I have been making a commitment to myself to compose or arrange pieces to record, and add to my store. In April, and early May, I released three new pieces – Runway, Chase!, and Snow Globe.

Runway, and Snow Globe are written for saxophone quartet (other instrumentation will be available soon), and Chase! is written for two saxophones. The latter two will be on my website by Monday.

Here are the pieces.

Runway – A few weeks before the 2026 Winter Olympics, my eight-year old daughter came home from school with a project. She had to present her favourite sport to her class. When I asked her what sport she chose, she replied, “Bobsled!” I asked her what she knew about the bobsled, and she said, “Nothing. But it sounds cool.” Over the Olympics we became heavily invested in the bobsled, and this melody worked its way into my head. I imagine the athletes pushing the sled down the runway, and encountering some turbulent moments as they tear around the track.

Chase! – This duo for saxophone is inspired by watching my daughters and their friends chase each other around the playground in front of our house. Whether they’re playing Freeze Tag or using their imaginations to pretend, there’s always a sense of urgency, harmony, a small disagreement, and exhilaration. The two saxophones chase each other with similar phrases until they join together.

Snow Globe – My parents have a large window in the family room that overlooks the front yard, and from the couch, you can also see into the backyard. During the holidays, I was sitting on the couch watching the snow float around the house from the front yard to the backyard. It made me feel as if I were inside of a snow globe.

I’ve really enjoy the process of recording, and releasing my compositions. I hope that you check them out!

Up until March 2026, I had been performing on my Buffet Prestige bass clarinet (model #BC1193), and had no plans on ever switching off of it. I loved everything about it, except the fact that it was an expensive instrument, made of grenadilla, and I live in Ottawa.

This past winter was particularly cold, and every time I would leave the house with my Buffet, I would cross my fingers, and hope that it wouldn’t crack – especially if I had to park and walk some distance to a venue that I was playing. It was my only bass clarinet, and I need a low C for most of the shows that I perform on – an entry level Yamaha or the like wouldn’t do. It being my only bass, I couldn’t afford to be without it for too long.

I had been curious about the Backun Alpha as an “all season” bass clarinet. I have a few students who use them, and I rented one in January to test it out on a few gigs, and in the teaching studio. The Alpha is a synthetic body, with nearly the same keywork as the Q – all of the most important elements of the Backun design are featured on both instruments.

My plan was to use the Backun in any situation where I was uncomfortable using my Buffet, and use the Buffet at orchestra concerts, recording sessions, or in controlled environments. That plan changed…

I was so impressed with the Alpha – the ease of playing, the keywork (the thumb low Eb is something I never knew that I needed), the tuning, and tone. I took it to the teaching studio, and a rehearsal the day that I picked it up, and loved how it was so easy to work with! At the end of the rehearsal, I swabbed it, and put it in the trunk of my car…and didn’t worry about it cracking. This was the peace of mind that I was looking for.

**NOTE** There was some tweaking of the register mechanism to get the instrument to speak properly – over a few weeks of small adjustments, I did get the instrument to play the way I wanted.

The Backun is much more free blowing than the Buffet. I would play them back and forth, but I was changing mouthpiece and reed setups depending on the clarinet to get the most out of each instrument, and in turn, my tone, and tuning didn’t feel locked in. I decided that I wanted to try the Q – the professional, grenadilla bass clarinet offering from Backun.

I was fortunate to have one ordered on trial – I was mostly leaning towards trading my Buffet in, but I had the instrument for years, and while I’m not usually sentimental about my gear, it was a tough decision. As I drove to Long and McQuade, I was trying to convince myself that the Q wasn’t going to be measurably better than either the Alpha or the Buffet Prestige.

I warmed up on the Alpha – the bass clarinet that I had been playing the most, then the Buffet, and then I tested out the Q. I really was blown away by the Q. It’s everything that I love about the Alpha, and more. I left with the Alpha, and Buffet, thought about it for a few days, and then made the trade.

I’m spoiled. I have my Alpha, which I love to take on jazz shows in clubs, to teach, and to perform with when the weather is too cold or hot. I have my Q for the recording studio, and on stage with the orchestra, or when conditions are favourable for the instrument. I can use my same mouthpiece and reed setup on both instruments and get the same result, and now I have the peace of mind that I will always have a bass clarinet that is in top shape!

I’ve recently had several students and band teachers ask me about how to build technique. I have found that when a student practices with a metronome, and plays a full range scale – start on the root, play to the highest diatonic note, then to the lowest diatonic note, and back to the root, in eighth notes, triplets, and sixteenth notes, their time dramatically improves.

I believe that the comfort with the triplet is the point where students either stop speeding up or slowing down.

I’m demonstrating it in a lesson with the metronome on quarter notes at 80bpm.

I’ve had my bass saxophone for over a year now, and the work that I’m getting called to do is expanding. I really love playing the bass saxophone in any setting. I’m getting more opportunities that are really bass sax-specific. In taking these calls, I’ve had to update my gear to get the sound, response, and volume that I need.

First, I changed my mouthpiece. I was using a Vandoren V5, which I had ended up pairing with a Légère Classic reed. It worked beautifully in classical settings, but didn’t have the power that I wanted in jazz or brass band settings. I had SYOS make me a mouthpiece that had a larger tip opening (but nothing too open) and had a more focused sound. I have been using this mouthpiece in all of my performance situations – for as much power that I can get from it, I can also dial it back to create the round, warm foundation for the saxophone choir. I’ve been pairing it with Gonzalez Jazz Local 627 #3 reeds.

When I’m performing with the choir, I am typically sitting down, or at least, not standing for long periods of time. I had been rotation a Just Joe’s Gel Strap, and a Boston Sax Shop Balam, which have been fine, but not long-term solutions for me. I recently picked up a JazzLab SaxHolder XL, and it’s been great! I had the original iteration of the SaxHolder, and it didn’t feel comfortable. The larger “cage” of the XL fits nicely, and feels way more secure than the last SaxHolder that I owned.

With these new additions to my rig, I feel more free on the big horn, and love the flexibility to play how and what I want!

Oliver Nelson’s book, Patterns For Improvisation, is a book that I worked through in college, and I had picked it up a few times since. Over the last few weeks I have been assigning exercises from the book to some of my students.

There are a few things that I love about this book.

First, it’s a technical workout with lots of long eighth note lines, and most of the exercises travel through all of the keys. It’s a study on what notes are most important when you’re trying to grab a breath to maintain your air.

It also has so much practical language for developing improvisors. I’ll have a student work through an exercise, then identify what key a set of notes is in (usually in four note, or eight note groupings), and then work it into a set of changes that is being internalised. This gets my student to make the alterations while keeping the interval structure, and develops their ability to play eighth notes in context.

Here’s an example from Exercise #1 from the book, and how I would get my students to work it over a ii-V-I.

I have found that there’s a ton of useful and practical information in this book. Having the ability to extrapolate the lines from the book and work them over familiar tunes makes this book a definite recommendation from me!

As my students get more fluent in arpeggiating chords, chord scales, and key centres, I find that their playing sometimes becomes too eighth-notey – lots of notes, with very few breaks, and it can start to feel predictable.

Here’s an exercise that I use to help students get out of their rhythmic rut.

In this exercise, the player is only allowed to use two notes in a bar. Each line is the same rhythm, starting on a different beat. Any two rhythms can be combined to make a four note grouping, but it has to travel over the bar line. For example, you could use B-Blue into A-Red.

Depending on the student, I might get them to write out eight bars, or sometimes they are able to work on it on the spot.

I find that working on this exercise for five or six choruses of a tune gets the idea in their ears, and then when I tell them to “just play”, and not worry about the rhythm, some of this is retained in the lesson.

Implementing this into their practice solidifies the concept of leaving space, and starting lines in different parts of the bar. I get my students to write a few of their own rhythms and put them on a grid, so they are practicing ideas that are coming from their own ears. It gives them the freedom to use what they like while expanding on what they know.

Here’s a Joe Henderson line that I’ve been working on. It comes off of his solo on Raincheck, on the recording Lush Life. I’ve attached a PDF with the line in all 12 major keys. Enjoy!

For the last few years, while finishing my degree, I have been performing in saxophone quartets on the baritone saxophone chair exclusively. This year, I moved to the soprano saxophone chair, and it’s been eye-opening to sit on the opposite end of the section.

Here are three things that I’ve learned since moving to my new chair.

1. Endurance – In my first few rehearsals, I was exhausted by the end. I would lose focus, and my pitch would be unstable. I have only used the soprano in improvisational contexts, where I can phrase the way I feel most comfortable, and take the chances that I deem necessary, not in a situation where most of the music is on the page. Daily practice, specifically on the soprano (my students have heard it in every saxophone lesson), and working with different reed and mouthpiece combinations have helped develop my endurance and concept on the soprano.
2. Setting The Group Sound – Playing baritone saxophone in quartets is a chair that I love, and there’s a lot of listening up to the soprano chair for articulation and phrasing. It’s also a new experience to breathe the group in, and it feels like a ton more responsibility. Now, sitting on the soprano book, I have the rest of the group listening up to my lead voice, so I’ve had to think more about how I phrase, articulate, and shape the group sound.
3. I Love It – I love playing this chair! It’s making me consider elements of my playing from a different perspective, which ultimately, will help me grow as a musician, and saxophonist.

I feel really fortunate to be able to experience this chair!

I’ve been part of ERU-ERA, Ed Lister’s horn-driven funk project since 2015. We go through periods where we play a lot, and periods where we don’t – it’s the nature of working with players who keep busy.

When the band books shows, I like to get my ears in the zone for the sound that this band demands. Here are a few recordings that help get me in the proper headspace for these shows.

Chris Potter – Follow The Red Line (2007)

This recording came out when I was in college, and I was (and still am) blown away with the rhythmic development of Chris Potter’s solos over these grooves.

Rudder – Rudder (2007)

This is the recording that started my journey with pedals. Listening the blend between Chris Cheek’s horn and effects, and the electric rhythm section grabs my ears every time I listen to this recording. Also, I love Chris Cheek’s lines!

Tower Of Power – Soul Vaccination: Tower Of Power Live (1999)

This is one of Tower Of Power’s most energetic recordings! The horns are tight, and the rhythm section grooves – everything that you would expect from TOP. It’s also hard to escape the influence of Doc Kupka. Those baritone punches that anchor the horn section have helped set the sound for every funk band since 1968.

I believe that it’s important to get away from the page – being able to connect with your instrument strictly on a sound level is extremely important.

I have started assigning exercises from Patterns For Jazz, by Jerry Coker. I have lots of students who are interested in jazz, whether they are in jazz band, or small combos, but I have many students who are coming from a concert band background, and these students are the ones who can get stuck on the page.

The concept of the book is as follows – the reader is presented an idea in a couple of keys, and after a few transpositions, the reader is left to fill in the blanks.

Here’s the first example.

I have found that getting a student to connect to their instrument based on sound provides a different connection between the player and what’s coming out of their instrument.

It’s interesting to watch musicians who haven’t approached music this way. Often times, they have the technical skill, but connecting the brain and fingers is the challenge. After they get the first one under their fingers, and in their ears, the next ones become easier, because the process becomes familiar.

Even though this book is called Patterns For Jazz, it’s so useful for all musicians to make one of the most important connections that they need to develop into stronger players.

I was incredibly fortunate to work with the Tango-Nuevo group, Norteño this summer. The group was recreating the music from the recording Summit – a recording of Astor Piazzolla’s music that featured Gerry Mulligan.

Norteño is a a five piece group (bandoneon, piano, guitar, violin and bass), who enlarged their ensemble to add a string quartet, and baritone saxophone (myself).

The music was gorgeous! Pierre-Paul Provencher arranged the music for the group and everybody had standout moments on the program.

For myself, it was a daunting idea – filling Gerry Mulligan’s role. Any time that I have to step into a legend’s role, I feel a certain sense of responsibility to research. That included listening to the recording, but also material from that time period, in this case, the 1970’s from both Astor Piazzolla and Gerry Mulligan’s discographies.

As the concerts progressed over the summer, I felt that I could put my own stamp on the music. I was able to take more liberties with the melodies, and stretch out much further on the improvised sections. In turn, I felt my sound becoming part of the whole, instead of distinctly a soloist. It was so inspiring, and far too much fun to weave in and out of sections of unison with the bandoneon or cello into flights of improvisation.

Another discovery from performing with a string quartet regularly is that I love the sound of a string quartet. I have performed with string quartets for a few projects in a row, and now I always want to have one available – maybe I’ll have to write some new material.

Now that the touring is over, I hope that we can continue performing this music. The project has so many tonal colours to it, and over the summer we had amazing audiences of all ages who saw and heard the project.

I am incredibly grateful to have received the call to work with this wonderful group of musicians, performing this beautiful music.

I finally, after more than a year, got around to putting my jazz posters, photos, and pictures up in my studio. I never realised how much of an impact it would have on my students after just a few weeks.

Everyone has smiled when they walked into the studio for the first time since the walls went from bare to covered. It’s really interesting to me to see which players catch my students’ eyes first. If think that most students look for someone who plays the same instrument.

It also provides an opportunity for conversation starters – Do you recognise anybody on the walls? Or who is that? And I can provide some background, or my experiences with some of the players. I can send them home with listening assignments for certain players that they see, and I think that adding the visual element creates a stronger connection for some.

I also have tried to have a mix of past and present players, and also players who my students can relate to.

Here’s who has “made the wall” so far –

• John Coltrane (x2) both a concert poster, and a sketch
• Anat Cohen
• Lauren Sevian
• Michael Brecker
• Charlie Parker
• Lew Tabackin
• Tim Price
• Earl Hines
• Sonny Rollins
• Lee Konitz
• Louis Armstrong
• Stan Getz
• Ben Webster
• Jerry Bergonzi
• Ronnie Cuber
• Jimmy Giuffre
• Nicole Glover
• Paul Desmond
• Benny Goodman
• Michael Blake
• John Ellis
• Cannonball Adderley
• Melissa Aldana
• Grace Kelly
• David Sanborn
• Eric Dolphy
• Joe Lovano
• Gerry Mulligan
• Dexter Gordon

I broke Zoot Sims’ frame on my way to the studio, so he’ll go up once I get a new piece of glass cut.

There is lots more room, and there are so many great players that can go on the wall. Who should I add next?