High School Audition
 

Hi, I'm auditioning for a prestigious high school jazz band and play saxophone. Whats a song/solo that might impress enough to allow my to get into the first or second best band?

Contort Yourself

Or maybe Black and White by The Raincoats

Either will get you in for sure

Good luck with the audition :)

If it's a quick solo you need (in terms of length) then Grover Washingtons jr's solo 6mins into 'Lorans dance - Idris Mohammed' should do the trick.

It's big on the higher register so if you can pull it off they'll know you got chops.


If you need a whole track and you have the skill to play em then a dozen of the top of my head that I recommend would be;

Blue Train - John Coltrane
Ballade - Charlie Parker
Equinox - John Coltrane
Channel One Suite - Buddy Rich
Concerto - Glazunov
Birdland - Weather Report
Naima - John Coltrane
Body & Soul - Coleman Hawkins
Bird's Lament - Moondog
‘St Thomas’ - Sonny Rollins
The Chicken - Jaco Pastorius/Weather Report
Here's That Rainy Day - Stan Getz

Don't join a school jazz band, they will poison your concept of jazz.

That's what I was thinking. Sounds like maybe one step above the school band.

Here's a smooth jazzy number that might be a little bit more than entry level, but simple enough. A little call and response with sax and guitar:



...and here's a backing track for it with the sax removed so you can press play and do your thing over it:



Good luck!

Actually my High School stage band wasn't half bad (Of course this was 1980 when they were actually supporting music in schools). I wouldn't expect them to play anything like Coltrane but I could see them doing Duke Ellington or some of the big band heroes like Goodman or Miller.

Those of you saying that jazz band will poison my taste, you got it wrong. For me, I hate big name players because they are missing the band part of jazz which is what I'm all about. Yes they do great solos and are fun to learn from, but for actual songs not at all.

1. Bolded: wut

The "greats" were commonly also brilliant bandleaders who took exciting approaches to structure and let everyone in their group shine.

2. It sounds like your philosophy of jazz is already poisoned. Enjoy playing lifeless standards.

Dude, sorry. I have somewhat weird tastes in music, but that being said, I went to jazz band today and the director told us to go home and listen to jazz (specifically swing). I'm listening to jazz right now, and I see what you said. Just got done listening to Skyline by Charlie Barnet, and that's not my favorite. Sing sing sing by Benny Goodman is much better. I think part of it was that jazz in general is very subjective, and that I just hadn't found something to fit my style.

Blow this. See what your bitchass teacher says.

What type of saxophone are you playing?
Not all. Really depends on the director.
What is wrong with learning the standards?

Nothing wrong with playing standards, it's the lifelessness that's so abhorrent.

You might hit em with...Mercy,Mercy form Cannonball Adderly, or Mister Magic from Grover Washington Jr.