to keep playing, being a musician and marketing myself but I respect him for working to have a successful career. Sure he does have certain advantages; his music is more acceptable to the average listener than say Coltrane, Ornette or even Leo P but music isn’t just about pushing boundaries or virtuosity sometimes it’s just about giving people joy or expressing oneself and he is a white cis male, which does give him an advantage over other people of other races and genders in terms of mass popularity, but he does support and work with musicians of different races and gender without discrimination. To some extent Kenny’s music is rather unique in culture. His albums are often completely instrumental but a good few managed to sell millions of copies and gain chart success and that’s rather groundbreaking considering the scarcity of instrumental hits in the 80s. For an instrumentalist pop musician and figure, he achieved a level of success not seen in ten years, at the time, and a level which hasn’t been seen much since then. Pushing boundaries doesn’t always mean in composition and improvisation, it can also mean in what is considered pop music or what the average listener will give a shot. Many pop listeners struggle with non vocal music, fighting to get past thirty seconds of instrumental and usually those thirty seconds are focused on a guitar solo which makes Kenny’s music really stand out and really groundbreaking.

Interesting comments Dave. I suppose in the end, haters will hate. I remember reading a critics review of a 50's Coltrane album which described his saxophone as sounding 'like an ineptly scraped cello'. Or a comment on the saxophone website you mentioned (sotw) that stated the poster couldn't listen to Dexter Gordon or Jackie McLean because they played 'out of tune' Really? Well done for calling this entire attitude out.

I'm with you 100%. In fact, on the thing about Chad, I had to say something to the critics. The end of my comment read something like the only options with Chad are love his playing, respect it or both. I think keyboard warriors rip on Chad because he brought something new to jazz tenor, Leo because he broke into the (lucrative) pop word on bari no less and Kenny for his ridiculously lush (and unmistakable) tone. They remind me of a guy I used to work with. The guys gets a few small folk gigs in the area singing and playing folk. He found out my cousin has been lead guitarist in a top 40's 80's hair band from the beginning. My cousin is crazy good. I was talking about how proud I am of my cousin. This guy had the audacity to say he could hang with, even challenge, my cousin on guitar. It kind of blew me away until I realized some people feel compelled to try to spoil what they envy. Sooo...that tells me there's some sax players out there who are green with envy when it comes to Chad, Leo and Kenny (including Phil Barone). I'd give just about anything to see those critics face-to-face with any of those three players, horn in hand, ready to battle. I bet a paycheck they'd piss themselves. I don't think many people can really understand how good pros on their level really. They're in another galaxy! The vast majority of us have huge trouble transposing their work, let alone create it on the spot. When i read these critical comments, I picture a zit faced teen, sitting in his room eating Doritos and spending their time being a keyboard warrior rather than practicing...while blowing ground up Doritos through their horns.

I genuinely can’t stand when people clown on these successful saxophonists… It’s so boring hearing the same Kenny G jokes over and over again. Like cmon, how about you spend more time in the shed instead of wasting your time being negative and consuming content you don’t enjoy. Or maybe idk… try and get more gigs and become successful like Chad or Leo?? Everything you say here is the truth Dave, I love your positivity and how you keep it real. More musicians in general need to adopt this mindset.

Great message Dave, I completely agree with all of this. It's driven me crazy over my years of playing that certain individuals within the community are so critical and cruel towards other players they don't like. It can create very toxic environments both online and in the real world which, totally opposes the entire idea of what jazz, or even music as a whole is all about.

may be an aspect of jealousy being sprinkled in with projection

Chad LB and Leo P don't have anything to worry about, Thet are super successful saxophonists. however, thank you for saying what many of us have thought.

The baby crying sound effect sent my sides into orbit😂😂😂 but real talk. I do not understand the logic. Some of these individuals constantly complain about jazz being the greatest art form and that no one listens to it and are total snobs about it, and super close minded, but the second a cat makes a great contribution and appeals to a bigger audience (like Chad as an educator and an insanely good music, insight, and he’s just a great dude, Leo P with his incredibly entertaining music and thrilling persona, also super good, and Kenny G who I must say gets a lot of uncalled for hate which I never understood. I think what he’s done for music and the saxophone is amazing), they are shot down and ridiculed. Just because they are not playing Charlie Parker or Hard Bop means it is bad or inferior. Just because they’re not playing moving 8th notes means it’s bad. You don’t have to like everything, but if you don’t like something, just don’t watch it or listen to it and move on. I never understood why people have to put other people down like that. It’s just so unnecessary.

Allen Lowe, a distinguished composer and writer, writing under his own name delivered this on the sotw thread asking for thoughts on CLB: ...'slick and shallow, narcissistic, plays like he's looking in the mirror.'... Mr Lowe is perhaps the most distinguished published author on sotw.

You are not only a inspiring musician but also a peace philosopher bringing people together ,thanks

I agree. Most people are just selfish. Like their opinion matters. That’s my opinion, and it doesn’t really matter either.

Dave Pollack - 33.7K subscribers... Chad LB - 88.9K subscribers... Leo P - 74.7K subscribers... Kenny G - 741K subscribers... You don't get these kinds of numbers without doing something right! "Unless I've got Katy Perry on the cover of my CD, it's going to be tough to sell a lot of records." - Kenny G FYI - Katie Perry - 43.7M subscribers!!! 🎷😎

I am a fan of all three saxophonists that you mentioned and yourself as well. My favorite musicians are the ones who are courageously and sincerely themselves. I have personally lived through a lot of what you mentioned being at saxophonist with the straightahead, jazz background, who later embraced playing smooth jazz, (weddings and corporate stuff) so that I could better entertain, communicate with a crowd and make a living. I became the joke of the entire jazz community, while at the same time making SO MANY “normal” people happy! How many jazz saxophone players eat their own

I think maybe, possibly, when the naysayers work themselves to the bone obeying every detail their music teachers tell them, they can't stand to see the success of others who do things that aren't the way their teachers teach them. I love Leo P. And I - like everyone else who hasn't turned music/lessons into a prison they can never escape from - love seeing musicians do inspiring things instead of playing it safe.

A corollary question is THIS: Should Jazz musicians in general, and Jazz saxophonists in particular, be immune from criticism, either from colleagues or listeners? Such critiques are analogous to tape recording oneself. If a particular player does his or her thing and people respond negatively to it, might not same motivate them into further introspection and possible corrective action? Now, if said player is at the innovative level of, for example, Monk, same can adopt Monk's view of such matters, which is essentially to give them the proverbial middle finger and advise the naysayers of them to "catch up."

I think the true reason people hate is jealousy.

You included me in your "hate comment song" for something horrible I wrote, and then remembered that the person on the other side of the screen is a human. Haven't wrote any hate since, and I some super sorry for my comment because I do enjoy your content and am inspired by you, hope you forgive me, and keep up the great content!!

Sax on the web is not a place for the thin of skin. It’s true. It has some our best and some of our worst.

I would never dis someone who plays better or worse than me. I love playing and don't care what others think of me.

This is all I find on r/jazz