| Lessons in long tones and hard work DURHAM - Kirk Whalum flew into town from Memphis to play saxophone, and to teach some lessons to the students at Durham Nativity School. James asked Whalum to play on his album, and that association led to Whalum's first album, "Floppy Disk," for Columbia Records in 1985. Whalum then played "Amazing Grace," at first with a beginner's mistakes, but then with this matured skills and tone. Music is physical and "a highly skilled vocation," Whalum said. All students come from families with financial challenges. He closed his session with a prayer. In 2010, Whalum was named president and CEO of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, in his hometown of Memphis. Whalum also is an ordained minister, and he used the biblical story of Moses to urge the students to nurture their personal talents and gifts. You have to work at it. "It doesn't just happen. "When I let go of my own idea of what I wanted to do … then God breathed life into [the saxophone]. His playing now is "not just sound," but a form of expression that God allows him to share, he said. Music and musicians have the power to influence many people, and for that reason Whalum said he also considers music "a high calling" along with a profession. Whalum was in Durham to play a benefit Friday night for Durham Nativity School at the Carolina Theatre. Years ago, he said he thought of music as a means to make lots of money. Practicing long tones on sax is the equivalent of push-ups for the embouchure, he said. Whalum has received several Grammy nominations. Whalum came to the attention of pianist Bob James in 1984. Whalum then played some long tones on tenor saxophone, and his sound filled the sanctuary of Grace Baptist Church, where the students gathered. I still love working on it, so yesterday this is what I was doing," he said. He compared practicing long tones on saxophone to exercises that basketball players have to do. . |
Saturday, 5 May 2012
Lessons in long tones and hard work
