Here's a sax solo of my own, been playing alto sax about 4-5 years (concert and marching band). It's an improvised smooth jazz piece, looking forward to comments, suggestions and critics.
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSSdQ6sz0ts[/url]
It's mostly really nice but there's a few things I picked up on which may have been intentional or slight issues.
Occasionally, you overblow the sax and produces a duff note. Not sure if that was intentional since I know some jazz saxophonists who do it on purpose for effect, but if not then just don't give the note so much attack!
Another 'problem' which may have been intentional is detuning on the lip bends. Obviously detuning is what lip bends are for, to a certain extent, but there is the occasional one where you drop the jaw a little too much and it produces a slightly unpleasant sound.
Thematically, the piece can be a bit static at times and I think some longer phrasing could fix this. Did you vary the key at all during the piece? Because I didn't notice any obvious change in key and I think some modulation, especially when the main theme comes back, could add more interest to the piece.
It could also benefit from a greater range of dynamics and articulations. They become infinitely more important in a solo piece than in ensemble music, as they are one of the few things you can vary to add interest to the music.
Keep it up, improvisation takes practice and you're already pretty good at it (Probably better than me and I've been playing, admittedly classical sax, for nearly 10 years). Just remember that there is more to improvisation than forming a melody line.
Also, I like the growl tone at 3:36.
Thanks for the feedback, two things i noticed was the mess ups on one or two note bends and the glissando (grace notes) seemed to come out a bit too overdone for me. I also should mention that i played the improv on an Otto Link 5* which i bought a week or so before. It is my first jazz mouthpiece and it's an open mouthpiece compared to what i usually use, never before i've tried this type of mouthpiece (metal, open, etc) and i'm still trying to master it. The piece itself was also done on the spot, the only thing i had in mind was the main theme and continued letting things flow from there since i don't have that much knowledge on improv (basic understanding of scales, a lil something about chords :s). I really wish i could get some personal classes which cover this type of playing to help me develop further instead of the half-baked woodwind class i get at school xD but it is a very interesting and enjoyable thing to work my way bit by bit. Again, thanks for the feedback and advice!
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