The Key to Jazz Improvisation? with Eric Alexander

This was an incredibly helpful watch! Thank you Jay and Eric!

I've also met Eric Alexander many times here in Chicago. Great musician great guy I'll tell you a quick story to show you what type of guy he is. I was at one of his concerts the jazz showcase in Chicago. There was a break and I had left the first set to go home .I had met Eric many times and I didn't want to bother him so I didn't bother to say hi as I got in my car and pulled away from the club and I'm headed to the expressway I saw Eric walking the street downtown Chicago So I stopped and I said hey what's up Eric Great show He says hey "take me to the store , I pulled over He got in for my car He didn't quite recognize me because he meets so many people but I said oh wow yeah I'll be happy to take you to the store. He said yeah I got to go back to the hotel toon no problem I said we started talking and I told him I met him a few times before this previous concerts so he says oh okay of course he couldn't remember me He says what's your name I said Tony Harris. So what's up Tony we took a couple pictures together in my vehicle . I took him to the store we talked music a little bit I brought him back to the club He says hey man thanks a lot where you going ? i says what I'm going to go home now I had your first show so and it was great He says man parked the car come on come back in I said really are you serious ? So they're not going to let me back in He says you're with me No problem come on I said wow I can't believe this I'm going to hang out with Erica Alexander You talk music we talked about mouthpieces for a while great guy as we walk into the club he looks at the door person He said hey this is Tony he's with me I said wow we walked into the club He says where you going? I said I'm going to sit back here He said no way you're going to come up front . He said yeah come on all the way in front all the way . Eric was the coolest laid back superstar musician I ever met it was like he was my friend it was like he knew me. That was a great night for me. I got a chance to sit right there next to Eric Alexander listen to him warm up . Hell of a saxophonist with a hell of a sound a hell of a soul That night I will never forget. fantastic guy I bought him a beer. I have met many saxophonists over my years here in Chicago many famous saxophone players Eric was the nicest warmest most relaxed didn't have a eagle didn't have a big ego a coolest person I ever met on his caliber. And I met many many famous saxophone players just a few name a few . Bradford Marsalis , Joshua Redman Stanley turrentine ,Michael brecker who was also a very nice guy very humble. Tim Warfield, who was a very nice guy also etc !! but nobody was as cool to me as Eric He act like he did remember that he met me in the past I met him maybe four or five times and of course he can't really remember me maybe he'll remember the next time I see him . that I gave him a ride cuz I think I'll say to him hey what's up Eric want to go to the store I'll take you 👍

It is interesting to hear the idea of "playing the changes" put so forcefully. Having the technical ability and ears to do that is brilliant (and it is part of my practise routine), but one of my teachers always said that our primary job as horn players is to focus on being melodic as a) we can't physically play chords :), and more importantly b) a soloist already has some folks outlining the changes... they are known as the "rhythm section" :) Having said that, I always think that it is a good idea to have as many tools in the improvisation toolbox as possible - some days/songs I am inspired to be melodic, other days/songs I need to rely on technical aspects like the changes, licks, patterns etc in the hope that they lead me somewhere!

This is one of the greatest, if not the most important, videos on Jazz improvisation. Most of us have been taught to use scales and modes and in most cases, many of us with our modern Jazz Education end there...period!!!

I share others’ frustration with the mixed or contradictory advice saxophone students are told: you have to be able to read music vs. you should learn to play by ear instead; melody is king vs. just learn to play the changes; you have to learn everything in all 12 keys vs. just learn them in the 2 or 3 most-common ones. I think we can learn from all of these seemingly contradictory messages, and that what you take from them depends on your aspirations, abilities and limitations. Not every method of learning sax works for everyone, and you have to find out what works best for you. Some people may learn better reading sheet music, while others may learn better playing by ear. And, let’s face it, none but a very few are going to become the next John Coltrane or Chris Potter, etc. You can play with feeling and still play badly enough that audiences don’t want to listen to you and other musicians don’t want to play with you. So I agree with Alexander’s point that in order to play jazz with others you have to learn the vocabulary and play the changes. For some students, that will be easy and for others it will be hard. Jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco took up the sax 2 1/2 years ago and sounds like he’s been playing it for 20 years. As for me, it’s hard. I practise 1 to 1 1/2 hours 6 days a week, and progress is painfully slow. That might seem like a lot of hours of practice to me, but Wynton Marsalis and other famous jazz musicians have said you need to practise at least 4 hours a day to play at the level of a pro. So how hard you have to work depends on how easily you learn and what level you aspire to play at. Fortunately, I don’t aspire to become a pro, because I’d never make it. But I would like to not suck, so I’ll keep plugging away at learning how to play changes.

I have enjoyed all the interviews you have done, Jay. Keep 'em coming. Eric was very informative.

That part about Coltrane and Joe Henderson playing more in is so beautiful and true.

Hello from Kansas City, Missouri. Outstanding video Jay and Eric. The first thing to keep in mind is that their isn't just one way to teach or learn Jazz.Their are many ways. Eric is absolutely right about Improvisation. Its not about playing something brand new every time. Its about Creative Reorganization of things we already know. In other words what you practice is what you are going to play whether its a Gig or Recording Session or Jam Session. Also let the songs teach us what to play and also how to Write and Arrange. Its about Language in the Context of Songs. You can be a great Jazz musician and work out SOME solos or parts of solos but absolutely not ALL of your solos. Its also not only about Recognizable Language but Appropriate Language depending on the type of song. One more thing, telling a Story with a solo doesn't always mean the solo has to have a volcanic eruption climax at the end. It simply means having an Emotional Connection with the listener. Thats why all these years later we still want to listen to the greats. Its the Emotions that we feel when we listen. For anyone thats interested, Jerry Coker wrote two great books about Jazz Language. Complete Method For Improvisation and Elements Of The Jazz Language. Thanks.

Very exciting. I love how clear and direct he is!

Brilliant interview!

This is a great video, thank you for sharing!

That was a treat, thanks for that. Great information.

Eric thank you for this. I caught it late last night before drifting off to sleep. Didn’t think too much of it except “hmm, okay, yeah.” But it kept coming back to me in little waves of memory throughout the day today, and it buoyed me through my practice routine for several hours. I had to go back, look it up and watch it again. So refreshing and liberating. I love your attitude and your honest cynicism. To have somebody of your stature tell me I don’t have to “tell a story” every time I solo. Damn. Thank you. I was beginning to arrive at that conclusion on my own, but this nailed it for me. Now, ironically, I think I might actually wind up telling a “story” without even trying to from time to time, but what a relief to just play the changes. Also great shit about the concept of playing “outside.” And cool insights into your way you practice. I especially loved how you too were once at really tough place where you tried to gobble up and retain EVERY melody/song you learned (that’s where I’m at right now). Man, there’s a lot of advice on YouTube and it’s all over the map, but this really hit me right in the gut. I’ve seen you at Smoke and Smalls and all over town and always thought you were great but I never had any idea where you were coming from on this level. So thanks for putting it out there. Very inspiring.

Great interview as always

Love this collection and eagerly anticipating the minor key explorations publication.

I really enjoyed this video! Good stuff. I could not agree more. Thank you.

Great content! Eric is such an awesome player and apparently an amazing teacher!

What an honest guy. I am gonna sign up for this course for sure

I had a jazz improvisation as a final for my jazz class last week, this would’ve been really helpful Imma retry my improv now to see if this helped

Great to gain more insight into Eric's approach and concepts. Thanks for sharing!