Internationally acclaimed saxophonist, composer, and educator Kyle Brooks is a rising performer and pedagogue seasoned by and for the modern music industry.

Versed in multicultural idioms, Kyle has and continues to work with organizations that regularly present jazz, rock, hip hop, Bollywood, Malayalam, electronic, and salsa music, just to name a few.

As a performer, Kyle has collaborated with artists and organizations such as Tesher, Shayna Steele, Diane Schuur, Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, Toledo Jazz Orchestra, and more. He can be heard on several recordings ranging from EDM to free jazz. Kyle also works with many grassroots musical endeavors, making contributions to ensembles including Kochuveettil Beats, Third Shore Collective, Jina Brass Band, and more.

Featuring lifelong friends and collaborators, his debut album, “Monarch”, features original music inspired by the work of musicians such as Ben Wendel, Terrace Martin, and Marquis Hill.

In addition to having a full teaching studio, Kyle has presented clinics and masterclasses across the Midwest, primarily in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs.

Kyle is also on the faculty at Triton College.

The link to his full biography, along with more Resources for this episode, is on our website.

In this episode, we talked about:

🎷 Why Kyle prefers more resistant reeds
🎷 Putting this one common household item into your bell can solve so many problems
🎷 How he gets students to improvise
🎷 Why we shouldn’t take music personally
🎷 Kyle’s approach to composition
🎷 and much more!

Our Patreon supporters enjoy access to unique advice from the many saxophonists featured on our show.

These gems are shared nowhere else!

Show your support and get more info on our Patreon site.

Asha Parkinson is a UK-based saxophonist and composer whose works cross the boundaries of classical, jazz, and world music.

Asha was a semi-finalist in the 2016, 2018, and 2020 BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year competitions.

She graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with a Bachelor of Music Honors (1st class) in September 2020.

Her saxophone and jazz teachers have included Mark Lockheart, Iain Ballamy, Christian Forshaw, Carlos Lopez Real, Trish Clowes, Simon Allen, Phil Meadows, Gareth Lockrane, and Nick Beston.

She formed her ensemble, Kalpadruma in 2017. Kalpadruma means ‘tree of life’, and her latest album, Possession, features this 14-piece group.

The Syrian Crisis (which started in 2011) inspired Asha to create the non-profit group, Voices Beyond Divisions, in 2016, when she was 16.

She composed the piece, What War, based on quotations on a theme of peace from the Q’uran, the Talmud, and the Bible, with accompanying music bringing together ‘western’ and ‘eastern’ musical influences.

The first concert was held on January 19th, 2017, where children from Islamic, Jewish, and Christian schools joined gifted young musicians from the Purcell School of Music and Middle-Eastern musicians to sing and play for peace in the Middle East.

The audio podcast featured: Urban Fantasy and Permanent Verse from her latest album, Possession

The link to her full biography, along with more Resources for this episode, is on our website.

In this episode, we talked about:

🎷 Interesting conversations with classical musicians
🎷 How creativity is hammered out of you when studying classical music
🎷 The context of perfect pitch
🎷 The aim of the organization, Voices Beyond Divisions
🎷 And much more!

Our Patreon supporters enjoy access to unique advice from the many saxophonists featured on our show.

These gems are shared nowhere else!

Show your support and get more info on our Patreon site.

Denis DiBlasio is a saxophonist, flutist, composer, arranger, and Full Professor and Director of the Jazz Performance and Composition Programs at Rowan University.

Denis was the Musical Director and composed and arranged for the Maynard Ferguson Band for 5 years.

He is a published author of five texts on jazz improvisation, and a recording artist for Encounter and RadScape Records with 12 CDs under his name.

His many compositions, arrangements, and articles are available through publishers such as Jamey Aebersold, Belwin, Hal Leonard, Kendor, and many others.

He is also a clinician and educator for the Yamaha Music Corporation of America.

You can catch his Bio, and all of his links on our website.

In this episode, we talked about:

🎷 Being a director of Jazz Studies at Maynard Ferguson Institute of Jazz
🎷 The importance of listening
🎷 Teaching and learning–now vs then
🎷 Influence of the big band era
🎷 His past, current, and upcoming projects
🎷 And much more!

Our Patreon supporters enjoy access to unique advice from the many saxophonists featured on our show.

These gems are shared nowhere else!

Show your support and get more info on our Patreon site.