The Serpent's Tooth - Pocket Practice Ideas | Jazz Technique with Saxophonist Dave O’Higgins

[@rhythmculturerecords1017]

That’s some major shedding right there !

[@yoav3497]

Gr8 video Dave. I agree with Soren. There is enough material here to keep me busy for weeks! Never the less keep them coming. Sadly I missed your gig at the Hen and Chicken in Bristol. I hope you make a return visit so I can hear you in the real world. Also much kudos to your wife for being a doctor and pro-sax player. Reminds me of the great Art Theman!

[@jamieforjazz]

Excellent!

[@kjmsax1]

Brilliant! Thanks

[@sorenfuhrer401]

Okay, somehow I am internally divided now. Half of me wants many many more videos of this series. The other half has to practise the things from this video for the upcoming weeks. Great content

[@HayKay_]

Thanks, Dave for this presentation. I like how you simplified it. Will practice this.

[@olivierherment1188]

Merci beaucoup. Thank you I just have to work now Thank you again.

[@bvbasketball1817]

Pocket practice? I better get busy. Nice breakdown. Thank you

[@paulhollingsworth3986]

Thanks Dave. I have some of that under the belt from the Jazz Fix Easter course work you did with us on Jordu. Looking forward to more of these.

[@vicval001]

Thank you for a simple and engaging instructional video. Great screen presence as well. Subscribed. Looking forward to more.

[@mikehallsax]

Nice one, Dave! Hope all is well!

[@daveohig]

Thanks, Mike, much appreciated!

[@highlow8875]

Hello, fantastically played. What kind of horn do you play (Conn?), which mouthpiece (opening) and which reed (strength). It sounds great. Thanks very much.

[@daveohig]

Thank you for the nice comments. I play a Conn 10M from the early 1940s. On this video it's with a 7 star Otto Link New York Double Ring (from the 40s again, I think) & a Vandoren Green box 3 reed. I also use a Zimberoff Hollywood 8 (Dexter style) from the same era - I swap around a bit.

[@saxophoneclarinetsetc4554]

Very good video Dave, thank you for this. But you did not mention the most interesting part of the lick in my option which is the B7. For what it is worth, this is my take on it: The B7 sounds completely logical as a lead to the tonic C major, and as a substitution for G7.Even though it contains the very wrong note of F# over a G7.B7 however is contained in C Diminished scale( Whole tone halftone) and this has a very strong harmonic pull to the tonic Cmaj, which is why B7 can be substituted like this for G7 and sound completely logical.

[@daveohig]

Yes the B7 is a great device, for sure! I think of it as the V7 of Em. Em is the iii of C major and in this context sounds like a 1st inversion C∆. So you're absolutely right, it's an "alternative" dominant cadence to G7-C, in spite of the apparent "wrong notes". Charlie Parker plays this substitution a lot. It puzzled me for years! Probably worth a whole Pocket Practice idea on it's own.....

[@markhiggins8315]

Miles could not have composed Serpent's Tooth in 1956. Bird played tenor on the original recording and we know he died in 1955.

[@rich4444hrsm]

Wolverine? With a Saxophone? WTF!?

[@markhiggins8315]

Miles could not have composed Serpent's Tooth in 1956. Bird played tenor on the original recording and we know he died in 1955.

[@markhiggins8315]

Miles could not have composed Serpent's Tooth in 1956. Bird played tenor on the original recording and we know he died in 1955.

[@daveohig]

You are absolutely correct, I was just testing, ha ha! It's on an album released in 1956 called "Collectors' Items", but the session with Serpent's Tooth was recorded in 1953 with "Charlie Chan" AKA Charlie Parker on tenor.