Keep Taking Ground Saxophone Podcast

For our finale episode of the season, I chat with the brand manager for P. Mauriat North America, Jeremiah True. Playing saxophones, clarinets, flutes, and bassoons, he is a reed specialist and has performed with Donnie McCaslin, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra with Bobby Watson. We discuss his experience with burnout as a college music student, his transitio...

This week I chat with singer, songwriter, educator and saxophonist prodigy Grace Kelly. Recognized as a millennial jazz influencer, she has performed with legends late Dave Brubeck Lee Konitz and Wynton Marsalis, to name a few. She co-founded the online saxophone school Saxy School and is the youngest trustee on Berklee College of Music's Board. We discuss the impact her early music teachers had o...

This week, I chat with recording artist, educator and bandleader, Jacques Schwarz-Bart. Born in Guadeloupe, Jacques played a key role in neo-soul and Creole Jazz movements, collaborating with artists like D'Angelo and late jazz legend, Roy Hargrove. We talk about incorporating Caribbean Rhythms into your improvisational approach, teaching at Berklee College of Music, his work as the pioneer of the...

This week I chat with rising-star jazz saxophonist in New York who was recently named one of NPR Jazz Night in America’s 30 under 30 Youngbloods, Sarah Hanahan. She’s performed with Mingus Big Band, Ulysses Owens Jr. and Generation Y, Joe Farnsworth, and more. We discuss being mentored by bassist Nat Reeves, transcribing and deep listening, playing melodically and how true learning comes from play...

This week, I chat with native New Yorker, Andrew Gould. He holds degrees from both Manhattan School of Music and SUNY Purchase, was a 2013 Thelonious Monk Saxophone Competition semi-finalist and has been featured on multiple GRAMMY-nominated recordings including the recent 2021 GRAMMY winning “Meta Knights Revenge” with the 8 Bit Big Band. He's performed with legends like James Moody and the Vangu...

This week, I chat with saxophonist, composer, producer, educator, and curator, Greg Osby, who has been a dominant force in the music scene for nearly four decades. He is an esteemed part of the improvising musician community and his unique approach to composition and performance has earned him acclaim and awards, and he's regarded as one of the “most provocative musical thinkers of his generation”...

In this week’s episode, I chat with the multiple Juno-Award-winning, Canadian saxophonist and educator, Kelly Jefferson. He's played with jazz greats like Maria Schneider and Christian McBride, holds degrees from McGill and Manhattan School of Music, and currently teaches at the University of Toronto and York University. We talk about growing up in a family of musicians, focusing on the moment, an...

I sat down with the Emmy Award-Winning saxophonist, vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer, Braxton Cook to chat about how he balances his creative and personal life, meeting Wynton Marsalis, discovering soul through vulnerability and authenticity, life on the road with Christian Scott, and much more. "When it comes to soul, I grew up listening to soul music, Motown [records] an...

This week's episode features the New York-based alto saxophonist Godwin Louis. We discuss his Haitian roots, his debut album Global, and how his travels have helped him discover ancestral DNA through music and transcend the traditional American conception of what makes the music legitimate."I realized that modern, twenty-first century music is rooted in the African diaspora and those musical tradi...

This week's episode features part one of my conversation with the Juno-award winning jazz saxophonist, composer Allison Au. We discussed her compositional process by breaking down two of her compositions from her latest album "Wander Wonder" and she shares how she uses composition as tool for musical and creative growth. Download the charts: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ee68pa158x... Purchase Alliso...

This week's episode features part one of my conversation with the Juno-award winning jazz saxophonist, composer Allison Au. We discussed her compositional process by breaking down two of her compositions from her latest album "Wander Wonder" and she shares how she uses composition as tool for musical and creative growth. "As I was developing as a saxophone player after forming my band, writing bec...

On part two of my conversation with the internationally acclaimed saxophonist, composer, educator and Baltimore native Tim Green, we discuss how he got the call for some "high-profile" gigs, and discuss the importance of playing and interpreting melodies well. "I've been in pursuit of being a great musician, that happens to play the saxophone." - Tim GreenGuest: Tim GreenWebsite: www.timgreenmusic...

I had the pleasure of chatting with the internationally acclaimed saxophonist, composer, educator and Baltimore native Tim Green, about his experience as a working saxophonist, how he got the call for some "high-profile" gigs and about learning how to be a servant of the music. During our conversation the phrase “Sidemanology” became the working term that defined his insight. "If you’re not playin...

I sat down with the Grammy and Juno-nominated, Cuban-born saxophonist Luis Deniz to discuss his Cuban roots, the importance of community and humanity in music, and how focusing on developing technically became the spring-board for creativity. ⠀⠀⠀“Having a room of musicians checking out your music is great, but having a room of people who don’t know anything about your music enjoy it, is the ultima...

I sat down with the Grammy and Juno-nominated, Cuban-born saxophonist Luis Deniz to discuss his Cuban roots, the importance of community and humanity in music, and how focussing on developing technically became the spring-board for creativity. ⠀⠀⠀“Having a room of musicians checking out your music is great, but having a room of people who don’t know anything about your music enjoy it, is the ultim...

I sat down with the Chilean-born, Berklee educated saxophonist and 2013 winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition, Melissa Aldana, to chat about her early start in music, her pursuit of always being on the edge of her musical, personal and creative growth and how she uses transcription as a tool for self discovery. “There is no innovation, there is only transforming in...