Australian'

Clarinet and SaxophoneVolume 10, Number 2}une2007

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Intervie~ ~ith

I met Mark Taylorwhen Hugh Jackman'sBoyFrom OZ tour travelled to Brisbane in 2006 and I hadthe good fortune of being in the reed section with him. As with all the musicians invited to performthe season, I was also initially struck by his amazing sound on all his instruments - alto saxophone,flute and piccolo, then further awed by the fact he did not make a mistake anywhere! - not notes,tone, pitch or even style.

Upon chatting I realised he had lived quite a varied life of music and travel, performing andrecording with some star international entertainers and shows. I seized the opportunity in asking ifhe would mind doing the interview for the magazine and possessing the incredibly unassuming andeasy going nature that he does, he graciously gavehis time, memories and advice. His CD 'Shakedown'can be purchased securely from his informative personal website www.taylormademusic.com.au

- DianaTolmie

What was your earliest musical expe-rience or impression of music?

My earliest musical experienceswould have been at home as a childin Bathurstwith my mother playingthe piano and the family standingaround doing a sing-along kind ofthing songs from Disneyshowsand other Broadway type musi-cals. Ienjoyed these situations a lot.My mother has always been verypassionateabout singingand playingmany of the great popular songsfrom the GreatAmericanSongbook.Hearingmanyof those great compo-sitionsbythe ColePorters,Gershwins,IrvingBerlin,Rodgers and Hart et alat a young age has most certainlyremained with me. Myfather isalsoan avid listener of classical musicand had a sizable LPcollection thathe played regularly.Through theseexperiences Ifeel that from an earlyage Iwas exposed to fine music bywonderful composers. There wasalwaysa great appreciation of musicinour householdwhichhas no doubthad a very big impact on me.

What was your music education inBathurst likewhen you were growingup? Didyou have any particular rolemodels or visitingartists that inspiredyou to develop your skillsfurther?

Music education and in partic-ular performing opportunities as Iwas growing up in Bathurst were

extremely strong and positive.Initially at around the age of 9 or10 I took piano lessons from a localteacher but I wasn't really moti-vated to learn the piano. I was farmore interested in playing soccerand cricket. However,my mum wasalways very influential and insistedthat my older brother and I learn toplay something. My brother stayedwith piano and became very profi-cient , later adding drums andtrumpet.(He'sa professionaldrummernow). I settled with the clarinet,starting lessons at the CentralWestbranch of the NSWConservatorium

of Music in Bathurst. The branch was

- set up around 1980 and I startedlessons there in 1981 at age 11witha very good teacher named GeoffSimm who had recently retired fromthe RAAFband in Sydney to teachwoodwind and to also conduct theBathurst and RSLConcert Bands. I

later joined the concert band andperformed regularly in eisteddfods,concerts and numerous other events.My local high school also had someexcellent music teachers and a verygood music program with stage andconcert bands. Bythe time I pickedup saxophone in 1982in high school

to.

""II,..-.. -.......

June 2007 3

I found I was regularly playing inschool and community ensembles.My mum wasalwayskeento seethatwe had decent instruments and aswe progressedshewouldn't hesitatein helping us purchase better gear.Bathurst has an excellent amateurmusical society and from about theage of 141was playing in the orches-tras for their annual productions.Therewas alsoavery good town bigband that GeoffSimm led that I laterjoined and really loved performingwith. Ishouldsayalsothat my brotherJohn had considerable influence onme and he had a great love of musicwith a growing record collectionalso.Heintroduced me to albums ofGroverWashingtonJr,DukeEllington,AI Jarreau,Glenn Miller, Buddy Rich,Bob Barnard very diversebut veryinspiring for a young player.MusicaVivain Schoolsalsosent"TheSydneyJazz Quintet" to my high school inabout 1983 and I remember thatworkshop being very memorableand inspiring. The turning point forme though was probably 1984whenI attended the Pan PacificJazzandBig Band Camp in Sydney. Jamesand John Morrison were the mainteachers, along with members oftheir big band at the time. I thinkit was probably the experience ofbeing around these musicians andtheir music that made me decidethat I would become a pro player. Ithen started coming to Sydneyoncea month in my lasttwo yearsof highschooI...1986/87...to have lessonswith the greatsaxophoneplayerandteacher Col Loughnan.

Don Burrows is hailed by many to bea consummate musician and a highlyrespected gentleman -are there anyparticular memories of your studywith him that you felt left a lastingimpression on your musical journey?

I loved my time studying withDon. Amongst other things he reallyencouraged and inspired me to playthe flute well. I'd had a very solidsaxophonetechnicalgrounding withCol Loughnan and the transition toseriousflute study with Donwasthelogicalstep.Wespenta lot of time ontone, technique and breathing andapplying it to both classicalandjazzsituations. I have no doubt that hisinfluenceandinspirationhasenabledme to move into professional situa-tions such as Broadwaytype showsand studio work with absolute confi-

4

dencewhen playingthe flute.Healsogave me the opportunity and confi-denceto grow and develop asa leadalto saxplayer in big bands.Oh heis also a classicstory and joke tellerso I'm always smiling when I reflecton the few years with Don. He's awonderful musicianwith great spirit,passion and humour. Those quali-ties havecertainly inspired and influ-enced me over the years.

Describeyour first paid 'gig'?First paid gig was at age 13at':Julie's

Steakhouse"in Bathurst.My brotherJohn played piano and I played altosax. John had written some littlearrangements for us of some songsfrom "The Readers Digest Book ofPopular Songs"and we serenadedthe diners. I remember getting paid$20.00 and a great steak dinner forthree hours work. At age 131had beenmaking $5.00for three hours on mypaper delivery route the choiceto start doing gigs wasn't difficult.Fromaround the ageof 16Iwasregu-larly playing in local pop and rock'nroll bands in pubs and clubs aroundBathurstand Orangeand being paidwell at the time. Some pub gigs inSydney still pay the same amount

I I Inow twenty years ater..

You were obviously doing extremelywell at your career in Australia asoneof the highlights was as a finalist inthe 1993and 1994Australian NationalJazz Awards at the WangarrattaFestival of Jazz in Victoria. Then youwent overseas to New York to studywith many amazing USjazz legendsincluding Bob Mintzer, Ralph Moore,Barry Harris,GaryDialand GaryFoster.What made you want to go overseaswhen you were obviously carvingquite a solid career path in Australia,and what was your impression ofNew York in comparison to Australia-particularly in relation to the jazzscene and the general musical workenvironment?

The choice to travel to New Yorkto study and live seemed natural tome. Eventhough gigs were plentifulin Australia and I was doing prettywell, I understood that New Yorkwas really the cutting edge when itcame to jazz and jazz saxophone.Togrow and develop more Ifelt Iwouldneed to be surrounded by all thatNewYorkoffers in these areas.I hadvisitedtherefor atwo weeksin 1992but I decided that to reallybenefit asa musician, I would have to stay for

Australian Clarinet and Saxophone

several months. My girlfriend and Ifound asubletapartment and hadanunforgettable time there in 1994.It isstill probably the single most influen-tial experience in my musical devel-opment thus far. I learnt some greatthings from being one on one withthe musiciansyou listed, but overallI feel that what impacts one themost about New York is its energy,its intensity and its artistic diversity.This is what has stayed with me. Idid loads of jamming and buskingwith bands on the street and inthe subway which was a blast andproved particularly great for staminaand chops. And there are of coursethe obvious things like being ableto walk out your door at any givenmoment and be able to hear theworld'sbestperformersdo what theydo on any night of the week expe-riencesthat we don't get to absorbasfrequently and in as short a timeframehere in Australia.However,asamusicianwho playsjazz and is influ-enced heavily by jazz music Iguesswhat I really gained from beingin New York City was a far deeperunderstanding and greater respecttowards the jazz tradition and to theart form that isjazz. Stylistically forme that would be represented bythe post-bebop and post-Coltraneperiods of jazz. I should also addthough that having spent that timein NewYorkand later in London I dofeel that from aworking professionalmusician'spoint of view,we do haveaworld classstandard of performersand performances here in Australia,be it in jazz,classical,musicaltheatreor commercial and creative musicscenes.I'm very appreciative of thisand proud to be involved in it.

Upon your return did you find it hardassimilating back into the Australianlifestyle?

Not so much, although that beingsaid, I moved back to inner citySydney (Darlinghurst/Kings Cross)which isabout ascloseasyou wouldreallyget anywhereinAustraliato the

Ipace and diversity of New York City,albeit on a smaller scale. Ialso fortu-

,natelycamebackandslotted straightback into playing and gigging a lotand writing material that I recordedon my CD"Shakedown"whichisveryevocative of my time in New York. Ihave been back to New York a fewtimes since and continue to love it,

though I now live by the beach in Sydney and Ido love the lifestyle here.

You have performed for a colossal amount of highprofile international artists in shows, musicals,touring and recording sessions. Do you have anyparticularly memorable events or stories to tell?

Yes...certainly some very memorable events andtours. The Royal Albert Hall season in London as asoloist alongside Sir Cliff Richard is high on the list.Another great highlight recently was performingwith The Sydney All Star Big Band with one ofmy heroes ...the great US tenor sax player andcomposer/arranger Bob Mintzer. Early in my careerI did some great concerts with the wonderful USjazz vocalist Lou Rawls that has always been verymemorable.

Ialways love sharing the bandstand with JamesMorrison. That occus quite frequently for me andit's always loads of fun and very exciting beingnext to him, hearing him play so amazingly andswinging as hard as he does.

In 20021 performed inTorontoCanadawith TomBurlinson's show "Frank-A Life in Song" with a bigband made up of Canada's top jazz players. Fromthis I was asked to travel to Moscow to perform inthe orchestra for a US touring production of theBroadway show'42nd Street: It was the first Englishspeaking musical ever performed in Russia.Moresignificant perhaps was the timing whilst wewere performing there another theatre a couple ofmiles away in Moscow was attacked by ChechenRebel terrorists and the audience and cast taken

hostage for three days. It made worldwide newsand the incident of course drastically impactedour show and our mental state...! Actually, severalof the Russian musicians I was playing with hadclose acquaintances killed in those attacks. It wasan extremely testing time for all .

The range of styles required of you in your employ-ment seems incredibly broad, and your schedulemust be very full to have achieved all you havethus far -do you have a technique or method toget your mind 'in gear' for the demands of yourmusic?

Yes.Often, depending on the style I'll be playing,I might put on a CD before the gig during mywarm-up or in the car to listen to someone whoplays in the way I might be having to play onthe upcoming performance. egoIf it's an R& Bor pop gig, I might stick on some Mike Brecker,KirkWhalum or DavidSanborn and get into theirhead space.This is particularly helpful prior toa recording session where I might have to putdown a solo. If it's a jazz blowing gig perhaps aCannonball Adderley recording or Hank Mobley,SonnyRollinsetc. I find that extremely helpful. It'snot about copying them, but moreabout concept.I love to check out big band recordings before abig band gig and listen to a great leadalto playerlike Dan Higgins from LA or an older recordingwith Marshall Royalfrom the Count BasieBand.Itry and get into that headspace.Woodwind-wiseImight stickon aMozart Clarinetor FluteConcerto

- recording to get the tonal concept strong in my head,or listen toEddieDanielsdo histhing on clarinet.It'sreallyhelpful. Iam alsoveryawareof the importance of breath and relaxationwhen it comestoplaying the instruments, so I find practicing meditation/yoga anddoing physicalexerciselike swimming and walking to be of greatbenefit, to body and mind, particularly when I have a full week ofperformances.

You haveplayed asa featured saxophone soloist for amongst otherthings -SirCliff Richardfor his 40th Anniversary Concerts in the UK,John Farnham,and The Boy FromOzAustralianTourthus you arenostranger to large and critical audiences. Do you get nervous beingin such a high profile position? If so -how do you combat this?

Interestingly,I find the big arenashowsnot too bad for nerves.It'sother circumstanceslikebeing thrown into adeputy or subbing situ-ation in a pit for a show that can be really challenging when youhaveto slot in and soundstrong when the restof the playersarewell-rehearsedand comfortable with all the material and direction. LiveTVcan be a real test also,but the more I'vedone over the years,themore comfortable and confident I've become.I guesssome experi-ence certainly helps.Once again, being in good shape and under-standing how to keep relaxed is very beneficial. Funnilyenough, Isometimes find the presenceof my musical peersand mentors tobe the catalyst for any nervesrather than a large audience. Iguessthat's normal to some extent.

Youalso playa variety of instruments -do you have a preferred saxo-phone, a preferred instrument to double?

My preferred double would be the flute. As far as saxophonegoes, it depends on the style and music I'm going to be playing. Ifeel equally at home on tenor and alto. I havecertain preferencesin

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given situations. Big band and showwork it's alto. Small group jazz,.....tenor. On a pop gig alto. R&B/funkhorn section tenor. IfIhad to takeone on a desert island probablythe tenor.

For aspiring doublers out there -doyou have any particular foolprooftechniques to share that make thechanges from instrument to instru-ment any'safer~any methods for prac-tice, embouchure hints?

Tonalconcept isprobablythe mostimportant element when switchingbetween instruments quickly.Hearing in your head how you wantthe instrument to sound is a largepart of getting in the right zone. It'sfunny, the brain is able to subcon-sciouslymake all the throat muscles,embouchure and air stream etc. dothe correct thing if it has a strongreference in this case, how youthink and pre-hear the wayyouwantthe instrument to sound. This alsoties inwith the stylisticconcept thatImentioned earlierwhen itcomes tocertain playersthat one maywant toemulate. Ifyou have their style andsound embedded in your mind, it'sonly natural that their approach willcome through in your playing. Ofcourse, having a comfortable setupand good reeds are important. IfI'mplaying a small amount of clarinetamongst the other horns, Imight puton a softer reed, whereas ifthere isgoing to be loads of clarinet to play,I prefer to have more resistance. Alittle buzzing of the lips and cheeksprior to playing the flute after a lotof sax or clarinet can help in a fewbars rest before playing.Longtonesand overtone practice on all theinstruments is an essential part ofmywarm-up and this isvery helpful.Keeping an open and relaxed oralcavityon all the horns ishighlyeffec-tive as isof course keeping the bodyfree of tension and alwaysbreathingcorrectly. I think James Morrsion isable to do what he does so wellbecause he has an extremely clearidea of how all his instruments willsound and he's generally alwaysrelaxed when doing what he does.(Andof course he's a freak ).

What isyour set up?Soprano Saxophone

Yamaha YSS-62R

Selmer Super Session "J" HardRubber Mouthpiece

6

"Olegature" LigatureRico Strength 3 Reeds

Alto SaxophoneSelmer Mark VI, 1961. (Serial

No. 96XXX) Meyer Hard RubberMouthpiece Refaced (between Med7 &8) "Olegature" Ligature VandorenV16Strength 3 Reeds

Tenor SaxophoneSelmer Mark VI 1957. (Serial No

70XXX)metal Otto Link 8* tenor saxmouthpiece, customised by MarkSpencer. It's a silver plated piece,with a baffle.Vandoren V16#3 Reeds.)

"Olegature" Ligature, VandorenBaritone Saxophone

John Lehner "Don Burrows" Model.Low A Berg Larsen Hard RubberMouthpiece 105/2Refaced "Olegature"Ligature Rico Jazz Select Strength 3SReeds

PiccoloJeff Weissman Model Wooden with

Custom Made HeadjointFlute

Muramatsu OS Handmade SolidSilver Open Hole, Low B,Offset G

Alto FluteArmstrong

BbClarinetBuffet R13Vandoren B45. or

Leblanc"EddieDaniels"Mouthpiece(refaced)Vandoren V12Strength 3.5or 4 Reeds

BassClarinetLeblanc Esprit-Low Eb Selmer

C85/120 Mouthpiece Vandoren'Traditional'Strength 2.5Reeds

Do you have any recording projectscoming up?

Yes, this year Iplan to do another CDof my own it'swelloverdue. Itwilllikelybe a jazz project made of orig-inals and standards, some acoustictracks and perhaps with some elec-tric bass or organ. Also, there arealways the regular recording datesfor other artists that come up duringthe year.

What are your future goals in yourmusic career and/or life?

,alwayswant to play that's a given,though I'm becoming more selec-tive in the choice of situations that Iplay in. I'dliketo compose more andrelease more of my own music. I'dlike to perhaps write for film even-tually someday. I'ma avid listeneroffilmsoundtracks and love the workof people like Terence Blanchardand how he utilises jazz styles into

Australian Clarinet and Saxophone

motion picture. I don't have kids yetbut that will change... I do plan tohave a family. Oh, and travel wise,another extended New Yorkvisit, aswell as perhaps a European tour witha group or artist. I've never been toSouth America I'd love to visit andplay in Brazil,Peru, Chile etc and alsoCuba. That will happen too I'm sure.

Do you have any advice for under-grad students looking forward to acareer in saxophone?

From my experience, being versa-tile and adaptable to many situa-tions and styles is essential. I hearmany great young jazz improvisersor wonderful classical saxophonistswho don't play outside a certain style.That may be by choice, however ifyou are looking to a career andgenerating some sort of living, it canbe limiting.. ..(unless you are able tocreate a lucrative solo recording andconcert tour career). The job oppor-tunities are much smaller whenlocked into one or two styles ofmusic or playing. If you are a greatsight reader but don't improvise, I'dsuggest developing that skill in orderto increase performing opportunities,and vice versa, ifyou can improvise agreat jazz or pop solo but don't sightread well, work on that area. There'splenty to gain. Also,most importantly,listen to as many great saxophoneplayers in a wide variety of styles aspossible. So much is available nowa-days via the web - downloads etcand the ability to buy CDs world-wide and share files at the click of abutton. Understanding and learningthe wide vocabulary of the instru-ment is probably the most impor-tant thing, and for me it is extremelyenjoyable.

Did you dabble in classical music?Certainly when studying the flute.

I also like to work through classicaletudes and exercises on all the instru-ments when I practice. I'm often insituations that definitely require aclassical approach and discipline, beit a commercia' orchestral recordingsession or performance and also inseveral of the Broadway-style scoresthat I've played.

- Interview by Diona Toimie

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