Good sax song for serenading?

    
Good sax song for serenading?    15:25 on Monday, July 25, 2005          
(dave)
Posted by Archived posts

Ok, so here`s the deal. As one of 3 male youth leaders at my church, we are doing something special for the female leader and three teen girls (well, one is 12) in celebration of their birthdays this month. We`re cooking dinner and doing a nice preparation and such, and the female leader is going to take them to get all dressed up beforehand and get their hair done. So it should be a special time, and a good surprise for the girls. I`m supposed to play a song though, and I have no idea what would be appropriate for that situation. My main is soprano, though I can play alto if needed. I just know it needs to be quiet and smooth jazz-ish.

So far I have "Girl from Ipanema", "Harlem Nocturne", and "My Funny Valentine" in mind. Ideally the song should be slow and romantic-ish and not overbearing, and if it isn`t a standard I can pick up quickly, it should be something easily learnable or accessible and memorizable. Improv is expected, probably.

Any ideas?


Re: Good sax song for serenading?    16:14 on Monday, July 25, 2005          
(mvspur)
Posted by Archived posts

Out of the three you have listed, My Funny Valentine is the best. The Girl From Ipanema really isn`t a ballad and if I was going to serenade someone, I would not pick that song. I definitely would not play Harlem Nocturne either. While I personally love that song, I Have to tell you that it is generally associated with stripper-type performances. That song was played in just about every strip joint in America back in the 40`s and 50`s.

Now for my suggestions.....

First of all, I would play it on alto if I were you. And I would buy a song that has accompaniment with it. The Jamey Aebersold Ballads book is great. I don`t know what your skill level is, so I really can`t say much other than it`s really difficult to play without accompaniment and pull it off unless you are a real experienced player.

I would stay away from the smooth jazz stuff, but that`s just me. I`m old fashioned.

Here`s a start:

http://aebersold.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=V110DS&Category_Code=AEBALL

Good Luck!


Re: Good sax song for serenading?    16:31 on Monday, July 25, 2005          
(dave)
Posted by Archived posts

Haha, I know about the Harlem Nocturne thing. But, since this is in 5 days, I think I`m going to have to hack it without accompaniment. I do have the Aebersold standards book, and I think Maiden Voyage, though the Ballads is one I`m probably going to have to get. As far as experience, I`m fairly advanced but don`t get a lot of opportunity to do private gigs or something I need to prepare for in advance (99% of what I play is improv). So since it`s a capella, I thought of harlem nocturne. But since I have backup music for My Funny Valentine, I may go ahead with that. Probably a more appropriate song anyway...


Re: Good sax song for serenading?    09:40 on Tuesday, July 26, 2005          
(Joe)
Posted by Archived posts

Try "Misty"


Re: Good sax song for serenading?    13:51 on Tuesday, July 26, 2005          
(mvspur)
Posted by Archived posts

You`ll do well with "My Funny Valentine". Alto if you can. I love Soprano though. I play it often. If you are going to do it on Soprano, go for a real dark, fat sound. Listen to a Miles Davis play it. I know....it`s trumpet, but you`ll get my drift.

I personally love that song. I play it all the time. I use my Tenor. With the setup I have, I get a real fat husky Tenor sound.

Either way....good choice of song.

Good Luck!


Re: Good sax song for serenading?    13:58 on Tuesday, July 26, 2005          
(dave)
Posted by Archived posts

Hmm, I still can`t decide on Alto v. Soprano... I`m good at Alto, but I`m thinking I`ll be too vocal/loud for the atmosphere. Teen girls, I`m thinking the sop might be a better option since it can get that sweet somewhat husky sound without being too overbearing... But I may just go home tonight and try it out on each before I decide... I got a nice new dark metal mpc for alto I want to try out anyway, so that may be a good opportunity...

Thanks for the discussion... It`s just been too long since i`ve been in the jazz or solo performance scene and am having to reenter in baby steps.


   




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