Slow morning !!

[jak Swift]

Got an hour or so before a final check on my arm, so just flicking through. It was a real blast to hear JF playing with Greg Piccolo, as part of ” roomful of blues ” section . ( what a great name !! ). But yeah, this guy Greg has me stoked. If you get a chance, there is a clip on you tube of him playing in the ” mystic loft “…a NYC steakhouse. Enough rambling…..enjoy it !! ☺

[Anonymous]

Hi Jak, are you referring to this video?

[jak Swift]

Pleasantries first . Jeff, hi man; yeah I’m great , real good. Things are calm after stressing over buying my new outfit. Finally its done. I’m not great on social media; I nearly quit this forum as you know. Man , its such a friendly place, and I was just thinking how cheap Johnny’s backing tacks really are. The hassles of copyright, PRS etc. Man it must be a nightmare. Doing shed loads of playing man. Making up for the lost time. Don’t want toharp on about the Otto link but my playing, or my tone has come on great. Take into account a twelve month break, out of thirty some years. But did those twelve months hurt….man !!!!
So yeah, tenor , bari sorted. Just the right amount of quality mpcs, and a few bands on the go. I had to let one ” wedding band ” go. The tunes were cheesy, and most were not sax friendly.
Anyhow, let’s take a look at this…

[Mel]

Jak- what Otto Link are you playing?

[jak Swift]

Yup, that’s the session Jeff. THAT..IS what I aspire to. I mean the guy just blows me away. His sound, his style, his phrasing but that hard Blowin passion is unreal. This goes back to the day I spent with Bob the other day. Bob and myself went to music school together back in the eighties. I’m talking about my arm and how since there is something missing. We had a long talk about not letting that fire go low. Always blow, blow heavy , blow full.
I didn’t choose to play like Paul Desmond, or Coltrane. I chose R&R \ R&B. The playing is in the attitude and vice versa. Yeah, he’s a great player, thanks Jeff. So, what goes down with you good Sir..??

[jak Swift]

Hi Mel, an 8*…..LOVE IT !! I said earlier, I’ve always wanted to be a great link player. I’ve come close to getting good results, but this time , I think I’ve cracked it . I hope so !! Not an easy blow, big air, med ” bari ” reeds , so about #3. What about you Mel. What horns, mpcs, are you using ?

[jak Swift]

My friend Bob, you can hear his thing on Spotify. ” Anfield Jazz…St Domingo grooves “…☺

[jak Swift]

Sorry Mel; a straight #8….

[Anonymous]

Hi Jak, Bev and I are both well. We are busy changing things around the house roof etc. and there is plenty of dust flying around. The sax has had to take a break and I’m down to playing just once a week on Saturday. My hands are taking strain as they are not used to all the painting and maintenance work I’m doing. In the evening I like to sit down, relax and listen to the sax recordings I have on my PC. I took your advice and have added ‘Everywhere Calypso’ to my playlist. It is a shortened version of only 24 bars but the last 16 bars repeats twice. My lip protector works so well I played for four hours in one go, a few weeks ago with zero discomfort. I could have played again the following day if I had wanted to. It’s amazing how well a thin piece of plastic can protect one’s lip from the teeth. Thanks for the references.

[jak Swift]

Jeff, hi man from a rainy Liverpool. Sorry…hi Bev too ☺ !! So, sax only on a Saturday ? Did you double spell check that…lol !! A real nice reply, thankyou. I’ve said before, the only thing that has kept me here on the forum is the sheer friendliness of our funky gang !!
Everywhere calypso is a great tune Jeff. Sounds like you have the bulk of it down. I wish I had access to recording facilities; computers; decent cameras. Firstly to record that tune on tenorsax with the Bari holding down the chord structure. Also to send out soundbites, PDFs.
In saying that, I’ve just maxed out buying horns, and I am honestly grateful to have them back. For now, that’s more than enough. Put the work in , the sessions will follow. Summer busking….etc.
If you can blow four hours straight Jeff, your doing something right. If you have an old mpc, might be worth leaving that about…or the pen trick..( I mentioned it somewhere ). I only say, because if your chops are at this crucial point; your blowing for stretches…well….you can’t afford to waste that muscle development. And it does go pretty quick. Just a thought man, mpc watching TV ??
Four hours is good man, and for you to comment that ” you could have gone again “…. I’m kinda rambling… But yeah, the horn bit takes care of itself. Any way you can find a half hour, grab a mpc. I care man !!
I’m good. A little scattered, in that one day I’m playing this, the next that. Tenor or bari..bari or tenor ? To be fair the bari hasn’t seen much action. It fits like an old pair of boots…great !!
Its also very loud !! ( ceramic chamber mpc ).
I live a click from the river. These last few days, I’ve been down there pushing my sound. If you have never played outdoors, you sound very small. If it was good enough for Sonny, its fine by me.
Hope the house turns out real nice Jeff, take it easy man, and the references….” Forget about it !! “😊

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