Jerry Bergonzi at Acton Jazz Cafe

by Albert Lowe

Caught Jerry Bergonzi Last Wednesday (February 2009)

He definitely can play up a storm. I got both shows from 9 to 11:30.

But being only an attentive listener, and self educated at that, I can't say where he fits in the hierarchy of sax players.

He is good for sure, however the trio was just having fun for the night. My problem is that I am used to hearing the melody at the start of the piece then I have a chance to see/understand what they are doing. Bergonzi had a great time setting up his song but then for the most part only alluded to the melody. They had a great time especially with the endings. They seemed, to me, to be playing can you top this for the end riffs. At any ending they would run through and quote at least three different end riffs. Sort of like when soloists pass off to each other. One would start a classic end and move it around. Then the base, and one case the drummer Robert Kaufman, would take it to a different classic ending and they would change it again. That was the highest point of the evening for me, mentally retrieving the classic record that had that ending and seeing how they fit.

A good time was had by all. Bergonzi most certainly has the chops and showed them all in each bit. I.e. bop to classic swing style etc. I actually enjoyed his piano more. When he was on piano he wasn't able to cover the air with notes and I could follow his reasoning. The bop cascade in between the major notes of the melody etc was distracting to me especially when not having a clear idea of the base melody they were working on. Bergonzi did a very clever thing on one set. At the end of each burst of improvisation he came back to the melody and handed off to the base - but very last note out of place too high. At the end of the song the high notes became a new melody in the higher key. I almost fell off the bar stool.

The Acton Jazz Cafe either has made major improvements in their business management, acquired a sugar daddy, or won't last long. Because of changes in the fire code rules for night clubs the less than one hundred seat venue had to strip the old wall coverings off and replace them with fire proof sound absorption. They have almost turned it into a recording studio. Professional sound absorption on all the major flat surfaces, mikes all over the place and a good sound system. I'm willing to bet that the sound quality doesn't change much between having a crowd and being empty.  Bruce Gertz, the base player, placed his Zoom H2 sound recorder on the table nearest the group and seemed satisfied with the results.

At the peak, there were thirteen paying listeners including me. There was no cover and my selzer and twist of lime cost $2. If I was 45 years younger, and still unmarried, I would be there every night.

Bergonzi and his crew will be playing on Wednesdays for the near future. There should be an eight dollar cover charge but if the crowds don’t get bigger than thirteen it won’t be worth paying some one to collect it. The musicians got all the booze they wanted so they made out sort of. The Jazz Café  has them playing tomorrow Wed May fifth. So if I don’t get sidetracked, very likely, I will be there to get a better feel for his style etc., have a good time, and find out what setting Gertz uses on his H2 recorder.

-AWL-

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Jerry Bergonzi, Bruce Gertz, Robert Kaufman, Acton, Jazz Cafe, Albert Lowe

Q & A #1: Developing your own saxophone sound

Image via Wikipedia

Ogul Koker from Turkey wrote on May 24, 2009:

I've started to play sax 1,5 years ago. But at the same time I've started to study musicology. So I had no time to play sax and after this one big year I can't ever properly blow my sax :(

So my plan to learn how to play sax for this year is to practice all major, minor scales and modes, arpeggios and to learn how to do vibrato...

I also want to study some jazz, but dunno where to start :( I thought I could start with trying to imitate a player that I liked. I really like Mark Turner, Kenny Garrett, J. Coltrane and a lot of guys, but they sound to me hard to play... I think I should try to imitate a player from an early era? But who will that be?
I've got an alto sax btw.

Sorry for my bad English and greetings from Turkey! =)

Dear Ogul,

thanks for your note.

About developing your jazz sound; If you are not sure whom to imitate, no one else cannot really tell it to you. My suggestion is to listen to music a lot. Kind of jazz you like, players you admire. Then gradually (over the years) your saxophone sound will develop toward the direction of your liking.

Keep practicing and listening. Good luck,


-Harri

Technorati Tags: John Coltrane, Mark Turner,Kenny Garrett,Turkey,jazz sound,saxophone sound,alto sax,practice, Dave Liebman

Carmen Leggio - Young Man With A Horn, RIP

Writes Fred Cicetti on Sax on the Web in 1999:

Carmen Leggio's been playing tenor sax for about six decades and it shows. His small frame is stooped over and his head is bent down a bit. The man was made to play music, so it's fitting that his body has conformed to his gift.

Leggio blows tenor the way Willie Mays ran down a flyball. They both let you know from the get-go that you'll never be able to do it their way.

"I have thousands of songs memorized," Leggio explains with childlike joy and not an eighth note of boasting. "I can hear a song once and know how to play it. In my whole life, I've never bought a piece of sheet music. Saved a lot of money."

Leggio (incredibly, it means "music stand" in Italian) taught himself how to play at the age of nine. He began on clarinet, imitating Artie Shaw on the radio. He still performs "Stardust," "Nightmare" and "Begin the Beguine" on an old King metal clarinet. At 14, he switched to tenor sax and began playing in clubs in his hometown of Tarrytown, a suburb just north of New York City.

"I quit high school, because I knew I was meant to be a musician," he said. "But my father was so angry that he didn't speak to me for years. On his deathbed, he admitted I was right to leave school."

That admission came after Leggio had played with Benny Goodman, Maynard Ferguson, Gene Krupa, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, Dizzy Gillespie and Doc Severinson. There have also been television shows, movies, the Newport Jazz Festival, Birdland and, yes, Carnegie Hall.

On April 17, 2009, Carmen Leggio suffered a heart attack in front of his home in Tarrytown, NY and died later that day at the age of 81.

What a loss to the saxophone community and jazz.

Writes Tim Price in his blog now:

Carmen Leggio bristled with individuality, whether soaring over a legendary big band like Woody Herman or Maynard or cutting a new path through a standard song like " Smile" his ruggedly magisterial horn made a personal statement the jazz world will never forget.

This player, developed a way to express a wide and subtle range of emotions through a unique and highly evolved level of musicianship, that is never cluttered or forced. One of the masters of original melodic improvisation that melted in your heart like an emotional choclate ball. When he played a ballad you might think he's whispering the greatest story of un-requited love ever told,directly down your spinal column.

Back in the70's I bought the record " Tarrytown Tenor". I got in New York City at King Karol records. At the time, I was wondering why a player like this was not touring the world, recording more and playing every jazz club in NYC and Europe. I played that record everyday, playing along with it and studying the art of Mr. Leggio’s saxophone. I saw him at the Vanguard with That and Mel playing some of the best lead alto I ever heard- just amazing phrasing and soul.

He sure will be missed, and a loss to the world.

RIP Carmen, I'm sure Prez, Sal, Romano and Hawk are waiting in that jam session above for you.

Detroit Torino Jazz Project – Live Video Broadcast

Detroit Torino Jazz Project Live

in co-operation with Sax on the Web site

@ Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe
in Detroit area

Live Broadcast
Friday April 24 & Saturday April 25, 2009
6:00pm (18:00) EST

Featuring leading jazz musicians and photographic artists from Detroit, USA and Torino, Italy (AKA "THE DETROIT OF EUROPE").
Chris Collins (sax, picture right) and Emanuele Cisi (sax, picture left) will be joined by Cliff Monear (piano), Sean Dobbins (drums), and Nick Calandro (bass) in this live recording session.

Blowing your own horn

While browsing through the Sax on the Web Forum recently, I realized that many saxophonist members are also keen brass players. Here they proudly display their latest inventions:

Miraphone Double Belled Sax Shaped Trumpet (1950s?)

Martin Williams and his Double Belled Trumpet

Triple Belled Trombone

Double Belled (in series) with a muffler

I am assuming that the picture posters have rights to these pictures. By posting on the SOTW Forum the rights have been extended to the owner of SOTW.

Late addition: Is this a proper use of brass instruments?

This just in (Jul-18-2009):

 

Randy Emerick has joined the trombone section. Watch out, Kid Oreo!

Easter Expedition

Between Pyhätunturi and Noitatunturi

Pyhätunturi is a mountain situated in the town of Pelkosenniemi in Finland’s Lapland. As the snow started melting in the Helsinki area, Pyhätunturi is a good place for downhill and cross-country skiing. This year the conditions of Easter week were perfect for Rautiainen family’s traditional Easter expedition. The temperature dropped to -20 degrees centigrade during the night, preserving the snowy conditions. However, the temperature rose above the freezing point during the day with perfect sunshine making it ideal for outdoor activities.

Most of the time, Miia and Ida have been on the slopes, whereas Raila and I have been exploring the cross-county trails. Kiimaselkä (picture) is a popular rest stop for coffee and refreshments. The next day, we skied to Karhunjuomalampi, including a gruelling climb to the foothills of the mountain. Mikko arrived on Tuesday, and he is a snowboard man.

Lapland is one on the remaining wildernesses left in Europe. We saw footprints of a wolverine and tracks of it fighting with a hare. Most probably the hare lost the fight and its life.

Karhunjuomalampi hut

On Thursday we enjoyed sauna and swimming pool at Luosto Spa and on Friday night we will be celebrating Mikko’s birthday at a ski-resort restaurant. There might be some reindeer on the plate.

Frozen Saxophone

Perhaps surprisingly Google’s search engine ranked this SOTW Forum thread as the highest of all Sax on the Web pages. “rs1sensen”, a long time SOTW member writes:

Yesterday I marched in some of the coldest weather I've ever had to deal with on a horn. Some of my pads were frozen shut. Others frozen open. A couple tone holes were almost sealed with ice, and there was some ice on the bottom of my horn. After the game, I carefully de-thawed the horn, dried everything off, and re-oiled my springs.
I tried to keep warm air going through the horn prior to playing, but it actually seemed to make things worse, as more and more ice would just form. I gave up on playing. What I did find interesting, is that about half of our section ran into the same problems, but the other half could play perfectly fine.
I have to give the dance team some credit, they did a performance before us and wore much less clothing than all of us!

Then there is follow-up discussion and helpful hints. Although the post is more than one year old, it seems to become current every winter.

Putin's Dog Steals Treats

Reuters from Moscow on April 1st:

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's pet dog gobbled up snacks prepared for United Russia bosses on Wednesday.
While Putin discussed ways to help the local food industry, his black Labrador Koni snuck into a room at his residence and tucked into the delicacies.
"Koni ate everything," said one of Putin's astounded bodyguards.

April Fools or not, but what they say: Over time dogs and their masters start to resemble each other, perhaps even behave the same way.
The timing for this news item was very appropriate because I just returned from the National Theater in Helsinki. The play was Kari Hotakainen's "Who is who" (in Finnish). In the play appeared (now 184 years old) Dostoevsky and Putin whose role was skillfully played by Jukka Puotila. A hilarious night in theater.

Jam Sessions in USA and Greater Helsinki Area

Soup Kitchens and Jam Sessions

The above is very interesting blog post by Alexei Zoubov, now an American jazz musician. In that Alexei writes:

"Nevertheless, the image of a soup kitchen (or bread line) pops out in my mind at jams more and more often lately.
I guess that has partially to do with the present bad economic situation. There are less and less gigs, especially jazz gigs, less and less jazz clubs. And the expansion of jazz education produces more and more young players that just can’t find any spots to play jazz.
Except for jam sessions. These are the places where hungry for playing jazz musicians can get their “bowl of jazz soup” for free, or “at a reasonably low price” (see the definition of a soup kitchen above).
They sign up on a list, sometimes pay $5 or so (nothing bad about that, the money goes to the house rhythm section) and thus form a line to play a few choruses in a couple of songs."

Tuukka (gt) and Harri (t-sax) in Bar Mendocino on Nov. 12, 2008
(picture by by Bluespekko)

I go to jam sessions quite often in Helsinki area. Never happened that I have to pay to play, although in one place there is a great pressure to buy raffle tickets (5 euros each) to cover the house band. In many places the jam players get free beer or beverages.
The jam places where I played recently are:

1. Grillari in Soukka, Espoo
2. Hemingway's in Tapiola, Espoo
3. Henrik in Helsinki
   
4. Bar Mendocino in Helsinki (Blues, roots music)
   

Alexei continues:

"I strongly believe that a really enjoyable and satisfying jam session, the one that expands music ideas and creates new music should have some threshold, the minimum level of musicianship accepted.
It is practically impossible when the musicians are required to pay to participate, then everyone that pays has the right to play. There are always people that abuse this right and subject other players and the audience to extreme suffering, sometimes raising to the level of torture - you know what I mean.
I guess Russians are rude compared to Americans. At the jams back in Russia you could often see a musician being taken of the stage by the sleeve and told to go home and practice. They did that to me when I just started and it sometimes made me cry, but in the end it did me a lot of good."

I guess the Finnish jam organizers are more polite or perhaps more tolerant. In any case both players and the organizers should read the Jam Session Etiquette by Grant Koeller.

Bob's Takeaway in Henrik, January 2009