I turned 50 this year!!!All of my life I've wanted to play jazz saxophone. I was prevented from doing so in high school by a sexist band instructor. Instead of fighting it, I acquiesced. I simply thought there was no hope.
With age comes wisdom and strength...at least in theory.. a couple of years ago I decided to live my dream and took up alto saxophone again. Life circumstances brought me back to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, one of the greatest jazz cities in the world.
I am now blessed with what I call the Holy Trinity of sax teachers.
The Father - Dan Heasley
The Son - Eric Dafade
The Spirit - Erik Lawrence
This started out as an internal joke, but I realized quickly that these descriptions are accurate.
Dan Heasley is one of the best teachers I've come across. I taught martial arts and self defense for 15 years and have spent a great deal of time and energy studying pedagogy. Dan is skilled at reading his students, assessing where they are and what they need, and offering instruction appropriate to their learning style. But Dan is strict! I tease him that he's really mean, but sure can teach! The title of Father seems fitting. He offers a strong guiding hand tempered with wisdom, and I sense a great deal of compassion underneath his tough exterior. Oh, and did I mention that the man can play! Dan is focusing primarily on transcription, jazz phrasing and articulation with me. This experience has been more enriching than I thought possible.
Eric Defade is a born teacher and definitely one of the best technical players I've ever heard. When I decided to teach martial arts I realized that there were a lot of really great technicians out there who thought they could teach based on their ability to perform. This simply isn't true! But when you find one who is as skilled in teaching as they are in performance, you've hit the jack-pot. Eric Defade is a gold mine! His upbeat personality makes lessons super fun and he, like Dan, is extremely skilled at reading students. The son is a fitting title because of his youthful and energetic qualities coupled with his enormous skill. Eric is working on all things technical with me. Scales, technique, music theory and improvising. From each lesson I take home a wealth of knowledge and insight that jazz masters have written entire books about.
Erik Lawrence is new in Pittsburgh. My friend (and monster keyboard player) Donna Davis first told me about Erik. She said that I simply must meet him. Knowing me, she recognized that Erik could give me the spiritual elements of jazz that I long for. She was right. Erik is a gentle giant! His resume is unbelievable! Erik too, is a gifted teacher. He manages to assess the heart of a student and approach playing from a deeply internal place. His title is fitting because I consider him my spiritual jazz guide. Erik touches the part of me that I first found in my martial arts practice. He is working with me on rhythm, fundamentals and improvising. He has a way of breaking down ideas that make lessons both fun and inspiring. I have never been happy with any of my solos until I played with Erik
I must also acknowledge Abby Gross. Abby was my teacher before the Trinity. Her title is the Goddess of saxophone. Abby is a fairly recent graduate of Duquesne University with a masters in music. Don't let her youth fool you...she is both an accomplished performer and teacher. Abby is gifted at helping a student progress comfortably. I envy her a great deal. She is doing what I wish I could have done. But more than envy her, I respect and admire her. If I had a daughter, I'd want her to be just like this amazing young woman.Many object to the idea of having multiple teachers. I must admit that I do feel spread thin, especially since I am also working on a masters thesis in philosophy and working as an administrative assistant. But I will only be in Pittsburgh for another one to two years. My plan is to suck the marrow out of the jazz scene here and take what I gain back to Tucson with me.
As difficult as having multiple teachers is, each of them offers a specific piece of the jazz puzzle. These pieces are, of course, related and overlap. Having experience with all of them seems to be a formula that's working. And as a good friend put it, roll those cats up into one and you're taking lessons with Coltrane! I am certainly blessed with opportunity right now.
This blog is about my learning process. I'm not sure how much time I'll have to spend on it, but I hope to be able to journal often.
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