Hit the road Jack !!

[jak Swift]

Good morning. Rainy day dream away.
After much thought, yesterday I popped in to say hi as you know. Many thanks for your replies which left me a little confused.
I explained the breakdown I suffered; meaning to convey apologies for rambling posts. To my knowledge, I have not offended anybody.
Two great versions of ” Hit the Road “….??
I am having doubts as to whether or not I am still welcome on the forum. You can see how it looks surely. Am I reading too much into this or would you prefer i no longer participate ??
If the latter is the case; I want to thank Johnny, and on the offchance I have offended anybody to offer my apologies. If I get no replies, i shall leave you all to it, whilst wishing you only health, happiness and many years of great playing. If I am wrong, let’s leave this behind and move on.
Things have been tough. Either way, thanks for understanding and have a great Sunday……

[Pete]

Hi Jak
I don’t think anybody was meaning anything offensive with “Hit The Road Jack” but I can see where you are coming from
Jak. I sincerely hope you will stay on the forum Jak it needs characters like you who know a lot and have a lot of
knowledge which you have gained over the years. Don’t read into things to much, we all do that occasionally.
Keep well and carry on blowing Jak.

[Anonymous]

Hi Jak, you are greatly misunderstanding the intention of the posted videos. The song is just another way of saying, it’s great that you are up and about and still playing sax. When people don’t post for a while, one wonders if they have given up. Don’t forget to check out the other video. Cheers

[Anonymous]

Ten out of ten

[jak Swift]

Guys…..thankyou !! Read it all wrong and I’m going to leave it there. Its a huge boost knowing I’m still welcome. Jeff, thanks for the clips. I did watch the second ” uptown funk ” ( if I remember rightly )….what a great player !!
Whilst I’m here has anybody else heard of SYOS mouthpieces ? I imagine it stands for ” shape your own sound “;A French company. I very nearly bought one a while back. They work on a sliding scale 1 to 10. Dark to bright; also asking what you are using.
Check out Dayna Stephens. Hes an American player; the guy that turned me onto them. He was very helpful and sounds great on his. I very nearly went for it. Very dark with a hard core. The policy is that you pay , receive, and keep sending the mpc back for tweaking until you are happy. It was the last bit that put me off. Its an interesting concept and site. I guess doubters would say they just have a selection of dark, medium and bright. I think they put more work into than that and the players I’ve heard sound great. I’m happy with my vintage Brillhart, speaking of which…….I’m going to do a last couple of hours. These alto chops are tough, especially the top end. Getting there though !!
Thanks again guys; I’m really happy, we all need friends. Speak later…..jak

[jak Swift]

So, pizza is in , time to take in a movie with Mother. This alto thing has me totally stoked. I won’t go further as I’m going to do a blog. The final chapter after years of playing. It really has to come back to Bird. For years, I’ve wanted to get be bop totally down. Early days relatively; I did bop on bari, but alto is the ultimate challenge. Does the name Dick Oats ring any bells ?
I’m pretty sure I remember the guys name, a random listen a while back from a live performance.
Man…..what a player !!
Hope your enjoying your day folks. If its OK, I’ll start that blog later,…see you then.

[jak Swift]

DICK OATTS…..MAN !!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Great to have you back jak!
“years of experience” aren’t too vital to this site, what counts is your active participation,
otherwise the forums will be dead boring

[jak Swift]

Sxpoet, thanks man, it means a lot. I’m still shell shocked after the breakdown I guess. I really need to stay focused, be happy and enjoy this fabulous alto. That’s the last I’m going to mention it. From now on, its all about the good things in life. Thankyou all guys so much. The place is looking great; a few new members I see. I’m going to mail an old friend, then I’ll give a few thoughts about this alto if that’s good. Still on a cheap pad I’m afraid. Seriously check out Dick Oats….whoah !!!!

[jak Swift]

Can’t seem to find a place to blog this,the movie is awful….so !!
From the movie ” Bird ” to Peter Kings you tube footage of himself playing Birds Grafton at auction, I have always adored be bop. I played a few tunes from the Bird omnibook on bari, they sounded fine.
On tenorsax, I was frankly pretty lost. An average player who couldn’t find his voice. I can’t get enough Stan Getz, Charlie Rousse; that tone is unreal. At the same time the great Texas tenors, Arnett Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, that driving blues with attitude, I was lost between the two.
Enter Dick Oatts. A chance live broadcast, with the most fabulous be bop tone I have heard. That settled it; I was going for broke, following a desire I had frankly been afraid of. Daunting.
I broke even just about selling my 10M ( not the greatest horn), my Grassi bari and a handful of vintage mpcs. For the first time in many years I bought a brand new horn. A Lupifaro ” silver series” alto. ( It has a bronze finish….go figure, lol !!)
Not the platinum series; way too pricey. I matched it up with a Vintage Brillhart Ebolin.
Its strange but there is something in having one horn, one mpc. No excuses, just make it work. I’m still looking at other vintage mpcs. I don’t know if the term ” great neck ” applies to alto or just tenorsax. In short, a close mpc, free blowing.
That comes to my first realisation regarding alto. Only harder reeds seem to produce satisfactory results. Tenorsax…..wide tips , softer reeds, no problem. On alto soft reeds to me sound awful. Thin at the bottom and just close up at the top end.
So, here we go !! The Bird omnibook and a great alto. A new year, a new chapter. I really think this will be my thing for as long as I play. I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. From the dots and a knowledge of the twelve by rote; my own lines are slowly starting to develop. I’m stoked !!
Shame a breakdown had to happen, but if that is what it takes, so be it.
Thank you all for your support. It means a whole lot. I’ll keep you posted as to progress and in time load up a sound bite or two. Its going to be a good year…..for all of us !!
Take it easy…..jak.

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