Keep Taking Ground Saxophone Podcast

Dec 06 2023

Keep Taking Ground Saxophone Podcast artwork

A new and exciting podcast for the professional and aspiring professional saxophonist, that features 30minute conversations with in-demand and award-winning saxophonists from around the world and across jazz and contemporary styles. Music is a living, breathing art-form that is kept alive by the innovators, composers and musicians that dedicate their lives to learning, creating and sharing the music they love. I believe that even in this age of easy access to information and hyper-connectivity there is still, no doubt, a gap between the professional and aspiring professional musician that isn’t always closed by mere practice, time or earning a degree. In-demand and award-winning saxophonists know something that the “rest” of us don’t, and that’s what I’m curious about.

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S2 - Ep24: Special Episode | "P. Mauriat Saxophones" with Jeremy True

Dec 06 2023 66 mins

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 studen

S02 - E23: "Ear-Training for Improvisers" with Grace Kelly.

Nov 29 2023 67 mins

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 musi

S02 - E22: "Exploring Caribbean Rhythms and Jazz Harmony" with Jacques Shwarz-Bart.

Nov 22 2023 79 mins

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 th

S02 - E21: "Deep Listening and Transcribing" with Sarah Hanahan.

Nov 15 2023 73 mins

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 lear

S02 - E20: "Playing Lead Alto" with Andrew Gould.

Oct 25 2023 60 mins

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

S02 - E19: "Artistic Intention, Personal Style & Hip Hop" with Greg Osby

Oct 18 2023 65 mins

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

S02 - E18: "The Horn, The Prize and The Journey" with Kelly Jefferson.

Oct 12 2023 78 mins

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

"Discovering Soul" with Braxton Cook

Oct 06 2023 54 mins

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, Mot

Discovering Ancestral DNA Through Music with Godwin Louis

Jan 20 2021 45 mins

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 tho

Evolving Through Composing with Allison Au - Part 2

Jan 20 2021 32 mins

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...