One

One instrument, one microphone, one key, one groove. One is funk chart that comes with a backing track that acts like a loop pedal, where all tracks on the recording are played by one sax and one reed. Finger slaps, tongue slaps, jazz articulation, 5:4 and 7:4 feels and, if you’re feeling adventurous, a couple spots of altissimo make One fun and a great performance piece! Performance Notes: One came out of the idea of ‘separating’ the parts of a drum-kit groove and assigning each of them to the saxophone. The play-a-long recordings (one each for alto and tenor) haven’t been quantized or digitally tuned to give it more of a ‘human’ or ‘natural’ feel. Every track has been produced only by the sounds of the saxophone and the alto and tenor tracks have a slightly different ‘feel’ to them. When performing One, use a mic with a small amount of reverb, aiming to be part of the overall mix rather than rising too much above it. The idea is that each part is played keeping in mind the tone, intonation and articulation of the recording. At letter A, the ‘tongue with air’ can be produced using any fingering (or none) you prefer. Experiment and find what works for you. With the finger slaps at bars 6 and 10, try to play with the bell as close to the mic as possible. At bar 93, there is an option to play the riff for the 2nd time with the recording, or take a risk and show off with a 4-bar improvisation. If you decide to ‘give it a crack’, then perhaps use the notes, ideas articulation and style from the piece itself to create something that will fit. Have fun with this and ‘lay back’ as much as you want!