Garrett Hypes of Saxophone.com

This last month I played two different gigs at the Las Vegas Hilton showroom.  The first was with Paul Anka (May 4-5) and the second was with Johnny Mathis (May 11-12).  Both gigs were on the baritone sax with just a flute double for the Anka gig and the full complement of bass clarinet, clarinet, and flute for the Mathis gig.  The usual routine is to show up at 3pm on the first day of the gig for rehearsal and sound check.    The Anka group utilizes a basic big band format of 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, 4 saxophones, and 5 rhythm section members including piano, bass guitar, guitar, drums, and a Latin percussionist.  The band is made up of mostly known professional Los Angeles musicians who fly or drive up to Las Vegas for the two days.  They filled two of the saxophone positions locally in Las Vegas with Jay Rasmussen on tenor and me on baritone sax.  This band knew the music well and with the help of Scott Morin the alto saxophonist next to me I was able to negotiate through the heavily edited charts.  Some of the baritone parts were just trombone parts with the key signature modified for Eb baritone sax (add 3 sharps).  The overall attitude of the band was a little tense at first but very professional especially considering the high caliber of musicianship of the band members.  When the gig started I became aware of a very loud vocal side-monitor just next to me facing the center of the stage.   It was a little difficult to hear myself on the baritone, but I could hear my flute during soft passages.  We played arrangements from Paul’s early hits like “Diana”, “Puppy Love”, “Put Your Head On My Shoulder” through the comeback years with his “The Times Of Your Life”, his songs he wrote for Sinatra including “My Way” and all the way to his Rock Swing version of “Jump”.  One of the highlights is the conductor Jon Crosse who is an excellent saxophonist with an amazing mastery of the altissimo registry. Playing for Johnny Mathis is like going to a musician’s reunion for me.  I know almost everybody in the 40 piece orchestra because except for the talented rhythm section that tours with Mathis; all of the musicians are local.  The piano/conductor/arranger was Scott Lavender who is originally from Las Vegas and is well known and liked by all of us.  At break time I got to catch up with all of my musician friends that I have known for most of my life.   It is also great to work with strings, french horn, and a harp in addition to the trumpets, trombones, and full 5 piece woodwind section.  On this gig I play mostly bass clarinet, then clarinet, followed by baritone sax, and some flute.  Marty Radunz sits next to me and has the most exposed oboe and english horn parts in the woodwind section.  Marty also sat next to me 6 nights a week for 6 years at the “Lido de Paris” (Stardust Hotel).  He is a great guy and always has good things to say.  He is also playing flute clarinet and tenor saxophone.  We played all of his main hits like “Misty”, Chances Are”, “Gina”, “I’m On The Outside Looking In”, and “Brazil”.  This was an enjoyable low stress gig.  –Garrett

We recently received this note from Saxophone.com customer Jim Lawlis:

Heres a clip of me playing the black nickel, silver keyed tenor from you guys (which I love by the way).Its a beginning sequence for a tv show here in Toronto.
Talkin Blues

James Lawlis, Academic Teacher, Columbia International College

http://www.wfg.woodwind.org/sax/

Have you ever had the experience of being sharp because the warmer weather and trying to pull out your mouthpiece only to find it so loose that it wobbles and barely stays on the neck? Then you tried to use some strip of paper as a temporary fix to wrap around the neck only to find that it was difficult to put on the right amount for the sax to be in tune. I have found that using Teflon tape works great and will actually form fit the extra gap and still allow you to make micro tuning adjustments without the mouthpiece sticking to the neck and causing the cork to crack or break off. You just take a piece of Teflon tape approximately 9 inches (use more or less depending on the gap) and starting at the tip of the neck wrap a few layers slowly spiraling away from the tip. When you slip the mouthpiece over the neck the Teflon tape will compress to exactly fit the diameter of your mouthpiece. Since there is no adhesive on the tape you will have to hold the first wrap in place till the tape overlaps with itself. I have actually used Teflon tape to completely replace my cork on an older baritone sax neck. The practice of keeping a roll in my case has bailed me out on my baritone, tenor, clarinet, and bass clarinet. –Garrett

Today I worked with the medium sized orchestra that backs up The Tribute to Frank, Dean, and Sammy. We played a corporate gig at the Mandalay Bay.

Sometimes you need the additional edge on performance that only a professional Saxophone can give you.  Sometimes as a professional you get hired on a tenor when you only own an alto or the gig also requires a baritone.  These are some of the reasons you would want to rent a pro Saxophone as opposed to an intermediate one.  Some others are that you want to have a flashy custom plated Saxophone that matches the flashy clothes that you wear on the gig.  Or, you rent the un-lacquered vintage look Saxophone on a jazz gig so it doesn’t look like you just bought the sax, rather that it looks like you have been playing this Saxophone for many years and you don’t have to explain how your other sax was lost, stolen, or ran over by a car.  All of these reasons and just the fact that you want to have the best Saxophone that you can afford are valid for renting a professional saxophone.
With these reasons in mind Saxophone.com has expanded its rental program to also feature our professional line. As we are currently updating our rental forms, if you are interested in renting a pro level Saxophone, call us at 1-800-COOL-SAX. –Garrett