What are y'all's tips and tricks to playing as solo saxophone in a combo?
Hello everybody — would love insights from folks who enjoy playing in bands where gigs are part of the MO :)
Have been playing Bari and Tenor for 16 years now, for many years in large band settings where I enjoyed being part of a larger team. Long story short; now to be part of music community I can't just study and rock sheet music so I feel at loss, yet am eager to learn and grow!
So, my ask here is what tips would anyone have about
how you got comfortable/intuitive with combining applications of theory in improv
to doing gigs with mostly guitar players, percussionists, and a singer, and when they use tabs or just guitar/paiano chord names?
Since university I'd been in a couple combos with mostly other wind players so we all shared sheet music sets. Now I've moved to a smaller town. To scratch the itch I've been busking playing music I would practice at home anyways, and always brings me joy to see people slow down, listen, smile, and join me in the music on the journey for a while.
At work got distracted admiring a combo's jamming and flowing off each other and... I miss that community. Co-worker noticed me watching, told them I play, they came up asking if I could jam with them, gave me their card, which sounds exciting (!!!) then showed me their setlist, were VERY excited about me ""busting out solos"", and it's all guitar tabs or names of concert chords and ... I wouldn't even know where to start if there's not sheet music I could reference. But I want to be courageous and rule myself by passion and curiosity; not fear! Want to rejoin music community and overcome my intimidation of Understanding How To Apply Theory to Improv/Jamming so it doesn't continue to be a hurdle for another year, or 3, or more...
I admire the Coolness of Busting Out An Improved Solo — when I see other sax players do I always marvel at how in tune with music theory and chord progression and which notes can go where every moment that it just... dazzles me :) But executing music theory to successfully improv solo -myself- still feels elusive and intimidating.
Thanks for insights, thanks for the time, cheers ✌️✨️