Everything Saxophone Podcast Host, Donna Schwartz, interviewed Saxophonist and Educator, Jeremiah True, live at the NAMM Show 2025.

With a diverse background spanning orchestral, jazz, theater pits, and rock ‘n roll, Jeremiah True brings a wealth of experience and artistry to every performance.

P. Mauriat instruments are renowned for their exceptional craftsmanship, innovative technology, and timeless beauty. Each instrument is meticulously handmade by experienced technicians, using only premium materials such as high-quality French brass. Through an intricate process of hand-hammering and casting, P. Mauriat creates instruments with unparalleled resonance, offering players a uniquely rich and expressive sound. Musicians who play P. Mauriat instruments can expect excellent responsiveness, a warm and melodic tone, precise intonation, and fast key action that elevates their performance to the next level.

To know more about Jeremiah along with other resources in this episode, head on to our website.

In this episode, Donna and Jeremiah dive into:

• P. Mauriat’s latest model - ‘Venus’ for alto and tenor saxophones
• Does copper alloy affect the weight that much?
• The new P. Mauriat artists
• Is changing your set-up necessary when playing different styles of music?
• Why Jeremiah True loves the Rousseau 3.0 mouthpiece
• Rolled vs. drawn tone holes - how they affect your sound
• P. Mauriat’s Touring Case
  
• And more!

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Everything Saxophone Podcast Host, Donna Schwartz, interviewed Saxophonist, Composer, Educator, Don Braden for Episode 234.

We talked about:

• His early experiences with the saxophone and his first gigs
• The creation of the Earth Wind and Wonder album
• His journey to mastering improvisation, including studying the Aebersold books
• His transition to becoming a professional musician
• Memorable stories about Wynton Marsalis and Freddie Hubbard, and their influence on his playing
• All about the melody
• How his bandmates put their own stamp on the music
• The surprising role of real, wholesome food in supporting the health of musicians
• And more!

Don Braden has toured globally for over 40 years, leading his own ensembles on saxophone and flute, performing as a special guest, and working with jazz legends like Betty Carter, Wynton Marsalis, and Freddie Hubbard.

A prolific composer, he has released 24 CDs as a leader, contributed to over 80 as a sideman, and created music for film and TV, including Nickelodeon and CBS. His latest album, Earth, Wind and Wonder, Volume 2, is available on his website, Spotify, and Bandcamp.

As a world-renowned educator, Braden directs the Harvard Jazz Combo Initiative, teaches at the Prins Claus Conservatoire, and leads the Litchfield Jazz Camp and Texas Jazz and Blues Camp. He has also earned awards like the Doris Duke Foundation’s New Works composer’s award and judged prestigious music competitions.

Braden endorses the Antigua ProOne tenor saxophone, JodyJazz DV NY mouthpiece, and D’Addario Reserve reeds.

For his complete bio, visit our website for this episode saxophonepodcast.com.

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Everything Saxophone Podcast Host, Donna Schwartz, interviewed Mark Overton, Founder of SaxQuest and the National Saxophone Museum.

Mark Overton started Saxquest in 2000 with a vision of creating a mecca for saxophone players to find great equipment, share knowledge/learn about their instrument and engage in safe honest transactions with a knowledgeable sales staff in both a brick & mortar retail store and over the Internet.

This vision has led to the creation of two ventures, a retail store front-repair shop, with their online store at www.saxquest.com, along with a social media website for saxophone players at www.saxophone.org.

Mark has been active in the St. Louis jazz scene since 1993 and founded Code Blue, a Jazz Messengers style sextet and the Saxquest 9-piece Jazz Orchestra.

Mark has performed with many jazz ensembles such as the Allegro Jazz Ensemble, Original Knights of Swing, as well as classical ensembles such as the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Louis Youth Symphony, St. Louis Wind Symphony, and others.

Saxquest, a family-run business for over 25 years in St Louis, is a woodwind pro-shop specializing in both vintage and new professional model saxophones and clarinets.

Located on the 2nd floor of the shop, the Saxquest Saxophone Museum showcases a huge collection of many of the finest, rarest and most historically significant saxophones in the world as well as a collection of vintage saxophone accessories and other historical saxophone memorabilia.

The museum is free and open to the public and is a real treasure for the music lover or the eclectic museum goer.

The link to Mark’s full Bio, as well as the background information on SaxQuest and the Museum is on our site at https://saxophonepodcast.com

Along with getting an overview and tour of the Museum and the SaxQuest shop, we also talked about:

• The influence of Conn Music in schools
• Conn experimental horns
• New invention saxophone
• Lost Wax mouthpieces
• How metal mouthpieces started
• Working on vintage horns
• Instrument Handling Tips
• and much more!

Timestamps:

00:00 Museum and repair shop overview

05:38 Discussion on St. Louis and connections

12:47 The influence of Conn music in schools

17:12 The Conn Family Bible

23:15 Conn experimental horns

30:18 New invention saxophone

33:15 Lost Wax mouthpieces

38:05 How metal mouthpieces started

40:01 Other unique saxophones

46:02 Exploring the museum and repair shop

49:31 Working on vintage horns

56:33 Instrument Handling Tips

57:39 Case Design Considerations

01:00:50 Long-term Instrument Care

01:02:41 Innovative Drying Solutions

01:03:40 Swab Recommendations

01:07:37 Overview of the Repair Shop

This show was proudly sponsored by the Improvisation Made Easy Elite Coaching Program.

If you’re a saxophonist with some experience playing (and a little improvising), and you just don’t know what and how to practice to get better at improvisation, CLICK HERE to book your Free Strategy Session call to get clarity on your next steps.

Expert saxophone tips straight from top players! 🎷

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Support the show and gain access to these hidden gems.

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Saxophonist Bennett Wood is a freelance musician, composer and clinician.

He was recently appointed as Director of Jazz Studies at Webster University. He previously held academic appointments at the University of Memphis, Mineral Area College, Texas State University, Texas Lutheran University, and Texas A&M University-Kingsville and served as the Interim Director of Education and Community Engagement and Education Coordinator at Jazz St. Louis.

Bennett is an experienced bandleader and an in-demand sideman. In addition to leading his own groups at nationally recognized venues, including Crosstown Arts, the Elephant Room, and Jazz St. Louis, Bennett has performed alongside internationally acclaimed musicians including Nat Adderley Jr., Ralph Bowen, Chris Cheek, John Clayton, Alan Ferber, Andre Hayward, Sean Jones, Doug Lawrence, Butch Miles, Allison Miller, Greg Osby, Bruce Saunders, Maria Schneider, Terrell Stafford, and Kenny Werner.

Bennett earned a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. He holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Bennett’s debut album, Space In Time, is available now on all streaming platforms. Physical CDs will be available soon on Wood’s website.

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

In this episode, we talked about:

🎷 Common saxophone embouchure mistake when trying to play softer
🎷 Laryngeal flexibility and Jerry Bergonzi’s No Embouchure Embouchure
🎷 Thoughtful process of teaching that inspires students
🎷 Being aware of the audience’s perspective when performing
🎷 The biggest disservice musicians can do when pursuing teaching
🎷 And much more!

If you want to do something well, you have to be willing to be bad at it first
- Christopher McBride

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.

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.