If you’ve checked out the Brands and Horns page here you know there are a lot of options our there to pick from when looking for a horn. Three of the most sought after vintage horns are the Conn 12M, Selmer Mark VI, and Selmer Balanced Action (SBA). Brian Landrus has put together a nice video comparing them – he also includes a Low A in the mix that really demonstrates how the Low A somewhat alters the sound of the whole horn.
The folks at ErgoBrass recently sent me their newest product to check out. Its a support system for baritone (and bass!) saxophone. It is made to replace or even work in tandem with your neck strap or harness. I was really impressed with this product. I reviewed a similar product some time ago called SaxSupport and this is somewhat of a similar idea, but I think better executed and more flexible.
Any baritonist with back or neck problems, or anyone with a bass saxophone could definitely benefit from this product. I have made an in depth video explaining how it works, demonstrating it, and trying it with various instruments (baritone sax, both low A and low Bb, bass sax, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet and more). Check out the video for my full review:
Here’s the video from the company on the product:
If you’re interested you can purchase it directly from their website (sold and shipped from Europe):
https://store.ergobrass.com/product/ergosax-baribass-support/
Low Blow Music is continuing its presentation of concerts featuring and promoting the baritone saxophone. On Saturday December 1st they will present 6 hours of music dedicated to different musical milestones of the great Ronnie Cuber who passed away just over a year ago.
There will be four groups, one with music from Ronnie’s early playing on George Benson’s great albums, a latin jazz band dedicated to Ronnie’s long time association with afro-cuban music, a group featuring music that Ronnie Played in his long association with the Mingus Big Band, and finally a performance featuring music from Ronnie’s Three Baritone Saxophone Band.
The event will be live in Brooklyn at the Ornithology Jazz Club. The event will not be live-streamed but some footage will be captured and shared.
If you want to support Low Blow Music in its production of concerts, and get lots of great lesson content, free album downloads, exclusive historical photos and more – check out the membership options: https://www.lowblowmusic.com/membership
Ronnie Cuber passed away a year ago. So its a nice little tribute to be able to add a new solo transcription of one of his classic solos over a blues. This one is Benny’s Back from George Benson’s Cookbook album. A great album featuring a young and fiery Ronnie Cuber. To my ear he’s really channeling a lot of Leo Parker here.
Head on over to the Transcriptions page to download and have a play through yourself.
I was thrown into the bass clarinet world in college and was woefully unprepared. So I’ve gathered some information from my experience of the last 20 years and collated it into a new article to hopefully help young (or old!) baritonists dive into the world of the bass clarinet.
Please check out the article and let me know what you think!
-Andrew
Fulton Street Collective presents a performance with THE LOW END Baritone Saxophone Big Band on Wednesday, August 16th at 8pm
Venue
Fulton Street Collective
1821 West Hubbard Street, #suite 307
Chicago, IL 60622 United States
The Low End
Baritone Saxophone Big Band:
Jacob Slocum, Mark Hiebert, Juli Wood, Alex Blomarz, Len’i Glenn-McKinney, Ted Hogarth, Joey Rosin, Roy McGrath, Andy Schlinder, Jimmy Farace, Joe Trahan, Kyle Madsen, Solomon Flores, Rajiv Halim, Tim McNamara, Steve Schnall
Julius Tucker – Piano
Joshua Ramos – Bass
Kieth Brooks – Drums
7:30 Doors
8pm Show
In-Person Only
$15 Suggest Donation
Saturday May 20th at Ornithology Jazz Club in Brooklyn, NYC.
Low blowing starts at 6:30pm.
There are so many great young baritone saxophonists, we are pleased to present just a handful of them here. 6 baritonists under 30! It’s going to be a great night.
6:30-7:15 Ben Caranicas & Hunter Pullen
7:45-8:30 Saul Dautch
9-9:45 Courtney Wright
10:15-11 Joey Rosin
11:30-12:15 Bryan Cowan
Its not baritone, but I think all of the baritonists out there can appreciate a beautiful bass sax. After all, Harry Carney said he based his sound on Adrian Rollini’s! Here’s Scott Robinson playing ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’.
