I’m seeing a trend in adult students that I have taught over the last 10 years and wanted to write about it. The #1 thing that most students young and old want to improve is their ability to improvise well. Many times, I ask the students what their practice routine is like and I get answers […]
Jazz Improvisation
Why is Learning Jazz Patterns Foreign to Me?
I received this question in an email the other day and I thought it would be good to try to answer it in detail on the blog here so others can benefit from it: Question: Steve, I have always listened to jazz, but I tend to favor simpler, lyrical playing like Houston Person, Gene Ammons, […]
Free Video Lesson on Approach Note Velocity Book
I decided to offer a free video lesson on my book “Approach Note Velocity Volume 1 & 2” for everyone. I have sold many of these books over the years and really want to make sure that everyone is getting the most out of them that they can. You can consider this an “overview” lesson on […]
Seamus Blake “Blues Up and Down” Saxophone Solo Transcription
Here’s a great solo transcription from one of my favorite players, Seamus Blake. This is a fast blues called “Blues Up and Down” and is from an obscure CD entitled “Sax Summit”. I say obscure because I am probably one of the biggest fans and followers of jazz saxophone recordings and I had never heard of it before […]
Donny McCaslin Blues Solo in 6ths Tenor Sax Transcription
Here’s another solo transcriptions I started working on yesterday. This is from a clinic recording of Donny McCaslin demonstrating using sixth intervals while improvising over a standard blues on the tenor saxophone. I have no idea what this is from or even where I got it but it must have been on the internet somewhere. I tried […]
David Mann’s Tenor Saxophone Solo-Sun Down Transcription
Here’s another great David Mann transcription from a Bb Blues that was sent to me from Igor Tomanoski. This is a solo that Dave played on the tune Sun Down. I made a few minor additions and changes to the transcription of some notes and rhythms I heard. This solo is another great example of […]
Neffmusic Lessons: Where do I start?
Now that the Neffmusic site has over 500 lessons to choose from, the two questions I get asked the most every week are: “Where should I start?” and “What should I do next?” (Also, “What mouthpiece should I buy?” but that is a different subject than we are dealing with today). To answer these questions, I […]
Liam Byrne Tenor Saxophone Blues Solo Transcription
Here’s a nice swingin’ blues solo transcription I started working on a few days ago. This is from a young tenor sax player, Liam Byrne. The group is called BBQ and stands for Brownfield/Byrne Quintet. Here’s a short Bio about Liam Byrne from his website: ‘…Saxophonist Liam Byrne, from North Wales (UK), studied at Leeds College […]
The Real Latin Book Review
Anyone who has been following my blog for awhile knows that I can be a bit of a nut when it comes to Real Books. I love getting new tunes that I have never played and trying them out on gigs. Sometimes when I do a duo gig for a cocktail hour the piano player […]
2013 Thelonious Monk Jazz Saxophone Competition
I wanted to share this video that is on Youtube of the 2013 Thelonious Monk Saxophone competition. I first heard of the Thelonious Monk competition in the early 90’s. I believe the competition started out in the late 80’s as a piano competition and then started including other instruments in the early 90’s. 1991 was […]
Devastating Minor Lines for Jazz and Funk Soloing
I just finished a brand new Neffmusic book that I am very excited about. The description is below: An inside approach to outside playing using pentatonics, chromaticism, 3-tonic systems and intervallic patterns to produce modern lines in the style of Michael Brecker and Bob Berg. Devastating Minor Lines contains 100 16th note lines written out […]
Dexter Gordon “More than You Know” Documentary
Here’s a great video documentary on the life and playing of the great tenor saxophone player Dexter Gordon. It is called “More than You Know”. I’ve watched it a number of times and absolutely love it. Check out the blues “Blues Walk” that starts playing around 1:13! Dexter kills this blues. His lines and quotes […]
Become a Neffmusic Member and Save!
I have had a number of people who have wanted to become members of my site but who don’t want to sign up through paypal. I have decided to set up this page for them so that they can purchase a 3,6 or 12 month membership just by using a credit card. Once I receive […]
Great Hal Galper Masterclass Videos
Here are some great clips from youtube of a Hal Galper masterclass. Hal Galper is a great piano player who has has played with many of the jazz legends. I came to know him from some Phil Woods albums I had growing up. These are great to watch a number of times. Hal is such […]
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