Sax Professors in Tennesse

[Isitreal]

I was wondering if anyone on here is A. from the tennesse area and B. has any opinion on any of the saxophone professors at any of the schools in Tennesse.

I'm a high school student and am thinking about going to college and majoring in music in Tennesse *i live in North GA*. I'm currently studying with the guy at Lee University in Cleveland, Alan Wyatt. I'm thinking about UTK Belmonte.

Thanks,
Tim

[jazzbluescat]

Jerry Coker left UNCP several years ago for a major university in Tennessee; don't know if he's still there.

[MS]

Jerry Coker lives in Knoxville, is retired but still teaching privately, and I think still teaches a class or two (part time). He was head of the jazz program at UTK.

I' m confused regarding your question regarding "UTK Belmont".

I thought Belmont was in Nashville. UTK is the designation for University of Tennessee at Knoxville. UTK has a bachelors and masters degree in jazz and a very good program. The sax teacher is Paul Haar.

[DD]

Check out Don Aliquo Jr at Middle Tennessee State; also has a web site with sound - he's for real.
A second generation jazz player and a real in-your-face tenor player. I gigged with his dad back in the 60's and Don Sr. says the kid kicks butt!

[Isitreal]

I' m confused regarding your question regarding "UTK Belmont".


I'm sorry. I meant UTK and Belmonte.

[Jeff Foster]

I live in TN. I'm in Linden on Kentucky Lake (about 100 miles west of Nashville). My mother lives in Blairsville, GA on Lake Nottely. Where in N. Ga do you live? Sorry, can't help you on the Sax Professor question.

[sessionsax]

Jeff Kirk at Belmont U is an amazing bebop alto player from the phil woods vien. If you want to get into that era of jazz -- check out Belmont. Its a good school and its my almamater.

Also, Don Aliquo is a great modern jazz tenor player. He is at MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University).

[Isitreal]

I am intersted in more of the bop thing. My current teacher is very much in the Brecker vein. So I'm under that influence right now.

I've heard that Kirk plays like twenty insturments. Is that true?


Jeff,
I live up around Cartersville in Northwest GA. Just over an hours drive from TN.


Thanks,
Tim

[sessionsax]

I know that he plays flute and all the saxes. He is also a half decient jazz pianist. He is a good instructor -- but he does have a bit of an ego. An if you aren't into Phil Woods and Cannonball then he doesn't share your enthusiasm.

I am from the contemporary side of things, so I just didn't gell as well with Jeff, but I did learn a lot of stuff that has come in handy.

My gig is not doing Bird licks on everything I do, but it works for Jeff. He is a true virtuoso and he will definately give you a lesson in what "good" really is.

[phathorn]

Memphis ain't half bad....you have Allen Rippe(Sinta protege) as a classical instructor (if you don't think that's important for a jazz player, ask yourself why Parker and Diz both used Marcel Mule studies) and Jack Cooper heading the jazz dept. Kirk is fantastic at Belmont. He was working on his PhD in Memphis last year and is a monster player plus a great teacher.

[cheezmunky]

I go to Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN. Overall, the music program is really good. But, the saxophone teacher is pretty much an ******* and isn't too fired up about teaching either.(Anyone know Matt Davich?) I'm seriously thinking about switching to MTSU. APSU's not really a good place to go for saxophonists. Right now, there's only two sax majors, me and another guy. Plus, there's not much of a jazz program, just ensembles and stuff. To sum up, don't go to Austin Peay. Go to MTSU.

[maddsax]

Jeff Kirk at Belmont U is an amazing bebop alto player from the phil woods vien. If you want to get into that era of jazz -- check out Belmont. Its a good school and its my almamater.


I guess you haven't checked around the ALMA-MATER lately huh.......

Carol Johnson has been teaching sax at Belmont for a while now :shock: :?: :shock: :?:

Jeff 's been back and forth from Nashville to Memphis taking classes to become "Dr. Jeff Kirk"... :lol:

[michaelbaird]

You would think Nashville would have the hottest music schools around but they don't. There are some excellent players here though. I would major in a more marketable career and just study sax with the great players in the area. You don't have to major in music to be a good musician. I'm an MTSU grad and spent 2yrs there playing in the band, jazz band and orchestra. I thought their music program was horrible back then, unless you were going to be a band director. Hopefully it has changed. There is alot of potential there, if the right leaders were in power!

[sessionsax]

maddsax,

So you are a Belmont student or grad eh? I have heard through the grapevine that Jeff was teach some summer classes and Memphis. I didn't know that he was working on his doctorate. Thats great news.

He always used the phrase "Well you can always sell snap on tools" and "My dog can sight read better than that".

I don't know Carol -- how is his/her sax chops and teaching skill.

Jeff is on a different plane of existence when it comes to sax playing. He is amazing -- his style just isn't my cup of tea. Although I do love the way he uses a bebop mixolydian and diminished licks.

[michaelbaird]

Sessions Sax: I just discovered a fingering for E3 on the 1923 trutone soprano since it doesn't have a front F. I'm excited! It is 1-3, 45-. It is dead on pitch also. F3 is 12-,45-. Sorry to get off the subject.

[maddsax]

maddsax,

So you are a Belmont student or grad eh?

Nope , didn't have the honor of attending Belmont :lol:

However, being that I'm one of the few "African American" players in this town getting any real work ( when I'm not on tour) I do "bump into" or work with most of the cats (sax players and other instruments) that keep me "in the know" about the" Who 's and What 's" of the school.

[Dounia]

Yes, Allen Rippe is awesome, but he is a complete a**hole. I'd be careful about deciding to study with him. I was a high school alto player, 1st chair in a large high school band in a Memphis suburb for 3 years. He took one of the talented tenors under his wings, and proceeded to declare war on me (He knew my band director). He told my director that I had been rude to him in auditions (totally not true as I was in complete awe of him), that I had damaged the school's soprano sax (again not true, I babied that thing), and spread the rumors through his student and by contacting my band director. He turned me off music for 8 years. Imagine someone trying to destroy a 16-17 yr. girl, just so his student could rise above her in a high school band. The point of contention was who got to play the soprano (we had no oboes so we used a soprano sax and transposed). I was the current possessor as I was the at the top of the sax section and the tenor wanted it. Who won? They did. I quit music even though I had considered majoring in it in college, sold my saxophone in college for a trip to Disneyworld. At any rate, he's vindictive and apparently willing to do anything to get ahead. Maybe that's a good thing if you're his student, but watch out.

[phathorn]

Having known Rippe for almost 20 years, I have NEVER seen or heard anything like that happening. He's not trying to 'get ahead' (as would be evident by his lack of applications for some of the larger music programs in the country) nor is he vindictive. As far as rumors, might it not have been the student who wanted the soprano starting them as that would be a more likely M.O. for a 16-17 yr old? To be frank, Mr Rippe fed me when I was broke, drove to my hometown to give me lessons in high school, and even pulled strings to get me in to Interlochen with his old professor. These are just a few of the things he did for me as an 18 year old punk kid. Maybe he's not quite the ********* you think he is.

[Dounia]

I hope you are right phathorn, or perhaps it was an isolated incident. I will emphasize that Rippe is an amazing player, but I could not help but post my experiences with him since someone is considering schools in TN. I know, as a grad student in Am. history, that when you have to pick a mentor, it's best to pick someone who isn't necessarily a superstar, but someone with whom you "mesh" and who will always look out for you. It's always best to talk to people who have had various experiences with a potential mentor.
I also know, from grad school experiences, that one person can have an amazing connection with a professor, while another will have an awful relationship. While he was not my teacher, I was dismayed by what happened. It could have been the then 15 year old student, but he knew things about my auditions that only Rippe could have known....what we talked about etc. And Rippe himself spent most of one of my honor band auditions talking about how "special" this other student at my school was--subtext: I wasn't. While this other student was amazingly talented, and I'm sure he's a professional musician today, the way they went about making the point was needless and well, rather mean-spirited. Like I said, perhaps it merely shows that Rippe is willing to do anything to help his students succeed. It was a terribly painful experience for me, though I'm grateful it helped me decide to not go into music professionally, I regret that I let it turn my attention away from music for so long.

[michaelbaird]

It's not about majoring in music. Keep playing but make money (major) in a marketable career. Don't let another person's opinion keep you from pursuing your dreams. If you want it go for it. I look at going to work like going to school, and look at practice and jam sessions as my extracurricular activities. It worked when I was in high school, and I was at the top of my game then. You have to network, meet people, have a clear vision or direction of where you are going, and start moving forward. Put yourself in a position to win by having the time to hang out with the right people. The teacher that will be the one for you will present themselves. There is little money or reason to pursue classical saxophone because the market is limited and you must be a virtuoso. If you want to do studio or session work, then you need to spend time hearing what the live musicians are doing, listen to what is being played, and be a virtuoso on your instrument. You can't get out of being a viruoso on your instrument. Playing the saxophone is a good centered clear tone, having incredible technhque, playing the right notes at the right time in rhythm, and coming up with ideas to go somewhere in relation to a tune. Isn't that what a virtuoso does? Can you find a professor that will help you be all that? I study with Michael Brecker every day. I pop a CD in and grab my horn. I'm an RN. I wipe butts for a living. It pays the bills, I can work anywhere, any shift, anytime working 36hrs/wk, and maintain a decent middle class lifestyle. I can also buy all the professors I desire :borg: , and have the ability to relocate to the area they hang out in and support myself. The cost: 36hrs of my life energy, stress, fatigue. The rewards: I helped somebody in their time of need (priceless), and I can meet my financial needs and live anywhere. Keep practicing (you can't get out of that), and put yourself in a position to win! It's not over until I Win! Internalize that philosophy into your psyche. If the professor is an ***, it is his problem. It doesn't have to be yours. You can only go 1 direction in life and that is forward. May as well burn a mile wide path to the sea.

I realize what I writing is off the subject, sorry. If I like what I hear live, I meet the player and ask them if they will give me a lession. There are numerous incredible musicians in this town. There is a Nashville school of jazz that many of the best players in town teach at and also have group instruction available. Bottom line: you can't escape being an incredible musician, practicing the right stuff is the only way to get there. There are no shortcuts. I moved here because my parents did. I was 3yrs old. This is my home. I was at BB Kings Blues Bar last night listening to "Jimmy Hall and the Prisoners of Love" with one of my guitar playing blues jam friends who dropped out of Berkley after 3 yrs (says he's glad he did). He is hanging out with the players, going to the blues jams, and practicing. I've known him for a year now. He has become a much better player since I first heard him and he was sitting at the same table (during the break) with the best live guitar player in town (who was ravenously eating stew fueling up for the next set),(these are the guys that repeat your licks when they hear them but send back an embelished better version) along with me. It was my night off.


Think out of the box. What you want may be in Nashville, just in a different form. Jimmy Hall is an incredible singer, harmonica player, tenor sax player, and performer all rolled into one. He and his band kept my interest all night long. They could all hear it and play it back. His CD was there also, a new professor that I can study with anytime, anywhere! I left the club satisfied knowing what I needed to practice, having just had a masters level class taught by each player of the band in group format with a cold bud and a cigarette, also chicken fingers. www.rockwilliams.com check out Rock. He is also an incredible musician playing locally with a CD available. Nashville has more talent per square mile. Check out www.nashvillejazz.org and http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Blair/ I've heard this cruise is nothing but a 5 day party and jam session with live shows www.delbert.com I'm going to 3rd and Lindsey tonight and hear the Wooten Brothers. www.flectones.com

I have an ADN and a BSN from MTSU. I was also Jimmy Hall's wife (she is an RN) nursing supervisor for the last 3 1/2yrs. I don't worry about being able to take care of myself either and I still play! I apologize if I got too cosmic. I feel a Dexter Gordon mood coming on. I can pop in his CD and he can still mentor and comfort me, even though he is gone. He is my ballad professor.

[phathorn]

Dounia,

I'm sorry you had a bad experience and also sorry if I sounded a bit harsh. I was simply defending a friend. good luck with your degree. My younger brother is a PhD in Am. History

[Dounia]

Phathorn,
No offense taken. I sincerely would not have posted what I did had I not felt strongly that the info should be available to someone considering schools in TN. And people considering The U of M should hear about all the great experiences too. I should not have used such strong language, but as a grad student teaching now I just feel so passionate about encouraging even the most hopeless students. You should defend a friend and a teacher who has been valuable to you. I would do and have done the same in similar situations. I know, for instance, of people in my Phd program who have great relationships with their advisors, but other people with the same advisor who simply cannot get along or are treatly poorly. So it goes.
I'm playing again for fun with a couple of wind ensembles and have found a niche in Am. history. I could not be happier with my life choices.
Best--