[J-Moen]

Very happy to have this tune and you hosting Bill! I'll add it to the index later today when I return to my desktop computer.

 

[J-Moen]

I have updated the index to include this thread here:

SOTW Beginners/Intermediates TOTM (Tune of the Month) -...

Besides the main SOTW TOTM (Tune Of The Month) threads (check >this< index) we also have a Beginners&Intermediates TOTM running on SOTW since about January 2010. Each month an active B&I thread member calls a new tune to work on. SOTW members can post their attempts and results as soundclip or...

www.saxontheweb.net

Again, can't wait to get started on this one!

 

[J-Moen]

Ok - to get the ball rolling here is my first effort.

https://soundcloud.com/user-826011730%2Fmood-indigo

Love the tone and killer embellishment! I did think the intonation felt a little wonky in the beginning. It dialed in as you progressed - maybe a cold horn or, if you're like me, trying to force intonation makes it worse lol. I loved the note choice though - I felt that you're variety has definitely increased throughout the solo. The statements were definitely short - which is something I'm guilty of as well, but I loved it! Well done Bill! Can't wait to see your next take!

Here is my old quick and dirty version of September 2017:

Wonderful Peter! The full lush tone with this soft tune really reminds me of Dexter in your playing here! Great vibrato as well! Superb and so glad to hear you playing here! Solo really took off at moments as well

 

[J-Moen]

Very quick try here - haven't played sax in about 2 weeks, so here's me attempting to play this by site reading

https://soundcloud.com/user-805266588%2Fmood-indigo

 

[J-Moen]

Hey Jared,

I am very impressed with the progress you have been making in all aspects of your playing. On this recording you sounded really relaxed and produced some nice extended variations on the melody, without repeating yourself or running out of ideas. These are some of the things that I am battling with in my own playing, and know how much work it takes to make even small improvements, so I applaud the results you are getting!
I was also very impressed with your tone - warm, full, and even throughout the range of the horn. It suited this tune very well. Bravo!

Bill

Thanks very much Bill - too kind of you, I will be doing another take later this month after I spend some time learning the tune more. As to the improvements, The lessons have certainly helped me develop, I hope you get the same enjoyment! This was on my Yamaha alto and I'm in love with the sound and tone from the 10mfan Daddy-O on this horn

 

[J-Moen]

Thanks Aquarian!

I Was hoping to have a chance to listen to more takes before posting - but its my turn to try to get the baby down for bed! So before I head off, here's what I laid down tonight - very rough take, but pushing towards my goal of making a very dynamic expressive take using a wider range of the horn - Also experimenting with different recording settings, let me know if the recording sounds better!

MoodIndigo2.wav

drive.google.com

 

[J-Moen]

Wow Jared!

You have managed a second take already. I don't know how you find the time. A fortnight after posting Take 1, I still haven't got around to recording Take 2 - and I haven't got a baby to look after! That is very impressive time management!

I listened to both takes and I can detect some variation in the record settings, but I can't say that I prefer one over the other. As for the performance on Take 2, one comment I would make is that I prefer the way you state the melody on Take 1. I enjoyed your embellishment of the melody line on both takes, my only gripe would be with the very second note, which I would prefer to hear held to its full length. In Take 1 you did this the first time through and then shortened it on the repeat, whereas in Take 2 you played the shortened note each time which I think detracts somewhat from the beauty of the melody. This small quibble aside, I really enjoyed the way you varied your performance and found new ways to explore the tune throughout your solo. I find that after the first chorus of a solo I just start repeating myself - so well done!

Bill

Thanks Bill! I've got a pretty great schedule set up recently that I'm really enjoying. This is only my first week of doing it, but it really is proving to increase my efficiency in practice a LOT (and makes my wife super happy). Essentially I'm just shortening my practice most days a week - 15-30 mins max, with 1 or 2 things I focus on primarily. Then 1-2 days a week, I'll do full sessions for 1-2 hours, focusing on recording video for my youtube or other projects (and also practicing everything my instructor assigned). Yesterday was this TOTM and some patterns for my lessons. Today I'll be doing Lester Leaps In. Tomorrow I'll probably try some more lessons and maybe work on the other TOTM -Milestones

I definitely preferred the original take myself, and you're totally right on that second note. I'm not even sure what I was attempting to accomplish there - as it does really detract from the melody. This is all in an attempt to hopefully build a well connected solo, with - as my instructor said - use of the full range of the horn, building lines throughout it, and most importantly - use of dynamics and articulations to build the emotion. Thats my goal with my next take, which will be my final .

 

[J-Moen]

Here's a take, It's not quite where I want it to be yet but maybe it's halfway there.
https://soundcloud.com/user-650929438%2Fmood-indigo-alto-solo

Well done! I love the sweetness of the tone you're getting up in the register. I also felt you had a very controlled, and well chosen path through the changes for your solo! however, I felt that your take spent too much time up high - just like mine spent too much time down low haha. Exploring the full range of the horn more frequently will add another dimension to your recording!

 

[J-Moen]

here is my mood...

Wonderful Michael. I really enjoyed your note choice and embellishment of the melody. It really does feel like you have a great connection with this song and that brought a beautiful flow to your playing that made it all the more enjoyable to listen to. I will digress - I didn't enjoy the tone as much as your usual - but this is a personal opinion .

 

[J-Moen]

Hi All. Just quickly flying over the forum, I noticed this June's tune, and remembered I did an overlaid version with 3 clarinets in the past.
A quick search: it was in 2012, on a pretty beaten old Selmer 9*, with a nice rich tone, but a tricky intonation.
Normally I try to behave like a gentleman: own a clarinet, and NOT playing it.
Joke aside, clarinet was the original horn I started on at 12, saxes came later. So 50 years later, I'm not really a beginner.
Anyway, you ain't gonna escape, here it goes.

Moody Dingo

"This guy really knows how to make the clarinet speak. And you know what it says ? Please, stop it, and put me back in the case".
Quote by Eddie Condon, don't remember about whom. Was it Mezz Mezzrow ?

Dex! So glad to have you contributing - just a lovely laid back arrangement and feel on that wonderful take! I love the sound of a good clarinet player - which i know is a challenge, and there are 3 superb sounds in there! Thanks so much for sharing!

This is more of a recording tester than a serious take (caviat !!).
My new (old) computer that I bought is too slow to run windows 10 .. and I can't get audacity to work properly .. grrr .. I need Jared the computer wiz !!
Anyway just a lot of blues licks and some altissimo attempts, none of which are in time or all that musical.

Mood Indignant :

https://soundcloud.com/brendan-sax%2Fmood-indigo

Dialing in recording sounds without a computer could be tough! I'd be happy to help. No windows 10 though? I'd think it shouldn't be too difficult to find a windows 7 installer for Audacity. (Or even older if depending on the os! But - on to the more important part. Awesome playing Brendan! I love the flurries - very much making the attack of this song all your own! I can definitely tell there is a greater distance between you and the mic though, and its picking up a lot of room noise sadly. I still am loving your tone - and the altissimo on bari is a feat! My bari altissimo attempts have been failed (comes out way too high - gotta figure it out soon).

SoundCloud - Hear the world’s sounds

Explore the largest community of artists, bands, podcasters and creators of music & audio

soundcloud.app.goo.gl

My take on this beautiful number.

Thanks for listening if you have time.

Best, Alex

Channelling some Hodges for the day Alex? Love the slow long scoops and bends. I actually attempted something similar but found it too hard intonation wise. Lovely playing and tone. Also this track is superb, love the light piano. You always have the best tracks Alex - and it doesn't hurt that you're playing is completely and utterly sublime! Thanks so much for this one - I am going to save this one for my daily listening playlist!

I hadn't played for a few years, and a few months ago I started to practice again .... and yikes ... can't plan in tune, can't play in time .... but I finally found some salvation when I found an unplayed Rico Royale 1.0 reed ... and I've given this month's tune a shot ....
https://soundcloud.com/user-935793887%2Fmood-indigo-solo

Will - It seems to me that your sense of time was superb! You have such a great rhythmic variety and your phrases are delightful! Intonation after a long break can be a challenge, but I thought you wrangled it in rather nicely. Very glad to have you back playing and hope to see you contributing more!

I'm currently rendering my youtube video for my final take on this one, but I'll take this opportunity to ask for volunteers! It's nearing the end of the month now, so if anyone would like to host for July 2021 B&I TOTM, please send me a PM! And of course, a huge Thank you to Bill for hosting this amazing tune, and thank you all for submitting as we have had some great takes and input! Hopefully more will be on the way over the last few days of the month - Mine will be up shortly!

 

[J-Moen]

Well - I decided to spend some time writing out a custom arrangement for this wonderful tune on my final take This was in part because I absolutely love this tune (and most anything from the Duke), but mostly because I wanted an excuse to compare my two altos side by side! So here is a small trio arrangement I put together for this one, I really hope you all enjoy - I had a ton of fun putting together some harmonies and listening to a lot of versions to get this completed out. Let me know if you prefer the Yamaha or the Mauriat with its new Roo Pads and a fresh setup! The Intro solo is me having fun on my tenor, didn't want it to get lonely. But in the song, 1st Solo is Mauriat - 2nd is Yamaha.

 

[J-Moen]

Great stuff Jared - aka 'the triple threat'!

I really dug how much effort you put into the whole production. Channeling your inner Ellington with an elegant and sophisticated arrangement, and then putting together an awesome looking video - please pass on my compliments to your DOP, Art Director, Audio Supervisor, and Editor because they all did great jobs on this one!

As for the playing, I thought this was your best version of the three you have posted this month. You now sound really at home with the melody and I liked your relaxed solos. The horns sound different but I'm only listening on my computer speakers so I don't want to get too deep with my tonal analysis! I did think that the Yamaha was at a slightly lower level in the mix and this made it a bit harder for me to compare the two sounds, but it doesn't really matter because I thought they both sounded great.

Bill

Thanks so much Bill - I really do enjoy writing arrangements, so its no wonder I love Duke's tracks. I am very glad you enjoy the video, as I remember your primary job makes you pretty well versed in the aspect of video photography. The entire film crew is very pleased to hear your comments, but I may need to fire the Audio Supervisor and Editor since the levels were too low on the Yamaha - but could lead to a weird situation firing myself, plus I don't think anyone else would do the work for free .

Joking aside, the volume issue was probably because I was using a higher baffle piece on my Mauriat, which is naturally a loud horn anyways. I tried to balance it by bringing the audio back on the Mauriat and pushing the audio up on the Yamaha, but it created some harshness in the mix (was weird, the two alto sounds were clashing, but in tune) - so I had to leave it fairly at its natural level. I'm really glad you liked the take though and thanks again!

 

[J-Moen]

While I have been reading in SOTW for a while I only registered recently, mainly to get access to the marketplace to be honest, so I have to get my post count up. Since I have only very litte to contribute to many of the niche topics here I thought I rather post a recording than more or less random "I agree" or "+1" posts, so here we go:

I Dig No Doom

When I started playing saxophone my teacher had me play the melodies of real book tunes and all of the Ellington band classics were amongst them. While I always liked the themes I found them generally hard to improvise over. The Duke has somewhat fallen off my radar since and it was great fun to revisit. TOTM rules!

Stay safe and all the best, ufosax

Thanks UFO! Its great to have another contributor here - and that was some superb playing. Lovely tone, and a beautiful well told story through your solo. Your vibrato especially added so much to this great tune! I also really enjoyed your anagram! Thanks for coming in, hope your access to marketplace comes quick, that said, posts are usually far quicker than the 6 month waiting period.

 

[J-Moen]

Nice Sunday day... Mood Indigo
Decided to add quick "fantasies" on EWI to my previous sax track.
Don't think it made the initial one worst than it is

Love the addition! The full tone added a lot to the take! They do step on each other at points though - which I am always guilty of too. Great addition to a wonderful take

 

[J-Moen]

Still looking for a host for July 2021 B&I TOTM and the Main TOTM threads! Shoot me a message if you'd like to pick out one of our next tunes!

 

[J-Moen]

Again, still looking for hosts for the July TOTM 2021 and B&I TOTM! Please shoot me a message if you're interested at all!!