I’m happy to feature saxophonist Alex Starrett from Wisconsin!
What instrument(s) do you play?
Alto Saxophone.
How did you start learning music?
I played piano and trombone for 10 years when I was growing up. About 10 years ago, when my oldest daughter was joining the school band, my wife decided to buy everyone in our family an instrument. Mine was a sax and I’ve been playing it every day since!
What are your top 5 albums?
That’s a hard one to answer as I like a very wide variety of music, but probably: Miles Davis – Kinda Blue, Dave Brubeck – Time Out, Beatles – Hard Day Night, U2 Rattle and Hum, Bob Marley – Gold, Terence Blanchard – Newport Jazz Festival
What are your current project(s)?
In addition to work and family, I play in a jazz trio that sometimes expands to 8 and also in the horn section of a West African World Band. I also like to sail, ski and road bike.
What are some of your musical goals?
I’m always working on my sound. Our jazz band plays a lot of different songs, but mostly by reading out of the real book. I’d like to get better at memorizing and really getting to know a song in depth rather than just relying on the Real Book. I’d also like to get better at improvising and soloing. I do ok, but can improve a lot here.
How long have you been a JVL member?
This is my second year on JVL.
What do you like about it? How has it helped you?
I like the song analyses as they help me understand a song to a much better level. I like your exercises as they help me learn one specific thing really well. I like your tips on improvisation and what you think about while improvising.
What’s your favorite video on JVL?
Right now it’s the one I’m working on – How High the Moon. I like all of the different ways you look at the song and work off of it. I’ve also watched probably over 40 of the JVL videos so far and each one gives me something good to work on.