There isn’t a lead tenor chair unless you are playing in a  “Four Brothers” style section of three tenors and one baritone. I use my alto mainly for teaching, as most of my sax students play alto. If you look at photos of sax sections from the late 1940’s you’ll see that a lot of guys played the Brilharts. Broadly, the genre refers to a number of post-war jazz styles employing a more subdued approach than that found in other contemporaneous jazz idioms. When you are playing Glenn  Miller-style charts with clarinet lead, traditionally that part has been in the 2nd chair. One thing that I will say about our charts – they were written thick with plenty on tension tones and extended harmony. This person must have a strong sound with some edge and projection. Best Saxophone Tips and Techniques / To me a ligature is something that holds the reed to the mouthpiece. At this level playing in a sax quartet, combo with an electric keyboard and play-alongs will greatly help the students develop a sense of where the pitch is. I'm guessing that the 10-hour session was a bit much for the ailing Chaloff, who may have been triggering re-takes toward dinner. The sound lost nothing over the years, and with the new late-1950s recording technology, the effect of four saxes blowing harmony had even more impact than the earlier 78-rpm singles. Leading various groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his death in 1987. If your sax players do not play clarinet or flute I suggest that you encourage them to take lessons on either clarinet or flute. Third stream is a synthesis of jazz and classical music. The other, in July 1948, was with Buddy Rich. I, myself have always been partial to Rico reeds. PS David Larsen´s comment on his Mulligan-research is very interesting. For tenor I have used the Larry Teal mouthpiece with great results. The King Sisters, also in the 1950s and 1960s, had a version of it. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big band, afterward enjoying a long solo career, often in partnership with fellow saxmen Gerry Mulligan and Al Cohn. Desc: Four Brothers is a jazz standard written by Jimmy Giuffre in 1947, based on the chord changes of 'Jeepers Creepers'. For the Tampa concert, Allen's is joined on tenor by Lew del Gatto, founder of the SNL Band, and Jeff Rupert, University of Central Florida (UCF) Jazz Studies Director. : 336 The song features four saxes (three tenors and one baritone) in an arrangement that gives each "brother" a solo and culminates in a hard-swinging sax section chorus. All of these guys got great sounds. West Coast jazz refers to styles of jazz that developed in Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. Nice summary. John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. We did have some charts where the saxes stood out by themselves, but nothing like a sax soli on a Don Menza or Thad Jones chart. Width: 9.0" Four Brothers is a jazz standard written by Jimmy Giuffre in 1947, based on the chord changes of 'Jeepers Creepers'. Giuffre recorded it in 1955 when it was released on his debut album by Capitol. Woody Herman recorded it on December 27, 1947 for Columbia records with his second Herd, which had been organized earlier that year. Doubles on this chair are clarinet, flute, and sometimes bass clarinet. Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer was an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer. Many times the 2nd tenor and the bari player are written in fourths or fifths. $45.00 Also this person must be able to sub tone well to play softly in the lower register at times. Currently I am using a White Brilhart Tonalin 3* that I lucked into. Seckler, Stan. Many times the intonation problems in a section are because the 1st and 2nd alto players cannot agree on the pitch. I agree Scott. Many people like the D’Addario filed and unfiled reeds, and the Hemke reeds, both Rico/D’Addario products. They were made in the UK and are now made in Belgium. Joining the saxophonists were Elliot Lawrence on piano (he also conducted), Burgher Jones on bass and Don Lamond on drums. For the Together Again! Now there are times when all the players may be playing flute or the top four chairs are on clarinet and the bari is on bass clarinet. All rights reserved. But Four Brothers was more than just another arrangement: The emphasis on blended harmonies and Young-like saxes playing together would become the basis for West Coast jazz just a few years later. Herman added Sam Marowitz on lead alto. My Brilhart has replaced my Meyers 6M. He later worked with Jimmy Giuffre, before rejoining Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band. Give them a set list and put a star next to the tunes you play on. Also neither of us had the attitude that I’m right and your wrong. The concert is a re-creation of the glory days of Woody Herman's Four Brothers saxophone section in the "Second Herd" in 1947. We happen to have a talented accordionist in the band, and that has contributed to revive memories of the sounds of the 1920´s. Many arrangers will write for the sax section woodwind doubles as follows. Young had been dubbed Prez by Billie Holiday a decade before. April 20, 2020, Confessions of a Music Snob For more information, call (727) 774-7415 or visit tampajazzclub.com. Then on middle “B” on the saxophone. However do not let the tuner replace listening. Both charts feature solo sections for the bari player and bari lead during a sax soli. In the meantime, I contemplated what approach I would take if I should be asked to write for such a group. Artist: Sometimes I feel that the saxes in concert band are almost invisible. Your home for saxophone tips, techniques, interviews, reviews, and news. I strive in my own writing to capture the magic that jazz was producing in the 1950s and 60s. However, all of our performances were a show, as opposed to an actual concert. The saxophonists sounded as one together but went their merry way when playing alone. The tenor is blending in with the euphoniums, the trombones, and sometimes the trumpets and french horns. Marian McPartland also recorded a live version on piano in 1959. Features a soli section with a slight be-bop feel for alto, trumpet & bone and also includes a solo section that can be opened up for any horn. He wrote thousands of arrangements for hundreds of bands and singers. This is my take on tuning. For tenors it will also be F# until they have a firm grasp of high “B”. Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Jimmy Giuffre: Jazz clarinettist and composer", "Jazz news: Four Brothers: Together Again! I liked it and it seemed to hold the reed better than the Link ligature. So basically, on this setup, where most of the time the band was written tutti, you followed the lead trumpet player. Other mouthpieces to try are the Vandoren V-16 in both HR and metal. Or you can buy a copy of the CD released in the mid-1990s for about $15 here. For dances you will also encounter the Latin dance styles of the rumba and cha-cha-cha. Another example of this sound is in the middle of Bill Holman’s chart of “Yesterdays”. Using Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band as an example, I dreamed of expanding Stan’s small group recordings for the larger group, starting with Stan’s classic 1950s records that I grew up listening to. This mainly consisted of playing the sax lines and improvising solos on tunes like “I Feel Good”, “Mustang Sally” and others. Gerry and I used to talk about his concept for the Concert Jazz Band. Stan used to rehearse his quartet in our living room. For concert band, just be able to blend in and not be bright. Jimmy Giuffre, the composer and arranger of Four Brothers, did not play tenor saxophone on the hit record by Woody Herman in December 1947. For rock band playing, a lot of players seem to like the Bobby Dukoff metal D-7 through D-9. For our most recent concert I chose to write arrangements of three pieces from the Cotton Club era, “Double Check Stomp”, “Mood Indigo” and “Accordion Joe”. I knew guys that used metal Dukoff’s on tenor sax. Interestingly, not until Herman formed his next band, in 1950--the so-called Third Herd--did the four-saxophone sound made famous by Giuffre's Four Brothers become dominant in the orchestra. Students with an ID can gain admission for $10. The go-to alto  mouthpiece has always been the NY Meyers 5M or 6M. Although each had his own distinctive approach, they all shared a common primary influence—Lester Young. You may want to play the scale with the students on the piano so the students can hear the pitch. swingbrew@gmail.com and we can set up at time to speak on the phone. The music relied relatively more on composition and arrangement than on the individually improvised playing of other jazz styles. When I was in my Army Band I played in a top – 40 band that had a horn section of alto, tenor, bari, trombone, and trumpet plus vocals, piano, bass, drums, and guitar. This is what I use and like. I couple it with a LaVoz medium-hard reed (another Rico/D’Addario product) and an old Rovner Dark ligature. Once the students are in high school and/or college they should be able to tune to concert “A” without a problem if they are practicing, taking lessons etc. Middle “D” is one of the sharpest notes on the sax. The 2nd alto on flute. However during the Big Band Era and after, the alto solos were on the 2nd alto part. Do not put your weakest player or a timid player on the bari chair. Anita O'Day recorded scat versions of the tune in the 1950s and 1960s, in which she took the place of one of the four saxophone players and scatted with the other three. Today most concert bands will have a section of one 1st alto, one 2nd alto, one tenor sax, and one bari sax. I am an interested and happy follower of your blog. Roland was the only arranger to write for Kenton, in all four decades of the band's existence. Right now one of my students is using the A-17. He is notable for his development of forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating forms of free improvisation. All of these players have huge sounds and are the supporting rock of their respective sections. The 2nd alto is to his/her right. I use a LaVoz medium hard reed and a Rovner original ligature on it. September 18, 2020, The Power of Connection This is what I used for big band and combo and it proved to be quite good as long as I had sound support. The distinction between loudness and presence seems to been lost. Then there are times when the bari is doubled with the bass trombone or the string bass or electric bass. Another white big band under the leadership of Woody Herman changed its name from The Band that Plays the Blues to Woody Herman and his Herd, and then a year later, Woody Herman and the Second Herd. Being the 2nd alto player on the band; one of the things that impressed me, and emphasized by Artie, was the role of the 2nd alto saxophone. “Jazz music if fun” is a quotation from GM that I have kept as a center-piece in my own playing. I’m not about to present a collection of museum pieces.