Cool ideas from Jeff Coffin

Some good ways to play longtones and scales... check it out. There are a lot of good ideas in this Vandoren Series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XpqyIclcaU&feature=related

Ernie Watts exercises

I'll have these up a little later!


Check out this book... a lot of fun!

Playing with the Oak Ridge Boys

A short clip of me sitting in with the Oak Ridge Boys at their show in VA last weekend... The song is called Bobbie Sue, a big hit for them in 1982... The solo I am playing here is more or less as it appears on the original album. Some of it pays a little homage to Boots Randolph by hinting at Yakety Sax....FUN!!!! Thanks Oaks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPboBOCzgMk

Jody Jazz mouthpieces

In 2005, I discovered the Jody Jazz hard rubber mouthpiece, and my long search for the right piece ended. I found the direction I wanted to head in while studying with George Garzone. I had been playing a Claude Lakey 6*3 for years and it was time for a change to move my sound to another, deeper level. So, for a semester he let me play one of his hard rubber Otto Link 9*'s, and it was perfect! Unfortunately, it wasn't for sale. After having to give that piece back to George, I played a Berg Larsen 130/0 for a couple of years. Then a Vandoren Jumbo Java T95 ... then came across Jody Espina's website. I ordered a 8*, 9*, and a 10*.... and instantly fell in love with the 9*! It was very much like that old rubber Link, and had all the qualities I was looking for. Big and dark, but projecting and brilliant, too. I can really play hard on this mouthpiece and it won't shut off. And the sound is very even from low Bb to the upper extremes. I get altissimo F's and G's without much adjustment. Lately, Rico Royal 4's seem to give me the right resistance and projection.

You can hear playing me on this mouthpiece in the video below or at www.myspace.com/joshcooksaxophone

I highly recommend trying Jody's mouthpieces. Aside from the hard rubber line which I think are outstanding, he's got many other configurations that are very cool...Check them out!

http://www.jodyjazz.com/

You can also get these at http://www.wwbw.com/Jody-Jazz-HR--Tenor-Saxophone-Mouthpiece-471631-i1420513.wwbw

Ralph Lalama tone exercises

Here are two superb tone exercises I picked up from Ralph Lalama in my year of lessons with him at NYU. Ralph is monster player with a huge sound. And here's a couple of items that will build your sound. If you do these properly, you will have a bigger sound, and vastly increase your endurance.

1. This one he calls the "HA-TA-TA" because this is the articulation used when playing the exercise. And I believe it comes from a Carmine Caruso trumpet exercise. The MOST important aspect of this one is that you must do all your breathing through the nose. Never release your embouchure. If you do, it ruins the effectiveness. The exercise only consists of middle G up to middle C. Start the first half note with a breath attack (HA). Then tongue the second half note, and whole note (TA). On the whole rest, breath out 2 beats and then in 2 beats, only through the nose... Play all of the exercise TWICE. Remember, don't release your embouchure at all until you've played the whole exercise. You should start to fatigue if you are doing it right... air may start escape the corners of your mouth, spit will get into your sound. But don't correct any of that. Just try to continue. It's a great tone builder, but it's not about how good it sounds while you're doing it.

Set your metronome to 60 bpm, and play it all in time.

2. This is great for evenness of sound throughout the registers. Play this one at a slow tempo, and slurred. No articulation. You want the most even air you can produce throughout. It is ok to breath through the mouth, but try not to stop. This is just the first page of the exercise. Notice there are 4 keys here, each a minor 3rd apart. After you finish this entire page, rest about 30 seconds. Then start the whole pattern over again, but starting in the key of B. Do four more keys, rest, and then start on Bb. Then you've covered all 12.

Eric Marienthal

Last night I had the good fortune to play on a gig with Eric Marienthal. It's an honor be in the presence of such a powerful, commanding musician. He's very generous with his time and a genuinely nice guy. And can PLAY!! If you haven't checked out his music, please do. He's among the great players who have developed a unique voice on their instruments. He's got many solo records ("Crossroads" is my favorite), numerous recordings with Chick Corea, the GRP All-Star Big Band, etc. All of us in Fredericksburg were very excited he came to town and so inspired by his playing! Thanks, Eric!!

Unfortunately, I didn't get to take a lesson with Eric. But, some of the other excellent players here in town did, and I look forward to hitting them up for information!

Check out some of the practice items Eric posted on his website. Some great ideas!

http://ericmarienthal.com/education.html#2hour

James Moody pattern

Here's a pattern taught to me by James Moody a while back. It's a simple diatonic major scale pattern, but constructed of two keys a tritone apart...

Josh's solo on Lines and Spaces

This is a solo I played on Joe Lovano's tune "Lines and Spaces" on a gig in Okinawa a few years ago. I tried to stay melodic and true to Lovano's amazing changes. It's a fun tune to play on.

A new jazz/saxophone blog....

Welcome to Josh Cook's page...The intention for this new blog is to share ideas about playing jazz, particularly as it relates to the saxophone. I want to give you my thoughts about what I am studying (interesting concepts), practicing (and how to practice), or listening to (so important to becoming a competent player)... and hopefully getting some feedback and conversing with other players of all levels and styles. I hope the information I post will be useful to emerging jazz students looking for practice ideas and another resource to spur development.


A quick introduction: I am a tenor player currently based in Fredericksburg, VA. I did my undergrad work at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and studied with a host of great musicians... jazz trombonist Dr. Pete Vivona, bassist Joel Dibartolo, and brilliant classical saxophonist Wildy Zumwalt... they are all burnin'! The years at NAU allowed me an opportunity to play with Marvin Stamm, Bill Watrous, Don Menza, and Ernie Watts. Ernie was kind enough to give me a couple of lessons, and I'll certainly make some of his effective exercises into a blog topic... He's got some great ideas for keeping one's technique fluid...Cool stuff!

From there I attended grad school at NYU, and studied with a few players including Ralph Lalama (look for a post about playing unaccompanied) and George Garzone (check out his triadic/chromatic concept). I highly recommend the NYU program to any serious player. A down to Earth, brilliant faculty. And my fellow students were there to share ideas and learn... there were no attitudes. Great experience!

Since, I've lived and played in Okinawa... if you ever visit, go to Kam's House jazz club. Kamura Hidefumi taught me a lot... he can PLAY!

Now, I am in Fredericksburg playing jazz, r&b, salsa on a regular basis. If you live in the F'burg area, you might have heard me with Jay Starling or Un Mundo. So many great players. Since moving to the area, I've gotten to play with James Moody and Eric Marienthal. I have even played a little with the country group the Oak Ridge Boys... so I get a variety of musical experiences and find them all valuable in developing as a musician. My focus is developing as an improvisor, but one has to be versatile and I enjoy honing my skills is all genres.

So hope you enjoy my blog...check back often as I'll be adding new posts all the time... Thanks!