The Jazz Sax & Improvisation Blog of Saxophonist Bobby Stern - bobbysternjazz.com

Chops Duster! - Fingerbuster!

7/10/2014

Chops Duster! - Fingerbuster!

"Hey look Ma......! It really works!!"

Contrary to the condition of the gent's digits in the picture below, this is a mild version of a "fingerbuster" (I'm not referring to the Jelly Roll Morton composition of the same name).

A "fingerbuster" could be considered as an instrumentalist's version of a "tongue-twister" which is usually defined as a group of words, or a phrase, that is considered to be difficult to execute.

While the degree of difficulty varies with both the phrase and the ability of the practitioner, constant repetition, in any case, at a slowed down tempo, usually serves to iron undo the knots before gradually bringing it back up to speed.

This particular "finger-twister" appeared out of the blue recently while I was doing my saxophonistic due diligence, and it gave me "the finger".

BRANCHER-FRANCE TSG Tenor Saxophone Play - Test

7/4/2014

The BRANCHER-FRANCE
TSG Tenor Saxophone Play - Test

I am taking this opportunity to happily announce here that I am now a proud endorser for BRANCHER-FRANCE Saxophones.

I had the good fortune of meeting Msr. Pascal Brancher, "Mr. BRANCHER-FRANCE" himself, maker of fine saxophones and accessories, in March 2014 at the Frankfurter Musikmesse (Frankfurt Music Fair).

The Brancher stand was located directly across the isle from the Bari Woodwinds booth, whose Bari Hybrid mouthpiece and synthetic reeds I have been playing exclusively and endorsing for a number of years, going back to the days of the company's founder, the late Wolfe Taninbaum.

So meeting "the Branchers" was kind of like meeting the people next door. I had never even heard of the Brancher brand before this, so I was certainly not familiar with their line of horns.

Korner Karnataka #5 - Take A Ride on the "South Indian Line"

6/27/2014

All Aboard!
Take A Ride on the "South Indian Line"

"People get ready, there's a train a-comin''. Don't need no ticket, just get on board " - Curtis Mayfield

(...and If you actually get to where you're goin' in one piece. you'd better thank the Lord!)

The exercise here is a page from my personal workbook (as is most of the stuff I post, I guess).

In order to kill two birds with one stone, I thought I'd create` these lines for myself as a method to get closer and more personal with this odd meter Carnatic composition "South Indian Line", and post them here, to share with my fellow masochists.

2 B Continued...Continuous Melodic Minor ii-V7-i, 3 Scale Exercise

6/19/2014

2 B Continued...
Continuous Melodic Minor ii-V7-i
3 Scale Exercise

The purpose of this minor ii-V7-i exercise, which utilizes 3 Melodic Minor scales (in directionally alternating diatonic 3rds), is at least three-fold:

1) Because Melodic Minor has no "avoid" notes, one can start and resolve the ii-V7-i cadence on each and any scale degree.

2) To smoothly connect, by whole or half step, from one scale to the next, moving in the same ascending or descending direction.

3) Most importantly, to help train the ear to the sound of Melodic Minor in general and to the sound of this type of polymodal ii-V7-i in particular, as well as to build instrumental technique.

'Trane Fare for Slonimsky - A Diminished Scale Sequence

6/12/2014

'Trane Fare for Slonimsky - A Diminished
Scale Sequence

A Beautiful (Musical) Mind - Times 2

Here's another symmetrical scale exercise.

This time, it's 2 minor 7th chords a tritone apart, a pair of 4 note patterns, which reveal all 8 notes of a diminished scale.

I was sure this pattern, which has its descending version in retrograde of its ascending form (second two measures), was contained somewhere in the depths of Nicolas Slonimsky's "Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns".

But it wasn't!

Rep. Tile Dept. - Express Your "Scales" as Arpeggios

6/5/2014

Iguana play some scales

Musically speaking, a scale (in German "Tonleiter" or "tone ladder") is an ordered set of pitches, either ascending or descending. Such scales can be expressed stepwise (horizontally) or intervalically as arpeggios (vertically).

The subject of this exercise is the arpeggiated version of the Melodic Minor Scale starting on it's 4th scale degree (Lydian Dominant), over a minor ii-V7-i root movement.

A wealth of information on Melodic Minor harmony can be found in previous posts on this blog, together with ii-V7 exercises.

Like A New Pair of Blues Shoes - More X-Centric Gonzatonic b2s

5/29/2014

Hey everybody, I'm back!

Did ya miss me?!

I know, I know!

I've been doing some shopping, and I picked up this badass pair of kicks which I'll be sportin' whilst I shed these "Slick Licks That Stick!"

(OK, so they're not really my shoes!)

This X-Centric Gonzatonic b2 exercise download, based on Shape #5 from tenor master Jerry Bergonzi's great book, Vol. 2 - Pentatonics (Advance Music), is the inverted form of an exercise contained in an earlier post, and the explanations can be found there.

Keep 'em spit shined & polished and they'll carry you far!

Joe Henderson's "Inner Urge" - The Last Eight

5/1/2014

Joe Henderson's "Inner Urge" - The Last Eight

Smokin' Joseph

I've been wanting to post something on the subject of Joe Henderson for a while now.

Joe Henderson, as quiet as it's been kept, is not only one of the greatest tenor saxophonists of the musical genre we know and love as "Jazz", but one of it's most prolific composers, as well as one of it's truly unique and creative improvisational voices.

Curacaoan of Renown - A Conversation with Guitarist / Bassist Roy Louis, Pt. 1

4/22/2014

- Curacaoan of Renown -
A Conversation with Guitarist / Bassist Roy Louis
- Part 1-

Guitarist / bassist (or bassist / guitarist) Roy Louis has been a close friend and
musical colleague for almost 40 years.

As I discovered, it's not easy interviewing your long time friends, as the conversation can can very easily get sidetracked into many different cracks and crevices of shared experience.

"Man, do you remember.......?" became the common theme, only to realize, half an hour later,
that we'd gone way off on a tangent.

* * * * * *

Roy Louis is a native of the island of Curacao (pronounced KEWR-ə-sow)
formerly of the Netherlands Antilles, which has a unique place historically and culturally in
the overall picture of the Caribbean and Latin America. Aside from it's predominately European and African cultural influences dating back to colonial times, the average Curacaoan is usually well versed in Dutch, Spanish, English, as well as the island's native Creole language, Papiamentu.

This unique and diversified Caribbean culture began molding Roy Louis, the artist, at a very young age. Beginning his musical career semi-professionally at age 6, and being completely self taught on electric bass and then guitar, Roy, is without a doubt, the most purely
"intuitive" musician I have known.

Here's Part One of my conversation with "my boy", Roy!

Sonny Stitt Redux: Was he the "Stinkmeaner" of the Saxophone?

4/17/2014

Updated 1/2022

Sonny Stitt Redux:
Was He the "Stinkmeaner" of the Saxophone?

Sonny Sti.......nkmeaner!?

I recently received a comment on one of my posts from 2013 entitled "Sonny Stitt - "How Many Keys on the Saxophone?" from a seemingly informed gentleman by the name of Leo Cluesmann.

In my post, I detailed the experience of my encounter in 1980 with the jazz legend, saxophonist Sonny Stitt, believing, correctly as I found out, that many people who are still around had their own Stitt stories.

It's obvious, using Mr. Cluesmann's comment as an example, that even almost forty years after his death, Stitt still elicits some strong emotions from some folks.

I'll include Leo's comment here in full; for which I wish to thank him.

Two's the News - X-Centric Gonzatonic Pentatonic b2s

4/10/2014

Say it fast, but practice it slow.

As described in a previous post, which could be well worth checking out, the Pentatonic b2 scale is basically a Major Pentatonic scale with the second degree flatted (C Maj. Penta = C-D-E-G-A to C Penta b2 = C-Db-E-G-A).

Lowering the 2nd degree a half step creates some important new interval relationships; mainly, the interval of a Maj. 3rd (min 6th) between the 2nd & 5th scale degrees (Db (C#) & A), as well as the tritone created between steps 2 & 4 (Db & G).

So, what's it all mean, Mr. Natch'l?

Unstable, Mates! - An Etude Based on Benny Golson's Quirky Classic "Stablemates"

4/3/2014

"Stablemates", Benny Golson's classic, written in 1954, is the subject of this etude.

I'd been 'shedding this tune as of late, so I thought I'd slow the process down a bit and write out an etude, which similar to a solo transcription, can be helpful in focusing in on individual elements of a tune.

"Stablemates" is not your "standard" jazz standard, in that its form (36 bars, ABA 14 - 8 - 14) as well as its flow of chord changes, is somewhat unorthodox.

I think that for these reasons, mainly, the tune has remained a challenge to improvisers and has stood the test of time since its inception 60 years ago!

Add Some Augmented Scale Patterns to "+" Up Your Day!

3/27/2014

The Augmented Scale is a 6 note, symmetrical scale, the tonalities of which are a result of the octave being divided into three equal parts.

Among it's other "pluses", this three headed beast can be a useful and effective device when improvising over a static or modal harmonic situation, shifting the tonality momentarily a Maj. 3rd above or below the home key.

As has been described previously in these pages, the Augmented Scale can be thought of (using the first 2 lines of the exercise as an example) as:

2 Augmented triads, a minor third apart (F+ & Ab+) or, enharmonically, a half step apart (F+ & E+),
3 Major or 3 minor triads, a Maj 3rd apart (F, C# & A Major or minor triads).

Descending the Spiral Staircase - More Altered Pentatonics

3/20/2014

Surprise! Another ii-V7-i exercise dealing with altered pentatonics.

Can't get enough, huh? Me, too!

I mean, why practice this stuff? Why practice scales, patterns, etc.

In fact, why practice.......period!?

I expect there might be different answers depending on the skill level and intentions of the player.

As for myself, and players like me who have been doing this for a while, it's about making new connections (musically, not necessarily politically or professionally), creating new pathways, growing new synapses, etc.

In other words, trying to get away from playing the S.O.S.

As I mentioned on my home page, the more you learn, the more the universe seems to expand exponentially, whereby, instead of feeling larger within it, you realize how little you really know.

The great part about that is: There will always be something interesting and challenging to learn, and get this:

YOU WILL NEVER RUN OUT OF THINGS TO PRACTICE!

Softly - The First 8, Part 2

3/10/2014

Softly as in a Swarm of Flying Marshmallows

This exercise works together with the post from 02/25/2014, and the basic explanations can be found there.

What we've done here, basically, is omitted 2 of the notes from each of the original Melodic Minor scales (D Melodic Minor, omit G & C#, and Bb Meodic Minor, omit Bb & Eb), thereby creating 2 altered pentatonics.

For the D min tonic chord, we'll use a D pentatonic b3 (D-E-F-A-B), which has a more "obvoius" tonic sound than our other MM choice, the pentatonic b6, which is what we'll use for the A7alt dominant chord (F pentatonic b6 = Bb Melodic Minor = F-G-A-C-Db). The D min pentatonic supplies us with a good old Dmin6 9 sound, while the fore mentioned F pentatonic b6 gives us an A7 #9b13, and includes the tritone C#(Db) & G.

As in the previous exercise, both scales are played alternately in a single direction, each measure beginning on the next available scale tone.

Note: Measure 4 of Line 4 should be labeled as an A7alt chord.

Download PDF
Treble Clef Bass Clef

B. Stern

Three Flavors! - Mixo, MM & Aug ii-V7-I

3/4/2014

This exercise comes in 3 flavors, and I don't mean your standard vanilla-chocolate-strawberry, either.

I'd even venture to claim, from my own biased point of view, that it's even more yummy, and certainly less fattening.

It could even help you sweat off a few pounds in the process, plus it'll most definitely keep your cholesterol in check..

Having gotten those preliminary points out of the way, what I'm really trying to say here is............

Softly - The First Eight

2/25/2014

This is a basic exercise, written out in Tenor Key, which I recently developed for several of my Skype students which I thought I'd share here (hope they don't mind). It utilizes 2 Melodic Minor scales, D & Bb Melodic Minor to be exact, alternating over a tonic minor (i) chord (D-6, D- Maj7), and an altered dominant (V7) chord (A7alt), each chord lasting a measure apiece.

This is also a simplified version of an exercise found in "The Melodic Minor Handbook" by yours truly and published by Jamey Aebersold. The exercise in the book consists a 4 bar minor ii-V7-i using 3 different Melodic Minor scales. Both exercises are "continuous scale' types, where the inherent first note of each new scale picks up where the last note of the previous one left off.

For example: measure #1, (D- = D Mel. Min. = D-E-F-G-A-B-C#-D).
measure #2, (A7alt = Bb Mel. Min = Eb-F-G-A-Bb-C-Db-Eb)
measure #3, (D- = D Mel. Min. = E-F-G-A-B-C#-D-E).

And so on. Get the drift?

Notnowmom! - An Interview with Saxophonist Carolyn Breuer

2/18/2014

I remember the first time I ever heard about Carolyn Breuer (pronounced Broy - er). I was sharing a quiet taxi ride in Munich, Germany with her father, trombonist / pianist Hermann Breuer.

As I recall, I was about to doze off in the back seat, when Hermann remarked suddenly, “Saxophone players tend to practice a lot of patterns, don’t they?”

I must have answered something like “Yeah, I guess so. Why?”

“Well my daughter, who’s 12, started playing alto and she practices a lot of patterns.”, he replied.

I mentioned to him that I had a few students at the time and that I’d be glad to give her some lessons.

That, however, never happened, as I left Germany a short time later.

She doesn't seem to have suffered in the least because of it.

Quite to the contrary.

As "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree", so the saying goes, saxophonist / composer Carolyn Breuer has gone on to become one of the most recognizable and respected Jazz Artists on the European scene.

I caught up with her recently via Alexander Graham Bell's 140 year old invention.

Square in the Circle, Part 2 - Diminished Scale 4ths, ii-V Application

2/11/2014

This somewhat Monkish, four bar line, is based on the premise of my previous post, which uses pairs of Perfect Fourths a tritone apart, as part of a Diminished Scale application.

This time, we can work it over a biii - bVI7 - ii - V7 - i progression, which is most commonly found in the last four bars of a typical "Mr. PC" type Minor Blues.

The P4th pair from measure #1 (of line 1) represents one half of the C# (E, G, Bb) half tone / whole tone diminished scale, while the P4th pair in measure #2 is half of the ht / wt diminished scale a half step below that, i.e. C (Eb, F#, A). It resolves neatly into a D tonic minor; D Melodic Minor being the scale of choice.

Square in the Circle - Diminished Scale 4ths

2/1/2014

Dodo, the Dodecagon

On the heels of my last posted exercise, which was inspired by Walter Bishop's "A Study in 4ths", and which ended with an ascending figure of a diminished scale in Perfect 4ths, I thought it could be cool to further investigate some of the possibilities of P4th relationships within a diminished scale.

I had considerably diminished the use of the diminished scale in my own playing for quite a while now, since I've felt that the modes of Melodic Minor (which is 2 notes shy of being a diminished scale), primarily the "altered scale" (seventh mode, diminished / whole tone) is a more interesting and flexible scale choice for most of the mutually applicable harmonic situations.

Plus, the diminished scale being a synthetic, symmetrical scale, can sound so...................diminished, synthetic & symmetrical.

Then there is that handful of cliche licks, probably less than ten of them, that have been "regurgitated ad nauseam" (or is it the other way around?) since their introduction into the jazz vocabulary sometime in the mid 1950's (I think) when they were actually hip.

Inspired from "A Study in Fourths" by Walter Bishop, Jr. - Part 2

1/24/2014

This is the second post dealing with ideas from Walter Bishop, Jr's "A Study in Fourths". It might not be a bad idea to check out Part 1 for some background, including the all informative YouTube vid of Mr. Bishop demonstrating his concepts at the piano.

The link to Part 1 should open in a separate tab, so you can have them side by side for easy access.

The 4 bar line presented here is based on the first bar of ex. 8 on p. 13 of "A Study in Fourths" (a 2 bar phrase), of which both first measures are identical.

Stowell from John - 4 Melodic Minor Scales as Dominant Subs

1/17/2014

John Stowell

Actually, your honor, I ain't stole nuthin'! I just borrowed a little bit, which I'm tryin' to return, by way of the Universe!
Hey, I hadn't even heard of Master Guitarist & Educator, John Stowell until a few months ago, when my long time buddy, Prof. Dave King of the University of Music & Performing Arts in Mannheim, Germany (see post from 5/29/2013), took part in one of John's master classes which was given at the school and sent me some video links.

Needless to say, I was intrigued by Stowell's harmonic and scalar concepts; especially his ideas of mixing and integrating modes of Melodic Minor with modes of Major (e.g. C Dorian with Bb Melodic Minor), not necessarily a measure at a time, but fusing them together as one scale.

Payin' Dues and Playin' Blues with Pentatonic b2's

1/8/2014

I find this to be an excellent warm-up type exercise and an aid for gaining facility with the Pentatonic b2 scale. The Pentatonic b2, as advertised, is a Major Pentatonic scale with a lowered 2nd degree (in C: C-Db-E-G-A). It can be considered to be derived from the diminished scale, which generates four distinct Penta b2's.

The "soul" of this scale, however, is in its fifth mode, which in C, would start on A (A-C-Db-E-G). Hearing A` as the root then gives us a Maj / min 3rd inherent Blues quality. It can also spell out an A7 #9 (C#-E-G-C, with A in the bass), the "Funk Man's delight".

As a 2 measure exercise, Jerry Bergonzi's formulas (from his book "Vol 2 - Pentatonics" - Advance Music) #5 (ascending) or #1 (descending) are used for the first bar, with the scale moving, in the second measure, back in the opposite direction in diatonic 3rds.

Each 2 bar segment represents one of the 5 pentatonic "modes".

The repeat signs should definitely be put into effect here, as the idea of this exercise is to loop each 2 bar phrase ad infinitum at a tempo that is comfortable, gradually increasing the speed as the phrase becomes part of your nervous system.

This scheme can be used with any pentatonic scale.

Download PDF (8 pages)
Treble Clef Bass Clef

B. Stern

Practice Room Instigation - Etude "Invitation"

12/28/2013

Happy New Year, everybody!

I've been absent from these pages for over a month now, mainly due to the time it's taken me to complete and release my new eBook, "Slick Licks That Stick! Vol. 2" available for download right here.

Anyway, I couldn't let December go by and 2013 go out by posting "0" for the month, soooo..............

Here's is an etude, re-titled "Instigation" based on the changes of yet another popular standard "Invitation", by Bronislaw Kaper, from the 1952 film of the same name.

Kaper, who emigrated from Poland in the mid 1930's, was a prolific composer for Hollywood films and Broadway theater, and is also best known as the composer of another standard and improvisational vehicle which we all know and love (don't we?), "On Green Dolphin Street".

The tune "Invitation" makes an excellent study in Melodic Minor usage. Some form of MM can be organically utilized on virtually every chord of the tune.

MM elements Pentatonic b3 & b6, altered scale, triad pairs, etc. abound throughout the etude.

Hopefully, this etude will "instigate" your curiosity to isolate and identify them.

So here's your "invitation to instigation". Enjoy!

Download PDF
Bb Concert
Eb Bass Clef

B. Stern

Ubop Chabang! - "The Steppes of Tiang" - Giant Steps Etude

11/22/2013

Ubop Chabang & the Klukumops

Here's a hot bowl of fresh noodles in the form of a recipe I discovered on a recent "trip" to Tiang, a remote and peaceful place, somewhere over the rainbow, where "g's" become "t's" and vice versa.

Tiang has a musically rich and ancient cultural tradition, which is in evidence everywhere.

This particular composition was inspired by an archaic scale based on a six note row, which divides the octave into three equal parts, representing the sun, the moon and the stars., something which the people of Tiang have been given the opportunity to ponder endlessly throughout the ages.

The scale's inception is credited by historians to the legendary Tiangian musician and sage, Chun Culutran, who is considered a deity almost, and dates back to antiquity, approximately to the year 1959 BC (Before Computers).