Blues Saxophone: An In-Depth Look at the Styles of the Masters [Paperback]

Dennis Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2001

This book/CD pack is solely devoted to providing you with a complete overview of the techniques and styles popularized by the greatest blues saxophonists of all time. All the best are here: from the rough-hewn Chicago Blues of Eddie Shaw and A.C. Reed, to the organ combo soul/jazz of Stanley Turrentine and Willis "Gator" Jackson. Includes lessons, music, historical analysis, rare photos and more - everything you need to master the blues saxophone! The accompanying CD - in Bb (tenor) pitch - includes 18 full-band tracks.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation (December 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0634026208
• ISBN-13: 978-0634026201
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #502,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must have for students and professionals alike, April 24, 2002

By 

Karl Schmidtmann (Sebastopol, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blues Saxophone: An In-Depth Look at the Styles of the Masters (Paperback)

The history of the saxophone comes alive in Dennis Taylor's Blues Saxophone. Unlike any resource that has existed before, this work combines photographs, biographies, instrumental transcriptions, and discographies. It even includes a CD-ROM to demonstrate the style of 16 sax masters, ranging from the well known to relatively obscure. This is an important and valuable resource for students and professional musicians alike.

The book starts with straight-ahead Chicago blues players, and advances through blues rooted jazz to modern jazz masters. Each successive player is stylistically more progressive and complicated.

Each master is given a short biography, then his playing is put into musical context. Carefully selected photographs bring the words to life. Then a typical solo is explained and transcribed for readers to play themselves. Taylor puts the solo into context, with an incisive description of the techniques used. On the enclosed CD, Taylor demonstrates the transcribed solo. Cleverly, the saxophone and rest of the band are on separate channels, so that the student can mute Taylor's saxophone and play along with the band.

Blues Saxophone is the work of a professional musician and scholar who brings decades of research and passion to this project. His commentary alone is worth the price of the book. This book is a must have for anyone interested in the saxophone. We can only hope that it inspires a whole new genre of similar products for other instruments and musical styles.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but not IN DEPTH, November 7, 2002

By 

nadav haber (jerusalem Israel) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Blues Saxophone: An In-Depth Look at the Styles of the Masters (Paperback)

I love the blues, and as a saxophone player I was happy to get this book. What the book has is transcriptios of about 15 solos in styles ranging from the roughest Chicago blues to Sonny Rollins sophisticated chord changes.
There is a CD where the author plays those solos accompanied by his band.
before every solo there is one page, half of which is a short history of the stylist whose solo is transcribed, and half which is a theoretical reference.
The solos are good to learn, and may provide a good exercise for playing blues. But the theoretical explanation is lacking and is certainly not IN DEPTH.
I do recommand the book as it has some good blues ideas, and shows respect for some of the underrated blues stylists.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Blues Saxophone, October 28, 2002

By 

Terry R. Hummer (Athens, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Blues Saxophone: An In-Depth Look at the Styles of the Masters (Paperback)

This is a valuable book, mainly because there is no other on the subject. The CD is good--Mr. Taylor's performances in the styles of many blues players are impressive. However, while the subtitle of the book promises "in-depth" examination or analysis of the styles of "the Masters," what we get is hardly that; the text entries, with biographical information included, range from 1/2 a page at the least (Bobby Forte) to 1 1/3 pages at the most (Lester Young, Sonny Rollins) -- and no one can claim to do an "in-depth" study of Lester's or Sonny's blues styles in 1 1/3 pages with bio included! Also, the discographies, while useful, are hardly complete. If you are a blues sax player -- especially a beginner, or someone turning the corner from jazz into blues (no, they AREN'T the same -- as Taylor underscores, they are related but ultimately distinct traditions), this book can be useful; and it's good that these players, many of them fairly well forgotten, are represented. But there's room for a much more complete -- "in-depth" -- version of this book.