0 PAUL JOINS THE SILVERSTEIN AMBIPOLY REED PRO TEAM

Silverstein Works CEO BK Son welcomes Paul as the newest Silverstein Ambipoly Reed artist.

I’m proud to announce that my friend BK Son of Silverstein Works has invited me to become a Silverstein Ambipoly synthetic reed artist. Since 2015, I have been a Silverstein ligature artist and have played their saxophone and clarinet ligatures exclusively. I now join their team of artists who play their reeds exclusively as well.

For years, I have searched for a reed manufacturer whose product I could confidently use on each and every one of my horns. In the past, I’ve come close, only to have 1 or 2 horns not make the cut.

As someone who has played cane reeds for most of my woodwind life, I never thought that I would make the move toward synthetic. But years of outdoor work as well as doubling have caused me to rethink my position. Weather extremes as well as horns sitting for extended periods on the stand have brought about a desire for my reeds to be ready to go at a moment’s notice. Many times I’ve grabbed a clarinet in an instrument change, mid-song, and have discovered a warped reed, only to miss an entrance because it wasn’t ready when I needed it. Or I’ve walked out to a set on a hot summer day at Disneyland, only to have to rehydrate my reed the moment we arrived at the set location because of warping.

I first tried synthetic reeds in the 1980s when the quality was marginal at best. Over the years, a number of synthetics have come on the market and there has been a gradual improvement in quality, but none had been even close to satisfying my standards. During the course of the pandemic, I found a line of synthetics which I liked, for the most part, but unfortunately I couldn’t find products which worked for alto sax and clarinet. But I kept their products on hand, in the event my cane reeds failed me.

Today at NAMM, I decided to check out the 2nd generation of Silverstein’s synthetic reeds, simply to find backup reeds for all of my horns. Silverstein’s Director of Sales and Marketing, May Rhyu sat with me and helped me find a reed for each and every horn, where I could take pride in my sound. What eventually sealed the deal for me was finding a reed that worked for classical alto, perhaps the most discriminating sound in my arsenal. At that point in our meeting, I had to run out for a performance. But when I returned, May informed me that Silverstein was interested in having me come on board as an Ambipoly artist. It was a very easy decision for me, as each of their reeds provided me with what I demand from a reed for daily use. And with that, the switch to fully synthetic became realized.

Thanks to BK and May for bringing this transition to fruition, for inviting me to the team for another wonderful product, and for always taking such great care of their artists. Additional thanks to BK for his gift of a new Silverstein titanium ligature to congratulate me on my weight loss. I am very blessed to be connected with a company with such high standards of integrity.

0 PAUL FEATURED ON THE DEBUT VIDEO FROM DRUMMER EARL WINSTON: “EARL WINSTON & THE FUNKY BIG BAND”

Drummer Earl Winston has released the first music video from his album Tasty Pocket entitled “Earl Winston & the Funky Big Band.” Filmed in May of 2021, this video features the talents of Jeff Lewis (trumpet), Paul Navidad (alto saxophone), Ed Wynne (tenor saxophone), Chuck Phillips (baritone saxophone), Bruce Boulanger (electric guitar), Tateng Katingdig (keyboards), Edell Shepherd (keyboards), and Rob McDonald (electric bass).

The studio version of “Funky Big Band” from Tasty Pocket features Paul Navidad on alto saxophone. The music video features solos from Paul Navidad on alto saxophone, Tateng Katindig on keyboards, Bruce Boulanger on electric guitar, and Ed Wynne on tenor saxophone.

Earl Winston & The Funky Big Band – “Funky Big Band” will appeal to your progressive ears

Read the first review of Earl Winston’s new music video

0 THE PATRICK BRADLEY BAND RETURNS TO SPAGHETTINI

Join Billboard #1-charting keyboardist Patrick Bradley and his band for an evening of jazz fusion at Spaghettini on Saturday, April 2nd.  We will be welcoming a new member to the band:  bassist Nathan Brown. Tickets are available now.  Visit the Spaghettini website to make your reservation today!

Patrick Bradley, keyboards
Paul Navidad, saxophones
Philip Gough, guitar
Nathan Brown, electric bass
Tony Moore, drums

0 REFLECTIONS: THE TUX ARC

When I was in high school, wearing a tuxedo was a special occasion, which usually meant renting one for some kind of formal dance. In fact, there were some of my classmates who actually got a tux for semi-formal dances as well. For band performances, we were only required to wear a jacket and tie, but some of my friends made a point of getting a tux for big performances like the spring concert, and making it known ahead of time that they would be wearing a tux. My senior year, I happened to fit into one of my Dad’s black suits from when he was in his 20s, so Mom and Dad bought me a tux shirt, bow tie, and cummerbund, and I did my final band concert in a fake tux.

At the beginning of my freshman year in college, I joined a fraternity. Since I was also working, and knowing that I would be going to at least one formal event each year, I went out and bought my first tuxedo. At the time, I thought it was pretty cool that I owned my own tuxedo. Fortunately, I didn’t need to wear it for wind ensemble performances, so it didn’t receive all that much wear during my college years.

When I got to graduate school, it finally started paying off, as I was required to wear it for most performances (with the exception of jazz band). Pretty soon, I had to replace it. As I started working quite a bit outside of school, it didn’t last as long as my original tux, so I had to get another one before I finished graduate school. In my second year of graduate school, I started playing in Doc’s bands at Orange Coast College. I used to remember during the final rehearsal before any of his concerts, he would write on the board: “No warm up or tuning on stage. Wear a tux.”

A year after I finished graduate school, I started working for a very busy bandleader, and by busy, I mean I was doing between 300-400 gigs a year. The tuxedo became my working clothes. I bought multiple tuxedos with extra tux pants, and always kept one of them in the car. In fact, I would add a new tuxedo to the collection each year, and rotate the ones which still looked decent. As a working musician playing many high-end gigs in Los Angeles, I discovered that wearing a tux earned you plenty of poor treatment on the job. If you were wearing a tux, you were a second class citizen. People pushed you around (especially wedding coordinators). I got really sick of wearing a tux. I hated it. When I took over the jazz program at Orange Coast College from Doc once he retired, the first thing I did was to stop requiring my bands to wear a tux for concerts. From that point forward, it became my mission to get out of the tux.

When I started working for Mark Wood and the Parrot Head Band, that contributed to the declining number of tux gigs. It was so refreshing to show up to a gig wearing shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and flip flops. Once I became full time faculty at the college, I was finally in the position where I was able to pick and choose my gigs. I started saying, “No,” to weddings. And most of the time, the fanciest I had to dress for a gig was a black suit.

Still, I had a handful of tux gigs scattered throughout the year. But each year, that number went down. I actually kept track of the number of tux gigs. In fact, in 2011, I almost made it all the way through the year without having to wear a tux! But a week before the end of the year, I got a last-minute call for a New Year’s Eve gig which also happened to be a wedding. That meant that not only would I miss out on my first tux-free year, but I would also be starting off 2012 wearing a damned tuxedo. Aargh!

I finally got to the point where I have gone a number of years without ever having to put on a tuxedo for work in the music industry. I’ve been very proud of that fact. 2020 has been a challenging year for all of us, but for musicians, it has severely changed our way of life. Any gigs after mid-March were a blessing. 20 years ago after 9/11, much of the corporate gig market went away. And who knows once COVID is done, if or when live performances will ever return to their pre-COVID abundance?

All this to say that I wouldn’t mind wearing a tuxedo again in 2021 . . .

0 FACEBOOK LIVE JAZZ STREAMING ON FRIDAY EVENINGS DURING QUARANTINE

Join us every Friday evening from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM PDT during the quarantine for live jazz on Facebook with Tubop!

John Noreyko, tuba & leader
Paul Navidad, saxophones
Andrew Carney, trumpet & flugelhorn
Mark Massey, Rhodes
Jimmy Ford, drums

https://www.facebook.com/TubopLive/

0 Retro Revival Eric Marienthal Special Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece #7 (.085)

For years, I had a Beechler Bellite #7 as my go-to for fusion, rock, and R&B.  But about 6 years ago, I decided to start doing everything on a hard rubber Meyer, and was much happier with the sound, despite having to work a little harder in a fusion setting.  In 2017, I switched to a Retro Revival New Yorker #6 for everything, but in the back of my mind, I felt like I still needed a little more zip for fusion gigs.  Just for grins, about an hour before going on stage at the 2018 Newport Beach Jazz Festival, I put my old Beechler back on to see if it was the right thing for that day, but to my surprise, it sounded very shrill and harsh.  I put it away and did the gig on the Meyer-styled mouthpiece.

When Retro Revival released the Eric Marienthal Special, I had no desire to try it, having left the Beechler world behind (Interestingly enough, years ago, Eric had let me try out a mouthpiece that Beechler had made for him, but at the time, I liked my own much better.).  But this year at NAMM, I figured I’d give it a try.  I had been to the Beechler booth a little earlier in the day, and had gotten several compliments while trying out a hard rubber Beechler.  And while a lot of people liked what was coming out of the horn, I was dissatisfied with my sound on it.

I went over to the Retro Revival booth, with the sole intention of picking up a backup for my tenor Dukoff Stubby.  But out of curiosity, I decided to give the Eric Marienthal Special a blow.  I wasn’t expecting to like it, but that all changed from the very first note . . .

It didn’t play like any Beechler I had ever played on before, and I have owned several over the years.  It was surprisingly warm sounding, even though it has the ability to cut through all the electronics on stage.  One saxophonist friend who was also at the booth turned around when he heard me playing and was surprised to discover that I wasn’t playing on their Meyer-styled mouthpiece.  He was intrigued and began to listen closely as I continued to try out the mouthpiece.  Over the course of the next few minutes, even though I was trying to stay under the radar, a number of people started gathering around as I played, each of them attracted to the sound.  I had no desire to play metal on alto again, yet this mouthpiece was so much fun to play!  I ran the gamut of styles from really bright rock to very dark classical, as well as everything in between, and it proved to be a very flexible mouthpiece.  A few people commented that it didn’t sound like I was playing on a metal mouthpiece.  Even my friend Geoff Nudell, who was working the booth and is not a fan of metal mouthpieces on alto, mentioned that not only did he really like my sound on it, but also that he thought that I could play credible lead alto with it.

Needless to say, I left the booth with a new mouthpiece that day, and not the one that I intended on buying!  While I haven’t had the opportunity to see how it works in an electronic setting yet (and with the quarantine, it will likely be a while), it has definitely worked well in an acoustic setting, and everyone has liked my sound on it.  I look forward to getting back on stage with The Patrick Bradley Band once quarantine is over and seeing just what it can do when called upon.  If you need a little more zip to cut through the electronics on stage but are hesitant to play a metal mouthpiece on alto, give the Eric Marienthal Special a test drive . . .

0 PAUL PLAYS LEAD ALTO WITH THE BUDDY RICH BIG BAND

Buddy Rich may have passed away in 1987, but his daughter, vocalist Cathy Rich has kept her father’s band active, with several BRBB alumni, and featuring drummer Gregg Potter. On Sunday, September 29th, the band returned to Herb Alpert’s Vibrato Jazz Grill. Making his debut with the band was saxophonist Paul Navidad, filling the lead alto chair. The band performed two sets in front of a sold-out crowd, playing such BRBB classics as Love for Sale and Groovin’ Hard. Cathy, Gregg, and the BRBB will be returning to the Los Angeles area for another show in January of 2020.

0 Doubling

In a Facebook saxophonists’ forum, the topic of “doubling” and its importance to making a living as a saxophonist was raised.  I responded by sharing a video of Eddie Daniels (below the text of this article) and adding my own comments.

Someone told me about Eddie Daniels’ philosophy on doubling many years ago, and I adopted it as my own (see video below for Daniels’ philosophy). So, I am a saxophonist. I am a clarinetist. I am a pianist/keyboardist. I am a vocalist.

I am, however, a flute owner. I consider it my only true “double.” It is the bane of my existence. But I am more proficient on the flute than many other flute “doublers” who I personally know.

My saxophone teacher in graduate school, Leo Potts, once related a story from his time at the Paris Conservatory:

Once a week, Leo attended a masterclass taught by the legendary saxophonist Marcel Mule (Leo studied privately with Daniel Deffayet). On one snowy week, Leo was the only student to show to the masterclass, so it ended up being a private lesson with Mule. Mule said to Leo, “So you’re a doubler?”

Leo responded, “That’s what we have to do in Los Angeles to survive.”

Mule replied, “In France, we only chase one rabbit . . . but we always catch him.”

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0 Endorsements and the Importance of Building Relationships

In a saxophonists’ community on Facebook, one poster asked “What’s the point [of endorsements]?” I made a point of responding as a potential teaching moment about a concept in the music business that many young musicians are neglecting in this current age of immediacy and e-commerce:

The point of endorsements is that of establishing relationships. John Donne wrote, “No man is an island.” Different types of relationships contribute to our success in life and career, or lack thereof.

Most musicians eventually realize that success in the music business relies very little on skill. The current state of popular music is certainly evidence of that. But let’s look at the word “business” for a moment:

If you had to describe the word “business” with one word, that one word would be “people.” In order to conduct business, you need other people with whom to transact. Therefore, establishing and cultivating relationships with other people is essential to success in the music business. Most musicians are notoriously bad business people. Most of us would much rather focus on our art rather than take care of business.

Have you ever stopped to notice that many band leaders tend to be the weakest musician in their own bands? Much of that has to do with the fact that they need to devote time to the business aspect of their careers. They choose to surround themselves with better musicians in order to make themselves look good.

Good communication skills are necessary in order to conduct business. We need only look at some of the negative interactions in Facebook musician groups for evidence that many musicians are severely lacking in their interpersonal skills. And therein lies a problem when they desire to establish fruitful relationships from which each party can benefit.

Consider the process of networking when trying to break into a local scene: You come across people of all walks of life when playing in a rehearsal band or sitting-in at a jam session. Certainly your skillset as a musician will contribute to the amount of musical activity that you see. But how often do you go out for a bite with your fellow musicians after a rehearsal, gig, or jam session? Do you get to know them on a personal level? Have you ever had a conversation with them when you didn’t talk about music? Have you ever sat with them for 3 hours at a sporting event? Have you ever played golf or gone bowling with them?

Think about all the discussions and gossip that occur when conferring about other musicians. Perhaps this sounds familiar to you:

“So-and-so is a monster player, but I don’t want to work with them because they are a total ass.”

Or how about:

“You should call so-and-so. They’re a solid musician and a good team player.”

On Facebook, how many times have you come across a post that asked, “Where is the cheapest place to find reeds?” or some other product? Now, don’t get me wrong, I know that we all would like to save money. But by shopping online, we lose the opportunity to establish a quality relationship with the personnel at a traditional brick-and-mortar store. When I was in graduate school, for a 3-year period, I got all of my repairs done for free. And the reason for that was simply because I shopped at that establishment on a regular basis and built a relationship with the owner.

I currently have quality relationships with two other stores. At one of them, their repair shop will take me at a moment’s notice, even if they are backed up with repair work. They’ve also given me priority on several discounts not available to the general public, or even some of their other regular professional clientele. The other store will allow me to take equipment out in the field to test without leaving a deposit or a credit card number. And if for some reason I can’t cover a large purchase in one lump sum, they will allow me to make interest-free payments.

Endorsing products is no different. You are establishing a relationship with a company in which the benefits should be mutual. The obvious advantage is that in exchange for the company getting support from a reputable artist, the artist receives product at a discount, as well as publicity from the company. You may have heard the old adage: “All publicity is good publicity, as long as they spell your name right.”

But a quality endorsement relationship will go beyond that. I currently have endorsements with multiple companies:

One of them has custom-built non-production-line horns for me to my own specifications. They have also sent me out to do clinics in support of the company. And of course, I always perform at their booth at The NAMM Show.

Another company has sought my input when beta testing new products, and they really do value my opinion. This year at NAMM, they released a new synthetic clarinet reed. One of their reps spent an entire hour and a half with me at the Show, with a reed knife, dialing-in 4 of the new reeds to my liking. And this was at a busy trade show where they didn’t need to sell me on a product.

Are endorsements of value or a total waste of time? That really depends on what you want to get out of your involvement in music. As the saying goes: “Your mileage will vary.”

But learn the value of cultivating quality relationships, both in life and in business. Some of them may even overlap. And remember, success in the music business is not determined by who you know, but rather, by who knows you.