[Rackety Sax]

I'm starting this thread for anyone who has information to contribute on the performer and teacher Henry Lindeman and his teaching methods.

His name has come up briefly on the forum previously. Phil Sobel studied with Lindeman, and, according to this brief bio, Bird studied with Lindeman in Paris in 1948. Leo Potts studied with Phil Sobel and taught many other students, some of whom (hornimprovement and averageschmoe, for example), are on this forum.

Lindeman wrote a method, Henry Lindeman Method: A Detailed Analysis of Embouchure, Breathing, Tone Production, Vibrato, Tonguing, Phrasing, Articulation., published in 1934 by Mills Music, now out of print, and had mouthpieces produced, evidently by the Woodwind Company.

That's what I've been able to surmise, please chime in with anything more you may know.

 

[Rackety Sax]

...according to this brief bio, Bird studied with Lindeman in Paris in 1948. ...

This appears to be inaccurate. The source of this information appears to be Brian Priestley's Chasin' the Bird: The Life and Legacy of Charlie Parker, page 73. Priestley notes, in a discussion of Parker's visit to Paris to play the 1949 Paris Jazz Fair during which, according to his wife Chan, Charlie met Marcel Mule: "(Indeed, it may be during the period following his European trip that he actually took saxophone lessons with the noted teacher Henry Lindeman - presumably with a view to improving his tone production rather than his already awesome facility!)" (parentheses and emphasis in original).

So it was 1949, not 1948, that Parker visited Paris, and Priestley guesses that it may have been after this visit that Parker studied with Lindeman. In any case, according to his method book, Lindeman had already established his teaching studio in New York City by the time of the book's publication in 1934. So if indeed Parker studied with Lindeman it seems almost certain to me that this would have happened in New York, and when it happened is not well-established by Priestley.

 

[hornimprovement]

Leo Potts studied with Phil Sobel and taught many other students, some of whom (hornimprovement and averageschmoe, for example), are on this forum.

Leo also taught Sal Lozano and Jay Mason (both currently in Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band) and many others.
I saw Leo about a month ago when he was in town. We discussed the need for documenting more about Lindeman and Phil Sobel. I hope he can find time to do it.

 

[Swampcabbage]

This appears to be inaccurate. The source of this information appears to be Brian Priestley's Chasin' the Bird: The Life and Legacy of Charlie Parker, page 73. Priestley notes, in a discussion of Parker's visit to Paris to play the 1949 Paris Jazz Fair during which, according to his wife Chan, Charlie met Marcel Mule: "(Indeed, it may be during the period following his European trip that he actually took saxophone lessons with the noted teacher Henry Lindeman - presumably with a view to improving his tone production rather than his already awesome facility!)" (parentheses and emphasis in original).

Actually, I can read that as implying that the Paris Jazz Fair was after his lesson trip. Just poorly implied.

"(Indeed, it may be during the period following his European trip that he actually took saxophone..."

 

[Guest]

Henry Lindeman Meathod for Saxophone

Since the book is out of print, and Henry Lindeman is not alive to collect royalties. Here is a PDF

http://lindeman.randybennett.net

 

[hornimprovement]

Hi Randy! -Jeff

 

[Dave Wright]

Since the book is out of print, and Henry Lindeman is not alive to collect royalties. Here is a PDF

http://lindeman.randybennett.net

Thanks for that!

Are these methods taught today still? Are there any ideas that might be considered dated in this?

 

[Swampcabbage]

Awesome. Thank you.

 

[Guest]

RE: Dated

Thanks for that!

Are these methods taught today still? Are there any ideas that might be considered dated in this?

Yes these methods are still taught today. None of the concepts are what I would consider dated, maybe a couple references (nobody uses a fountain pen anymore). But the methodology has stood the test of time

 

[daigle65]

Thanks honorable1bennett !

 

[hakukani]

Wonderful resource!

 

[Al Lindeman]

I can tell you that Henry Lindeman, who was my father, did not teach in Paris at any time. So, any reference to Charlie Parker having studied with him in Paris is a mistake. Rather, Parker must have studied with him at his NYC studio on Broadway. After seeing your "threads," I successfully contacted Phil Sobel who confirms this. And, FYI, I have an original copy of the Henry Lindeman Method book, published in 1934 by Mills Music Co. Do you think there is any interest in having a reprint published after all these years?

 

[Rackety Sax]

Al, I'm so glad you found our discussion here. Wonderful to "meet" you.

I can't speak about interest in the method reprint. What I, and probably others, would find very helpful would be a biographical sketch of your father. There's very little information about him on the web, and as you can see from the Parker example, what is there is not necessarily accurate. One of the many possible uses of this forum is to "archive" saxophone information that might otherwise not be available, and obviously in this case we've been lucky enough to discover the perfect individual for the job. I would be interested to know more about your father's dates and place of birth and death (if in fact he is no longer alive - I don't think even that information is on the web), his teachers, performing and teaching activities, the Lindeman mouthpiece, and so on. If you'd be interested to do something a little more formal you could do a Wikipedia article. I'm sure there are people here who could help you with that if needed, and then we could just post a link to the article there.

 

[Al Lindeman]

Biographical info on Henry Lindeman

Here is some brief biographical information on Henry Lindeman:

-- Date & place of birth: July 28, 1902, New York City;
-- Early years: grew up in NYC except for several childhood years in New Britain, Connecticut; started music lessons and settled on clarinet/woodwinds; lied about his age to enlist in Navy at end of WWI and played in ship's band on USS Arizona from about 1918-1920;
-- 1920s: played in everything from vaudeville to early days of radio (with Vincent Lopez), traveling bands (Paul Whiteman), some recording (I have a 78-rpm copy of Henry Lindeman & His Crystal Palace Orchestra playing "Sleepy Time Gal" and "What A Blue Eyed Baby You Are") and a few performances with NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini.
-- 1930s & 1940s: mostly taught privately at his studio on Broadway in NYC, students included Phil Sobel and wind section members of various bands;
-- 1950s: after a suspected heart attack, he was advised to give up playing the woodwinds (due to the "pressure" of blowing into mouthpieces??), and suspended his teaching career; my memory is that he thereafter only played a flute around the house.
-- Date & Place of Death: March 7, 1961, in New York, due to complications following elective prostate surgery.

 

[RootyTootoot]

Superb. Thank you so much for the info in this thread.

 

[Rackety Sax]

Thanks Al! Anyone searching the web for information on your father should be able to find this thread easily.

Did you ever hear anything about who your father studied woodwinds with or was he self-taught?

 

[asaxman]

Al, Thanks for the info- very nice of you!!!

 

[Al Lindeman]

I can't say that I ever heard who he studied with so it's my impression that he was largely self-taught, but I am working on some few remaining sources of such info. I'll definitely report any findings. Meanwhile, I have an old photo of my father playing in a small band that might be interesting for "old-timers" to see. Is there some way I can download the jpg.file from my computer to this thread? If so, please tell me how and I'll do it.
A.L.

 

[Hurling Frootmig]

Yes these methods are still taught today. None of the concepts are what I would consider dated, maybe a couple references (nobody uses a fountain pen anymore). But the methodology has stood the test of time

I carry fountain pens nearly everyday. I have two in my Franklin Planner, three in my pocket, and one on my desk at work. Now if you had said hardly nobody uses a fountain pen I wouldn't be able to argue the point but since I know of a whole bunch of fountain pen users I need to stand up for them!

Thanks for posting the link. I'll be checking it out shortly.

 

[Rackety Sax]

I can't say that I ever heard who he studied with so it's my impression that he was largely self-taught, but I am working on some few remaining sources of such info. I'll definitely report any findings. Meanwhile, I have an old photo of my father playing in a small band that might be interesting for "old-timers" to see. Is there some way I can download the jpg.file from my computer to this thread? If so, please tell me how and I'll do it.
A.L.

Al, yes, I and many others, I am sure, would love to see the photo. You can post photos to this site. Use the "manage attachments" facility below the window where you type your message. I've done it but as I recall it isn't entirely intuitive. If you have problems, send a PM to Harri Rautiainen - he offered in another thread to help anyone who had problems with this.

We have an awful lot of fluff on the forum but occasionally we knock one into the stands as we have, thanks to you, with this thread.