12 Moons Solo Saxophone Project Day 342

Date: 12/08/2013

Instrument: Tenor saxophone

Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)

Notes:

The weather has been bitterly cold the past week, with temperatures climbing barely above freezing during the daytime. This is very challenging for my reed set-up. Extreme temperatures effect a reed in a number of ways, but the overall issue lies in the unpredictability of how the reed will play from day to day or even hour to hour. The reed I played on during a show last night was extremely stuffy and on the stiff side, but this morning the same reed is now extremely bright and light. I decided to document the current condition of this reed in today’s improvisation. I used the easy-blowing nature of it to record a quiet piece with recurring melodic themes, and intervalic melodies that featured the clarity of sound in this reed.

While beginning this improvisation, I was struck by a beautiful, open fifths chord made with the following fingering:

(Left Hand) 1-2-3, Octave, Low B // (Right Hand) 2, Low C

This chord used the pitches F# and C# in the upper register, creating a very stable, open-ended chord that I set recurring melodies against. I moved between bluesy and less tonally defined figures, such as: B-A-F#(chord), B-A#-F#(chord), A-A-F#(chord), or A#-A-F#(chord). The melodic interruptions around these figures/chord, were played freely, but I was careful not to divert attention for too long away from the primary themes.

-Neil

The image “The Disappeared” accompanying today’s post by Antonio Frasconi (1981-88).