JazzBariSax.com

In the next installment of the JazzBariSax.com interview series we have with a us a veteran of the baritone saxophone. Kenny Berger is a complete wealth of knowledge and history of the baritone saxophone. We are very glad he has shared some of his experiences with us.

Why the baritone? – I have always had an attraction to lower pitched sounds and I find the baritone register compatible with my own speaking voice. I also was attracted to its versatility as an ensemble voice as well as a solo voice.

Favorite recordings? – “Reflectory” by Pepper Adams on the Muse label is my favorite record of his and the title track features what I consider to be his best recorded solo. Dakar (Prestige)issued under John Coltrane’s name but actually led by Pepper, features a front line of Trane, Pepper and Cecil Payne. Several of Harry Carney’s features with Ellington are essential listening, including “The Telecasters” from such Sweet Thunder, “Frustration” from the Bethlehem sessions as well as La Plus Belle Africaine and Chromatic Love Affair. I love all the Mulligan Concert Jazz Band records. though my interest in them is primarily from my point of view as an arranger.

Equipment setup? – My horn is a low B-flat Selmer Mark VI ,110,000 series which dates to the early 60’s. Mouthpiece is an old rubber Otto Link Tone Edge 7* that I bought around 40 years ago and used for several years on my old Conn. When I began playing the Selmer I had the piece worked on by Phil Barone and have been using it exclusively for around 20 years. Reeds are Alexander Superial DC 2 and a half. The reeds are so much better than any others I’ve tried that my biggest fear is that like many good pieces of baritone equipment, they may one day stop making them due to lack of demand. So help keep me in business. Buy several hundred boxes today!

Low A or B-flat?– I am a devout low B-flat advocate. Adding the extra tubing for lowA throws the horn out of tune with itself and alters the tone quality of all the notes below written low D and can also cause the palm keys to tune flat. On any conical stopped pipe ( sax, oboe..) the note nearest the bell (low Bb) tends to be bright in quality and relatively free in response while the next note up ( B natural) tends to tune a bit flat and be somewhat stuffy in response. With the low a added these qualities get thrown out of whack and also can have bad effect on the lowC# if the tone hole is not placed right. Every time I play a low B-flat on a lowA horn, I want to reach into the bell and remove the dead animal that I’m sure must be stuck in there. I have several ways of producing a low A without the key. I could describe them but then I would have to kill you.

Anything specific to the baritone you recommend practicing?- The main things I recommend practicing are articulation and overtone exercises. For a jazz baritone player it’s all about articulation as far as I’m concerned. Every time I hear a player whose lines get garbled, whose time is shaky and/or can’t be heard without a mic, it is due to a lack of command of articulation. If you have trouble projecting the solution is not using the brightest sounding setup available, it;s getting your tongue to play more of a role in how you shape your lines and where you place the time.

Tips for young baritone saxophonists? – The horn is an inanimate object. A piece of brass tubing. You, presumably, are a human being with the ability to make inanimate objects conform to your needs. Therefore don’t let the baritone’s size and weight distort your air-stream and and body shape. Try to have the horn hang in a way that allows you to address the mouthpiece and the keys without scrunching up your shoulders and folding your windpipe. No matter how intense the music gets, try not to make what I call the “Jazz Face” (squeezed tight with all energy directed toward the tip of the nose). Keep the so-called facial mask relaxed and open. This is one of the most important lessons i learned from the great Danny Bank which he learned from watching Harry Carney up close.
Try to maintain the integrity of your sound regardless of how loud or unresponsive the rhythm section may get. Don’t change to a bright,uncontrollable setup purely for the sake of projection. Other players’s insensitivity is their problem, not yours. Of course in situations dominated by amplification all bets are off. Best to just ram those earplugs in, cash the check before it can bounce and live to fight another day.

Airplane travel? I long ago gave up the ancient practice of engaging in the ritual dance with airline employees. I have a specially made flight case made by Calzone. It goes under the plane. They make a tracing of the horn and create the tray to fit the individual horn. I had one that was made of wood and lasted me 22 years. The new ones are made of a material that is lighter, thinner and more durable. Never had any damage with a Calzone case.

Favorite quotes about music? – Perhaps my favorite quote about music was not said about music at all. The great Lawrence P. Berra while watching a young hitter try to copy a famous player’s batting stance said “If you can’t imitate him, don’t copy him”.

When not playing music? – I am a rabid baseball fan and an avid reader. I sometimes have 2 or 3 books going at once including books on space science, evolutionary science, history and the occasional murder mystery.
I also dig trail hiking, camping and birding. Playing and writing music takes place in too many windowless rooms. Got to get outdoors.

Find out more about Kenny at his profile here, and visit Kenny’s Website

And of course be sure to check out the rest of the interviews from the JazzBariSax.com interview series.

Two baritone saxophonists in a major TV commercial? Yes, please! Although to be fair neither Frank Basile or Jason Marshall is playing baritone. We’ll take it anyways. We’re not sure which is more shocking, Frank at the piano or his mustache!

While we’re talking about TV commercials, have you seen Howard Johnson’s Miller Lite commercial?

BG’s current harness

Many baritone saxophonists use a harness or an elaborate saxophone stand to help cope with the sheer weight and size of the big horn. There are a number of harnesses and special neck straps out there, and each has its own set of drawbacks. Using a saxophone stand while playing has some obvious problems. Awkward to handle, difficult to move, extremely inconvenient to transport, and lacking the option to play standing up are among them. Many traditional harnesses force you to hold the saxophone  dead center instead of to the side as some people prefer. And even with some adjustment to get the horn in the right place players may find that they can’t move the saxophone without adjusting several straps. Placement aside, the next big concern is breathing constriction. Some harnesses fit well until the player takes in a large breath and then they find that the harness is constricting their lung expansion, or worse, their diaphragm. On a big horn that needs a big sound this is one of the worst handicaps a player can face. A number of players that use harnesses don’t actually prefer them, but find they need to use something other than a neck strap for physical reasons, either neck pain, or lower back pain.

New Solution, what is it?

FRONT – Vandoren Saxophone Support System Harness

Vandoren, the renowned reed, mouthpiece, ligature, and accessory maker has jumped into the fray with a new solution. Their offering is unlike most harnesses and neck straps out there now and features some very new and exciting solutions. For a full rundown of all of the features and a demonstration, check out the video from Vandoren below. The harness works by transferring the weight of the saxophone up through the shoulders, and uses a counter-lever system to absorb much of the weight to the belt where it unlikely to cause injury. The harness is adjustable in front just like a neck strap, and the slats in back automatically adjust for the player’s height. The belt strap is also adjustable and comes with an optional extension.

The harness folds up very impressively, and fits in its sleek carrying bag that will easily fit in to the bell of a baritone, and even a tenor saxophone.

BACK – Vandoren Saxophone Support System Harness

Does it work?

In a word, yes. The way the harness suspends the saxophone allows just as much freedom of motion as a traditional neck strap, if not more, since weight distribution is not an issue. You can play with he horn in the front, to the side, lifted up, sideways… whatever. As for the weight distribution, the harness was very comfortable to use. I recently had a chance to use it on a 4 hour gig, standing the whole time and was pleased with how well I felt at the end. But the benefit really hit the next day when I put my horn together for rehearsal. As soon as I put my old neck strap on and clipped into the horn I immediately realized how much more comfortable the harness was.

You can pick one up at your local music store, or get it on Amazon.

JazzBariSax.com curator, Andrew Hadro takes the new harness out for a spin:

Welcome to the JazzBariSax.com interview series, where we get to know some of the practitioners of the big horn. Up this week is Claire Daly. If you don’t already know of Claire Daly, you probably should:

“Claire Daly’s first CD as a leader, “Swing Low” (1999) is in the William Jefferson Clinton Library as a CD significant to him while in office.  She has won Downbeat Magazine “Rising Star” 8 times in 10 years.  Her most recent CD, “Baritone Monk” hit number one on the CMJ Jazz Charts, and rose to number nine on the Jazz Week Charts. It is sponsored by the North Coast Brewery, makers of Brother Thelonious Ale and all proceeds from the CD go to the Monk Institute for jazz education.  She was the Jazz Journalist Association’s Baritonist of the Year in 2005.”

Why the baritone?  Why not?  I mean, if you don’t mind hanging 20-some pounds of metal around your neck and blowing air into it for many hours of your life, why WOULDN’T you play baritone?  It makes a lot of sense to me.

How did you find your way to baritone?  I worked my way down. Started on alto as a kid. Found the bari in my 20s. Never looked back.

Low A or Low Bb?  I play low A Selmers. I had a low Bb Selmer, but it wasn’t a great horn. I think I could adjust to whatever I had to – I’ve just always had Selmers.  I am not a big equipment geek. Find something that plays and play it. My setup is a Low A Mark VI and a Jody Jazz DVNY 7* mouthpiece. I love it.  Before I got it I used a custom Phil Barone for 10 years. It was also a great piece. I have used Bari plastic reeds predominantly for over 20 years.

Anything specific to the baritone you recommend practicing?  I’m a big fan of the longtones. They do so much for your personal sound, as well as opening up the horn, your breathing, your connection to the instrument, etc.  I tell students: “If you do 15 minutes of longtones a day, your life will change”.  I believe there is a meditative quality to doing them. Also, you can know everything there is to know about music, but if your sound sucks, nobody will want to hear you.

Tips for young baritone saxophonists?  Best advice I ever got was “Just keep playing”. It’s worked so far. [George] Garzone says “Just keep the horn in your mouth”. I’m with him.

Favorite venue/place to play? Could be anywhere a good, musical gig happens. Sometimes the fancier situations have other pressures attached. I’ve had some great gigs in unlikely little spots. It’s the music more than the venue, and a great gig can happen anywhere.

Favorite recordings?  I hate this question because it changes regularly. I love most of the bari players, and I love many styles of jazz music (and more). Just start googling. You will be led.

Baritones and airplanes?  Bad combination, but so far, I’ve only had to buy my horn a ticket once. Twice, really, but I talked ‘em into refunding one of them. I take it on the plane with me. Andrew Hadro and I threw a party for bari players and every conversation in the house ended up on this topic.  It’s our cross in life to bear.

Favorite quotes about music?  “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture”

When not playing music?  I wish I had some other cool hobby at this point. I’m looking for one. Anybody? It feels to me like I’m always either playing, listening to, teaching or doing something music related. I’d like to even just be able to take a vacation.  The other night I was walking home from teaching and jumped into a comedy club and saw Bobcat Goldwaithe (or whatever his name is). He was actually pretty funny. I’d like to be a comedienne, but I think it’d be like another music career. Lots of “uphill”.

Bonus Question: “A penguin walks through that door right now wearing a sombrero.  What does he say and why is he here?”  I think the penguin would say “Quick! Run out of here before someone tries to give you a day job!”

Find out more about Claire and her latest CD, “Baritone Monk” on her website! Also be sure to check out her profile here on the site, and some of her upcoming gigs on the Gigs listing page.

If you ever have a hankering for the baritone saxophone in a bit of a denser more rock oriented setting, here is your fix. Morphine (Dana Colley) is just dandy, but if sometimes you need something with just a little more.. power, here you go.

Saxophonist Matt Rippetoe’s new album “Willamette” prominantly features himself on the baritone saxophone in a setting probably most closely described as metal.

Go check it out and let it begin to melt your face.

Shirantha Beddage’s latest album “Identity”, which we previously mentioned here, has been nominated for a 2013 Juno award in the category of Traditional Jazz Album of the Year! The Juno award is one of Canada’s highest musical honors, and is akin to the USA’s Grammy awards. Congratulations, and much luck to Shirantha, we wish him much success.

In other news, head on over to the transcriptions page to get two new transcriptions submitted by Giles Miton.

Check out Sylvain Carton demo-ing some Dunlop effects pedals with his baritone saxophone at the 2013 NAMM conference: