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Guillaume – Alto Sax (Bari, Tenor, Soprano Sax)
Hi,
I’m Guillaume, from Paris, France.
I’m mainly an (amateur) alto sax player but I also play bari (love it, incredibly versatile instrument)), tenor and soprano too.
I play (or played) in several jazz, funk, blues and rock bands. I’m a big fan of bebop (but I listen to all kinds of music)
My main influences on alto sax :
Bird, Bird, BIRD (he’s got everything !), Cannonball Adderley (just WOW), Sonny Stitt (at first I thought his choruses were not improvised : perfect bebop lines ), Art Pepper (incredible feeling from a tortured soul), Paul Desmond (melodic master) , Kenny Garrett (killer intensity), Maceo Parker (shake everything you’ve got), Dick Oatts (perfect modern alto master), Phil Woods (what a sound and phrasing !)
Lots of other influences : Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson, Sonny Rollins, Stanley Turrentine, Johnny Griffin, Joshua Redman , Chris Potter, Pepper Adams, Nick Brignola, Gary Smulyan, Ronnie Cuber, Gerry Mulligan, Steve Lacy, Jane Ira Bloom…
I play on an alto sax Selmer Mark VI from 1958, with a 10mFan Daddy-O 6 mouthpiece and D’Addario Jazz Select 3 Soft Filed Reeds (at the moment).
As I often practice at night or in hotel rooms, I also play on an EMEO digital saxophone. Great for technique and improvisation work, not for sound and embouchure unfortunately.
I suscribed to the SK IMPROV STUDIO in November and started by shedding the Rythm Changes lesson. This month I’m working on ATTYA.
Steve, your lessons are perfect for me. I love the Improv Studio !
Before suscribing, I was already working on one standard per month. But, I had to figure out by myself, by trial and error, what to work on a specific standard.
Here, in the Studio, one finds enough food for thought for a lifetime of shedding, provided by a seasoned pro player. Great !
Each time I pick up the horn, I don’t waste time anymore wondering “what am I gonna do today ?”.
In 6 weeks I notice tangible improvement as an improviser.
Thanks a lot !
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1 Reply
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Hey Guillaume!
Great to meet you and thanks for letting us know your background. Bari is truly for the lovers of the saxophone, it definitely takes patience as does any instrument I guess haha.It would seem that we have a lot of similar influences – I’m really looking forward to hearing you play 🙂 Really nice set up on your alto as well. I am thinking of going back to a more closed tip opening and playing harder reeds these days in order to fatten up my tone.
Thanks so much for the kind words about the studio, much appreciated as always and thats what this is all about: saving time in the practice room, more focused practice sessions and overall… more fun!
See you around the studio ✌️