A Saxophone Master Class with George Garzone

[@accouswk]

The most impressive part of this interview is Jay’s amazing ability to let his guest just talk uninterrupted. Not kidding. Too many hosts, especially on KZbin, just keep interrupting and talking over their guests because they don’t have the maturity, confidence or intelligence to just be quiet and listen. Brilliant. This interview is pure gold.

[@latinkeys1]

I second that

[@AdamHiltonChannel]

This makes me think it would be so cool to have a BetterSax Podcast!

[@BSMElderScrolls]

That's a good idea

[@sharonsantana207]

Yes!!!

[@mikelenover7479]

I have a friend that studied with George waaay back and here’s what he said when i sent him the video: “I'm looking forward to watching that George Garzone vid. We knew each other; he was around my age, and had a great 'dinner smooth jazz' gig at a downtown rooftop restaurant not unlike the Top of the Ponch (Detroit)...It was funny to know what a madman he COULD be on the horn, then see him tuxedo up and playing smooth for the older crowd. He's a great guy, I think I played in an Ensemble that he led while I was there...”

[@martindalmasi5340]

I miss him. He really turned me into a player. I gave him a hard time- but he cares about all his students

[@arneal]

I must have been under a rock, because I had never heard of George Garzone. What a beautiful interview with plenty of food for thought and experimentation. Thanks Jay!

[@pulledfocusmedia]

I appreciate that he said it took him 15 years to get a concept down! I find myself trying to rush the process but it’s reassuring to know that the process shouldn’t be rushed ‼️

[@pederlong1784]

A great player a great teacher

[@georgegarzone7994]

Thanks Jay, it was a great interview. GGarzone

[@bettersax]

Thanks for being generous with your time man! So much great information in this one.

[@rickymian723]

thank you..

[@albertopinton4387]

I walked in George's studio my last semester at Berklee, Spring 1990. First thing he said was: "so kid, what do you wanna hear about, lick nr ...? 'cause I'm not gonna teach you that!" Unbelievable musician and human being. Thanks for this interview!

[@NadavHbr]

I am thankful to get the chance to listen to such a wise man

[@leobrahmachari6611]

Garzone is a living legend. In both the music and the personality

[@kpoudavoff]

Garzone is the man!

[@JensWeyrich]

I like your Channel. I paused playing Sax 25 years ago. Because of the Corona-Lockdowns I had time to restart my former Hobby. Your Channel is very helpful. Thank you for your inspiration and for your knowledge you share with us. Greetings from Germany in good old Europe! Jens

[@jacquelamontharenberg]

Wow Jay, what a great artist and teacher. A privilege to listen to. I always close my eyes when I play too. I just so into it when I play, I cannot help it. Even though I have been playing for over 40 years, I never quit learning. That's what keeps it fresh. I am going to dive into George's triad approach next. Thanks for the great interview Jay.

[@DirkJ.]

Jay, you did a wonderful job interviewing. Enjoyed listening even as a learning jazz player

[@roanmccormick7923]

Great lesson!

[@markdrezdzon7542]

Great interview as always, Jay! Mr. Garzone is amazing, and he has a great sense of humor. It would be something to take an in-person lesson with him. I also like his honesty -- saying it took him 15 years to learn to play himself what he is teaching is great for students to hear. I know personally it takes years to learn something thoroughly, especially in music. Again, great job Jay!

[@yvesbajulaz]

Garzone is the coolest :-)

[@latinkeys1]

Loved this!!!

[@inspir.edmusic]

Garzone is an absolute unit.

[@aaronkarlin3241]

Amazing content. Jay, I admire your interview style. You let your guests speak and your listeners stay engaged. Thank you for making me hip to Garzone

[@accouswk]

YES , felt the same way. Real brilliance in that.

[@gusmarrero]

Love George Garzone and you, so how cool we get to checkout both. George was so kind to me when I was in my very first weeks playing last year and he was great.

[@frankzona9867]

This wasn't an interview, this was The Sermon from the Mount!! Thank you , thank you Jay for bringing George in, but you realize that this just begs for a part II.

[@bettersax]

Good idea!

[@redmaxrules]

I studied with George at The Maine Jazz Camp in the summer of 1994. It was by far the most informative and in depth week of my life. Nice interview Jay, thank you.

[@Rockin_Bug]

Man I can listen to George talk all day about the saxophone and his approach and some of the cool stories he tells!

[@brianclausen2344]

How awesome is it that we can get a glimpse into the mechanics of George and his playing styles and sound even just listening to him weave stories around a tutorial on his methods! Thank you, Jay and thanks to Geore for sharing and helping us stay inspired to become the best sax player we can be!

[@jodyjazzofficial]

This is excellent Jay. Garz is the best!

[@doctormaccoy]

Outstanding teaching George! Jay, thanks for letting him riff!

[@bobmarsh6378]

A beautiful interview Jay. Made me cry... so good ta!

[@bettersax]

Thanks Bob

[@serzok1]

Thank you for the video. It was fun and interesting to watch. George is a cool cat !

[@jeanlucoberle5055]

So cool! Jay, this is the kind of post which is so valuable. Many thanks. Cannot wait for the next !

[@dhack1]

The articulation advice really resonated for me. I'm now trying to use the lightest tongue I can, and it has really affected my playing in a positive way. It's as if my tongue has been in my way, especially when it comes to running through the low notes (Bb, B, C, C#). Everything is faster and easier. Thanks for the video.

[@JFGauthierMusique]

Great interview, thank you for sharing this! 🙏🏻

[@hyrumbaird3950]

“I’m not the master of the saxophone, George Garzone is.” -Michael Brecker

[@eduardopizarro1961]

All my respect and admiration to Mr Garzone. He’s a walking legend... world class performer and professor. But, I should say that a correct quote to that MB interview would be... “Michael Brecker was asked how he felt to be the king of the tenor players, and he said: "I don't know. You'll have to ask Jerry Bergonzi."

[@paulricci8872]

Jay always a big thanks for sharing your content. I grew up in New England , and listened to many fine musicians . Keep up the inspirational vids. Your great!

[@ianwhatmough150]

WOW! Thanks Jay. There is so much great information in his message.

[@peterhorah7884]

Really interesting and what a privilege it must be to have him as a teacher. Great interview, Jay.

[@stratusphunk]

As with some others who have commented, a lot of this went over my head. But what did strike home was the importance of sound and time. I have been guilty in the past of practising without a metronome, but in recent years I started using it again. It takes a while, but it pays off. And, at my level of playing, which is not advanced, I do sometimes find that my tongue gets in the way of learning something and being able to play cleanly in time. So I am going to try to keep in mind to cut back on the tonguing while practising.

[@diegoarmijo1426]

Thank you so much, Jay. Very Stimulating and Aspirational.

[@bluessax5089]

Great Interview, I always LOVE hearing Garzone speak! So much wisdom ✌🏽

[@ra6378]

What garzone says at the end about coltrane playing random triads with chromatic approach notes,that was really interesting.

[@zangsax]

Boundless energy and he knows what to do with it!

[@mnose]

Great fun watching this... Great sense of humour, deep insight into the music and love for the music... Wisdom !! I love the traumatic concept !!

[@chrishiggins8387]

Thank you for this amazing interview Jay!

[@johnwade7430]

I love this guy’s accent, was George an extra for The Godfather Trilogy? I could listen to his words all day. Really interesting ideas; real Pearls of Wisdom here. Thanks to yo and George for this great video.

[@patg3424]

Garzone is a master. I wish I had a chance to study with him at Berkeley. People from just about every instrument study his chromatic approach method.

[@HB-ve4wi]

Wonderful interview, Jay!

[@TheJazz625]

I really enjoyed that! What an interesting guy, and so many big names he has taught! Amazing.

[@donnicholson3200]

Great interview, thank you!

[@rickstokes2239]

When I first started looking at George’s concepts of saxophone sound creation I thought, oh I can do that, until you find out he plays on a huge 10 opening with at least a #4 reed! Most of us just don’t have that kind of a weaponized air system on sax. There’s no quick path there but once you work on it your sound will have more support, control and dynamics.

[@MikeLeeMusicSax]

Great interview, Jay! Garzone is legend.

[@tommeggison1466]

Outstanding, thanks Jay.

[@kylejordan7454]

Last year Mr. Garzone was supposed to come spend two days at my college and work with us and man was I looking forward to that... then covid hit. I guess this interview will have to do instead!

[@eduardopizarro1961]

Wow. Thanks Jay for such amazing content. Still way up over my head, but much appreciated 😃👍🏻

[@sablezubshruz9811]

Such interviews are rare, but I am sure that everybody who ever played saxophone found here deeper understanding of what we are all doing.

[@michaelroach4219]

I'm inspired by both of you guys.

[@richardolson8651]

You gotta love Garzone

[@Ottolinked]

George Garzone “cut out my tongue” at Berklee and I did long tones for hours.

[@RaidinSax05]

Hello Maestros, what a good informations , thanks

[@robstevens9590]

Wow. Really cool, even though some of it was over my head.

[@johnspelic9861]

Drilling down on time. Saw this a bunch a Berklee. George would straighten out a player's time by having you play chorus after chorus of whatever tune you are comfortable, metronome set about 90, straight notes, using NO tongue, and often no half steps when teaching the invalistic triad approach, just whole steps and greater intervals.

[@artgrusensky121]

proof in the playing...he sure sounds good.

[@lonnybierman2548]

He’s great. Don’t understand a word hahaha but very entertaining. Love old school dudes. One thing that really stuck out was developing ears, and time over everything else. Something that really made me decide on your courses. I just feel that’s a better fit in the long run. There is plenty of time to learn all the technical stuff. But without musicality it’s all useless. Great video.

[@BSMElderScrolls]

His sound even when just demonstrating something is crazy

[@farmpunk_dan]

So good!

[@dennis9242]

Great video and great player!

[@MusicMediccom]

Garzone is great!

[@kurttremoulu2534]

That's actually a very great video sir

[@MichaIsraelKovler]

Brilliant! Thanks Jay, keep bringing masters - they are the real thing... How is Sonny Rollins doing?

[@sumabatman]

Love you GG!!!! you diggg!

[@davidhovanisyan9717]

i knew u were gonna be here!

[@davidstuart4489]

This was an interesting interview - albeit over my head on many fronts. There were a few statements though that resonated with me - similar to statements made by Victor Wooten in his "Groove Workshop" publication. But this is billed as a "Master class". Well, it's not a class at all. It's an interview. I took a "Master Class" featuring Hans Zimmer - paid $90 for it. It was a fabulous interview - but not a class. I taught Computer Science at the University of Rhode Island for 4 years while working toward my Ph.D - among other teaching gigs. It would be nice for a "Master Class" to actually teach something, rather than simply interviewing a fascinating and accomplished talent, such as George, or Hans. Either way - watching this was not a waste of time. I enjoyed it, and afterward started researching some of the online courses offered by Berklee. It's likely I'll take a few.

[@Osnosis]

If you want a youtube master class, check out Chad Lefkowitz-Brown. If you want George's material, you have to get the DVDs.

[@jhonsaxo]

Lovely keep it up it helps me a lot

[@duckzor]

randomnivity and fluidicity; got it!

[@jamesgeng2213]

Amazing content!

[@hadriangille-collier1828]

Great vid even for beginners! Could you make a review of the new Selmer Supreme alto sax perhaps in comparison to the better sax alto?

[@bettersax]

I'll try!

[@tomgallosaxmrblues]

Awesomeness!!!

[@3163steve]

thanks Jay, love GG

[@lisajackson9792]

Thanks misters

[@kristindowner9897]

He says, “It’s like playing Mary had a little lamb...” and I’m thinking 😳!!! 🤯

[@manlylego]

Keep up the good work man

[@dalegregg3861]

Enjoyed this much. Still, I think I have much music to learn before I could make much of his triadic chromatic approach. But, say, does anybody recognize his ligature? No, I don't attribute any "magic" at all to the ligature ... it's just an interesting design, looks quite substantial, and I'm curious about where I might find one. Thanks.

[@dalegregg3861]

@Will Sandoval Thanks! I'll check it out!

[@deslippestv]

Thank you thank you thank you,

[@BelloTritone]

Thank u!!

[@jtdcubing3038]

I wise man once said that "Playing without a metronome is just playing, not practicing."

[@BrunoNeureiter]

Can you Jay please explain the minor overimposition he talked about? Thanks.

[@raseshgandhi6702]

Excellent👍

[@vincentherring414]

🥰

[@latinkeys1]

20:20 Hahahaha I get it! That’s hilarious!

[@sam7181]

Love your content and all the effort you put into this channel. It's so morally boosting just going through everything. Don't get me wrong I still don't practice :P

[@ErinJimenez-mw5ge]

Hey jay i have an alto and I want to get a different saxophone should I get a tenor, Bari , or a soprano. Also love your videos they are really great they make my day.

[@bettersax]

The one you want to play most

[@ErinJimenez-mw5ge]

@@bettersax thanks jay

[@ErinJimenez-mw5ge]

But which one the Jean Paul or the singers day Bari saxophone?

[@DrLogical987]

I always knew it! For the perfect embouchure you "put your lips together and blow". I think of it as the Lauren Bacall embouchure ... better looking than Garzone :D

[@FognarFoehammer]

Woah, Garzone's sound is ... Wish I sounded like that.

[@lubatico]

Chat is great…but nothing beats George’s gangstah accent :-)

[@jimcapone2593]

I was at Berklee from 1978 to 1982. In 1978 I studied with John Laporta.. He dropped me as a student. I was then picked up by Garzone. The best thing to happen to me! I still have the omni book with Georges phrasing marks over each notation.... "Its Ahhh..Boo Gahh Deee Whaa.. NOT Ahhh Boo Gahh dee Wa! Its not short . its whaa!" It took me six years AFTER studding with him to figure out what the "F" he was talking about ...he was also teaching the "Triadic Chromatic approach"... Those were great lessons!

[@Osnosis]

So true about George; he speaks in off-kilter analogies, but they hit you much later.

[@FinleyWheatback]

What's his current mouthpiece/lig setup?

[@bettersax]

georgegarzone.com/my-setup/

[@FinleyWheatback]

@@bettersax Thanks. I wasn't sure if that was the Giant or not. It kind looked rubber. Oh BTW, fantastic interview. Very well done.

[@georgeluna5845]

He had me at: “...you can lead people harmonically.”

[@kwootamuckbear9294]

Two-five....✌🏽🎶🎵🎷

[@CarnivoreCurin]

Did you know that Alto Reed, Bob Seger saxophone player, died in December. He was not jazz, but more rock and roll.

[@nhr27]

What does he mean by “playing free” as opposed to straight ahead?

[@pokespencer23]

Ususally in jazz playing straight ahead means that you are following the chord changes of a tune. Playing free would mean that you are not following the chord changes of any tune. Playing free usually would mean that all involved know they’re not adhering to the chord changes , sort of an experiment to see what happens. Ornette Coleman would do this. I hope this helps you.