awesome ! boney proving he can play along with the great sonny stitt. not bad for a smooth jazz guy
Boney James playing bop with SONNY STITT??? 😄😄😄
How about a little Boney James playing some bebop alongside Sonny Stitt!
Very fun to hear this. Really a breath of fresh air to hear him in such a totally different setting than I normally hear him in. I thought this was wonderful.
And for my own advertising, it’s great to hear Boney displaying the warmer side of his 10MFAN Chameleon mouthpiece. He can make it as warm, or bright and punchy, as he wants. A lot of players are under the impression that it’s just a super powerful piece, but it’s got such incredible depth when it comes to flexibility and versatility.
Enjoy!
Very fun to hear this. Really a breath of fresh air to hear him in such a totally different setting than I normally hear him in. I thought this was wonderful.
And for my own advertising, it’s great to hear Boney displaying the warmer side of his 10MFAN Chameleon mouthpiece. He can make it as warm, or bright and punchy, as he wants. A lot of players are under the impression that it’s just a super powerful piece, but it’s got such incredible depth when it comes to flexibility and versatility.
Enjoy!
1 - 20 of 35 Posts
All the smooth jazz guys can play!!!
No doubt about that. Boney, Gerald, Kenny, Koz, Marienthal, etc…
No doubt about that. Boney, Gerald, Kenny, Koz, Marienthal, etc…
This video is like when people post videos of “look Kenny G can PLAY” and I’m always left wondering like… can they really enjoy playing such musically dumbed-down stuff for money? Maybe they do.
Here's an analogy that I think helps with this question.This video is like when people post videos of “look Kenny G can PLAY” and I’m always left wondering like… can they really enjoy playing such musically dumbed-down stuff for money? Maybe they do.
Imagine you trained to be a video game programmer. You started as a kid, worked hard all the way through college, and you're really good. But then you go out in the world and discover there are not that many jobs being a video game programmer and there is really serious competition for the few jobs that exist. You realize you have three real options:
- Just make games on your own and live in your mom's basement forever hoping you get discovered some day.
- Get a totally unrelated job at starbucks and hope you have free time to work on your games.
- Get a really good job that pays really well as a programmer, but doing some other kind of programming.
It's almost like having a day gig. I wonder what he does for fun?This video is like when people post videos of “look Kenny G can PLAY” and I’m always left wondering like… can they really enjoy playing such musically dumbed-down stuff for money? Maybe they do.
It reminds me of the decision that I made a few decades ago to stop playing in Top 40 bands. I feel sorry for Joe Walsh having to play "Rocky Mountain Way" all his life.
"May you get what you want, and want what you get" - Anonymous.
I don't doubt he's really playing but the audio/video sync is off.
Like the rest of us, he's learning from the masters. Of course he can play and sounds like he's still working on getting better. I was able to meet him last summer and he was very gracious and kind. Now his smooth jazz personal and style isn't something I'm particularly into but I respect anyone that can make a living playing saxophone. He certainly knows how to work a crowd!
By the way, I've never seen him without a hat. That's some crazy hair! So jealous.
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By the way, I've never seen him without a hat. That's some crazy hair! So jealous.
I love hearing this straight ahead stuff from him.
I also love that he loves Stitt. 🎷🎷❤❤
I also love that he loves Stitt. 🎷🎷❤❤
Playing good smooth jazz is an art form. Isn’t it possible that he love’s playing his brand of smooth jazz. Why do people assume he just plays it for money?
Playing good smooth jazz is an art form. Isn’t it possible that he love’s playing his brand of smooth jazz. Why do people assume he just plays it for money?
Welcome to SOTW….. 😄
He loves playing what he plays. He writes a ton of the songs that he performs and records. This isn’t for the money. He REALLY loves what he does.
What I love here, is that he wanted to put up a video showing another love he has, and that’s for Sonny Stitt and bebop. It’s a real breath of fresh air to see this video, as he has nothing to prove to anyone. He’s just showing that he's like all of us, and enjoys playing along with records, learning, and having fun!
I love that!
Now that we know he can play transcribed Stitt solos (big ****ing deal) let’s hear what he sounds like playing a solo in this style of his own! Sorry, but I’m really not impressed, didn’t Prez say something about a “repeater pencil”?
Well, this is the epitome of what I see around here a lot, UNFORTUNATELY.
(No "big ****ing deal" to use your own lousy choice of wording).
Boney didn't put this out to impress anyone. He was just digging on some Stitt and wanted to share that.
I love that he did this.
Everyone is so used to seeing him in a smooth jazz setting, so I thought it was a real nice surprise and a breath of fresh air to see something so different from him. It wasn't meant to impress anyone...... Boney's not like that. I know a lot of his smooth jazz fans and straight ahead players, will be surprised to see him in this setting, and will enjoy it.
Sorry you weren't one of them. Cant please everybody......
Now that we know he can play transcribed Stitt solos (big ****ing deal) let’s hear what he sounds like playing a solo in this style of his own! Sorry, but I’m really not impressed, didn’t Prez say something about a “repeater pencil”?
I can see both sides of this. If I had memorized a Stitt tune and could play it back that well, I'd be pleased with myself, but we all know it's not an end in itself, it's a step towards being able to play an original solo on those changes. Everyone's on a journey at their own pace.Well, this is the epitome of what I see around here a lot, UNFORTUNATELY.
(No "big ****ing deal" to use your own lousy choice of wording).
Boney didn't put this out to impress anyone. He was just digging on some Stitt and wanted to share that.
I love that he did this.
Everyone is so used to seeing him in a smooth jazz setting, so I thought it was a real nice surprise and a breath of fresh air to see something so different from him. It wasn't meant to impress anyone...... Boney's not like that. I know a lot of his smooth jazz fans and straight ahead players, will be surprised to see him in this setting, and will enjoy it.
Sorry you weren't one of them. Cant please everybody......
I know a lot of players who spit blood at the mention of 'smooth' - and some of it does make me feel kind of queasy - but it's rare to see someone do something really effectively whilst hating what they do. Cynicism comes over in people's playing as clearly as any other truth.
* Quote of deleted post removed *
Have you not been paying attention to social media lately? A lot of people at many different skill levels post videos of themselves playing along with solos or tunes they’ve been transcribing.
Have you not been paying attention to social media lately? A lot of people at many different skill levels post videos of themselves playing along with solos or tunes they’ve been transcribing.
You doubt Boney James could play a bop-style solo of his own? I don't at all......let’s hear what he sounds like playing a solo in this style of his own!
While he may not crush like the one of the baddest men ever to pick up a sax, I think he would acquit himself just fine.
Hint: one of the BEST ways to improve your playing is to transcribe solos from the masters. There are more similarities than differences among musical styles, & like was mentioned above, most of these guys can really play, & as a matter of fact, most cut their teeth on be-bop, as it's such a great way to learn jazz/music...most really good players spent years shedding bop on some level...many do it their whole lives as continuous improvement...to wit, go to 1:30:
Sure thing...a couple things to be mindful of here:Is Boney James looking for our feedback? Or is he trying to expand his market into bop? Showing off his reading skills?
I acknowledge that I am a literal person and likely missing some greater nuance here. Seriously. What is the point of doing something like this?
1) This was posted, not by Boney James, but by 10MFan on his youtube channel, then for our enjoyment (heaven forbid lol), he posted it in the Vendors section of this site (Boney & 10MFan clearly have a relationship going back a few years)...
2) While there's also most certainly a commercial element, there's no crime or shame in using a demonstration to show the versatility of a vendor's product, posted in the Vendor's section...you don't have to read posts in this section if any form of a commercial element offends you. People considering a mouthpiece may actually find this useful in making those decisions.
3) Mr. James was very likely doing this, on his own, to improve his playing on some level (I would kindly urge one to actually listen to the full message of Bob's vlog episode above: "Why & How I Do It"...).
4) While Boney could have been reading this down, it's much more likely that he transcribed it & in that process, committed it to memory...so likely (I don't know for sure), this is not him "showing off his reading skills." "Reading skills" are highly over rated in this type of endeavor.
Dear lawd, ain't nobody safe from the hyenas on the internet? I can't mimic Stitt or James, so I'll tip my hat to both of them.
Thanks for posting this, Mark. And thanks for showing us how flexible the Chameleon can be. Very cool!How about a little Boney James playing some bebop alongside Sonny Stitt!
Very fun to hear this. Really a breath of fresh air to hear him in such a totally different setting than I normally hear him in. I thought this was wonderful.
And for my own advertising, it’s great to hear Boney displaying the warmer side of his 10MFAN Chameleon mouthpiece. He can make it as warm, or bright and punchy, as he wants. A lot of players are under the impression that it’s just a super powerful piece, but it’s got such incredible depth when it comes to flexibility and versatility.
Enjoy!
Best,
Ben
It made me wonder what mouthpiece Sonny Stiit was playing.
‘I guess that’s the way my mind tends to work.
When you start shoving a mic into the bell of the tenor with all the reverb and effects, hard rubber seems the best way to go. Whatever hard rubber mouthpiece Kirk Whalum plays sounds great too.
‘I guess that’s the way my mind tends to work.
When you start shoving a mic into the bell of the tenor with all the reverb and effects, hard rubber seems the best way to go. Whatever hard rubber mouthpiece Kirk Whalum plays sounds great too.
Sounds great to me. And +1 to the versatility and depth of the Chameleon. Here he is only demonstrating one aspect, a nice warm tone quality. But I have one of these mpcs, and while I can't play as well as Boney, I can testify to the fact it can be played in a wide variety of styles. From raunchy blues to R&B to jazz. And no, I'm not being paid to promote it. Just nice to hear a smooth jazz guy actually playing some jazz (bebop), even if he's transcribing it and playing along with one of the all-time greats.
Just nice to hear a smooth jazz guy actually playing some jazz (bebop), even if he's transcribing it and playing along with one of the all-time greats.1 - 20 of 35 Posts
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