Michael Brecker was the most influential saxophonist since John Coltrane. His brilliance as a saxophonist, ability to play at the highest musical levels in any musical style that he encountered, and decency as a human being are all addressed in this first biography of this beloved musician.
Category: WoodLinks
“WoodLinks” are links to websites that I have used and gained much knowledge and enjoyment from over an extended period of time. They are particularly relevant for professionally oriented woodwind players and offer educational aspects.
https://www.musicianscook.com/ The Musicians Cook! cookbook is a unique 278-page paperback that is the brainchild of flutist Reva Youngstein. Reva, a longtime Local 802 AFM member, sought to find a way to help her colleagues who had suffered great personal hardship due to the pandemic and, in many cases, lost their health insurance. She has compiled Continue reading →
https://www.simplyflute.com/flute Paul Edmund-Davies has been one of the world’s great flutists for generations having served as principal flute of the London Symphony for 20 years; the Philharmonia Orchestra for 5 years; the English National Opera for 2.5 years; and a first-call studio musician in London playing on many Hollywood soundtracks. He has also been an Continue reading →
https://www.wfg.woodwind.org This site is an absolute MUST for all woodwind players. Created by Mark Charette, he has gathered the standard & alternate fingerings, trills, multi-phonics, tremolos and quarter-tones from printed materials and the many hundreds of players who have submitted special fingerings of their own. As a result, all conceivable fingerings for flute/piccolo, clarinet, saxophone, Continue reading →
http://www.algallodoro.com/ Al Gallodoro (1913-2008) played clarinet/bass clarinet/alto saxophone at the highest artistic levels. In addition to his many freelance gigs, he was the lead alto saxophone/clarinet for Paul Whiteman’s orchestras for many years as well as the bass clarinetist with Toscanini’s NBC Symphony for 12 years. Growing up in New Orleans in the roaring 1920s, Continue reading →
http://www.michlinmusic.com/abato/ Vincent “Jimmy” Abato (1919-2008) was one of the greatest woodwind virtuosos of the twentieth century. A brilliant clarinetist/bass clarinetist and saxophonist, his work and recordings have influenced generations of woodwind artists. A member of the clarinet faculty and the first teacher of saxophone at the Juilliard School, his list of students included such players Continue reading →
https://www.saxophone.org Saxophone.org is an incredibly valuable site that acts as a one-stop shop place for all things related to saxophone. The website has compiled a great deal of information on the history of the instrument. Among its many attractions are featured videos, publications and histories of various historic saxophone manufacturers; a complete listing of serial Continue reading →
https://www.marlboromusic.org/learn/recordings/ Since 1951, the Marlboro Festival in Brattleboro, Vermont has been a destination of choice for talented young players, established professionals and composers. Founded by pianist Rudolf Serkin, this Festival is now celebrating its’ 70th year and is primarily dedicated to music instruction and chamber music performance. Among this website’s many features are the Historic Continue reading →
https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/ The Berlin Philharmonic’s Digital Concert Hall has been in existence since 2008. It was the first venture by a world-class orchestral organization to offer concerts, live and archival, through the medium of streaming. In addition to the roughly 40 live concerts/yr. that the site offers (they can be viewed at any time for as Continue reading →
http://flutejournal.com/ The Flute Journal is a site that features everything you could want to know about the flute. It encompasses every style of music in which the flute has played a vital role—meaning all musical styles—as well as information about flute makers, new products, health-related issues for flutists, and features on renowned flutists. Founded by Continue reading →
https://www.youtube.com/user/JazzVideoGuy “Jazz Video Guy” is Bret Primack’s YouTube channel dedicated to promoting jazz musicians and their music. A respected jazz journalist for many years, Mr. Primack’s love for jazz has resulted in the creation of this site beginning in 2006. Over these many years, he has recorded and presented interviews, performances and masterclasses with some Continue reading →
https://reedwellbyhagen.com/ The Reed Well is a 12-sided glass that aids in the breaking-in and testing of reeds. It allows one to soak and maintain clarinet & saxophone cane reeds of any size. Once filled with water, the reeds adhere to the sides so that the tips of the reeds never touch the bottom and the Continue reading →
Leonard Bernstein was not only one of the world’s great conductors and composers with a unique voice whose works are frequently performed worldwide. He was also one of the greatest music educators of the 20th century. His programs dedicated to informing the public of the essential aspects of music and how to listen to music—Omnibus, Continue reading →
http://jazzsuite.com/ This month’s feature puts the spotlight on one of the most respected and well-rounded musicians I have encountered in my career. Bill Kirchner is a jazz savant and an accomplished woodwind artist, composer, arranger, author, record/radio producer, educator, jazz historian and bandleader who has amassed a list of accomplishments and knowledge that is truly Continue reading →
http://www.robertbigio.com/ Robert Bigio is a London-based flute maker who has one of the most complete and informative flute sites on the internet. A historian of flute with several of his books available on this site, Mr. Bigio supplies the viewer with articles by renowned flutists, many of them with recordings by the flutist authors. Other Continue reading →
https://www.clarinetinstitute.com This is one of the most unique and useful websites that the Internet provides for woodwind players. Started by L.A.–based clarinetist David Schoor, the Institute offers woodwind, string and brass players access to a huge reservoir of music and recordings. Much of the music is free and additional music and recordings are available via Continue reading →
www.WilliamBennettflute.com William Bennett has been one of the world’s greatest flutists for over 60 years. “Wibb,” as he’s referred to throughout the industry, is part of a generation of great English players that includes James Galway and Trevor Wye. His studies with legendary flutists Geoffrey Gilbert, Marcel Moyse. Fernand Cartagé, and Jean-Pierre Rampal led him Continue reading →
www.DigitalForce.com Digital Force is a New York-based, full-service digital production company founded by clarinetist Jerome Bunke, who also has a great deal of experience in music production and management. Digital Force handles every aspect of the digital medium including production, engineering, mastering, promotion, marketing, music publishing and printing. They can also reproduce recordings in vinyl Continue reading →
http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/main.jsp ArkivMusic is an online classical music retailer that distributes their recordings via CDs, DVDs, Vinyl, SACDs and Blu-Ray formats. Their inventory is the most extensive of any I have found for every genre of classical music—over 2300 in their current catalogue. One can search for music by categories such as Composers, Conductors, Performers, Ensembles, Continue reading →
This collection of more than 300 interviews with jazz instrumentalists, vocalists, arrangers, composers and authors is hosted by Monk Rowe, faculty member and director of the Hamilton College Fillius Jazz Archives.
Clarinet Central is a site that focuses primarily on legendary Philly Orchestra clarinetist, Ralph McLane.
https://www.charlesmcpherson.com/ My friend, the legendary alto saxophonist Charles McPherson, will be celebrating his 80th birthday on 7/24/19. In his honor, the Wood-Link of this Month is devoted to Charles and his magnificent career. Respected by saxophonists and jazz lovers throughout the world, Charles has continued to evolve as a musician throughout a 60-year career. He Continue reading →
http://clarinet.org/ The ICA is an international organization open to all serious lovers of the clarinet—laymen, students, teachers, & professional players. The ICA began in the 1960s in the US through the efforts of several university professors and took root as the International Clarinet Society in 1973. Since then, it has evolved and become the largest Continue reading →
https://bretpimentel.com Bret Pimentel is a multi-woodwind instrumentalist who teaches at Delta State University in Mississippi. He has authored a popular book for teaching woodwinds entitled “Woodwind Basics,” which can be purchased through his site. Bret’s website is an extensive one and largely devoted to woodwind doubling. It includes listings of all Broadway musicals—those originating on Continue reading →
www.jaschaheifetz.com This month’s Wood-Link of the month is a departure from the norm in that it focuses on a violinist who was perhaps the greatest instrumentalist of the 20th century—Jascha Heifetz. The name Heifetz is understood in musical circles to represent the gold standard for a performer—perfection, integrity, total commitment to the composer’s wishes, and Continue reading →
The New York Flute Club is the oldest continuously operating flute club in the world. They will be celebrating their 100th anniversary on the last day of this year. Started by the eminent flutist/composer/conductor Georges Barrère, the Club functions in many capacities: great flute artists are presented in recital throughout the year; there is an Continue reading →
The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra has been the most important and influential jazz big band for the last half-century. Formerly known as the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra and then the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, this group of world-class jazz musicians plays every Monday night at the world’s most famous jazz club, The Village Vanguard in Continue reading →
The January 2019 featured site is dedicated to the YouTube video channel of clarinetist William (Tom) Ridenour. After selecting this link, hit the “Video” link at the top of his YouTube Home page. His collection of over 100 video segments, dedicated to every aspect of clarinet playing including upkeep, repair, and performance, is presented in Continue reading →
This is a website entitled, Marcel Tabuteau First-Hand. It is one of the most important sites on the Internet for all woodwind players and really for any musician. This year marks the 131st anniversary of the birth of Marcel Tabuteau, one of the most important oboists of the 20th century and certainly one of the Continue reading →
Clarineat.com is a site of podcasts with a wide assortment of guests from the world of clarinet and the recording industry. Sean Perrin, the creator of Clarineat, is a young clarinetist from Canada who is always exploring new avenues of performance, blogging, and social media. An active performer and clinician, he has still managed to Continue reading →
30sjazz.com is devoted to instrumental & vocal jazz music performed by musicians who first came to prominence largely in the 1930s. A new selection is featured every day with either a video or simply an audio track.The musical performances run from the 1930s-1960s. Jazzonthetube.com sponsors this site. Many neglected artists are featured along with recordings Continue reading →
Brad Behn is the principal clarinetist of the Oklahoma City Symphony and an esteemed mouthpiece maker in the clarinet world. Having grown up in New England where he heard Harold Wright as a youngster and then having studied with Robert Marcellus at Northwestern, he brings a great deal of knowledge, insight and flexibility to the Continue reading →
Keith Bradbury was a process engineer in the glass industry for 28 years before retiring a number of years ago. A saxophonist who also plays clarinet and flute, he has always been fascinated by mouthpiece refacing and has used his scientific background along with state-of-the-art tools to uncover many of the mysteries of saxophone mouthpieces. Continue reading →
Windsongpress.com was started over 20 years ago by students of Arnold Jacobs. Mr. Jacobs was not only the esteemed tuba player with the Chicago Symphony, but also the most renowned teacher of how to use air in the most efficient manner in order to produce a musical sound. Here, one can find wonderful videos of Continue reading →
The Robert Marcellus Masterclasses are some of the most valuable web pages on the Internet, in my opinion. Robert Marcellus was the esteemed principal clarinet with the Cleveland Orchestra during the era of George Szell. He was also renowned as a teacher and spent many years as the clarinet professor at the Cleveland Institute of Continue reading →
Jazzwax.com is a particularly educational site with new postings everyday. Marc Myers, award-winning music and arts writer for the Wall Street Journal, runs this blog. The site is 11 years old and features interesting topics, 90% of which are jazz related. Mr. Myers’ writing style and passion for his subject matters make this site a Continue reading →