A couple months ago I had a great conversation with Craig Hurst for his podcast "The Musical Universe of Professor Hurst". He let me go on and on about my favorite topics - altissimo, NYC jazz, baritone sax, Scott Robinson, bass sax! What a pleasure. Hit the link, or listen below.
Some time last year Gary Smulyan called me to propose a crazy idea to promote the baritone saxophone. Though we have planned and scrapped those plans a few times we are finally at the point where we can announce a new organization devoted to the baritone saxophone. Low Blow Music was formed by Gary Smulyan in conjunction with the council of baritonists - Frank Basile, Claire Daly, Andrew Hadro (myself), Brian Landrus and Jason Marshall - with the purpose of promoting the baritone saxophone.
We're hoping to make this a world-wide phenomenon, and to kick things off we are celebrating Pepper Adams' birthday on October 8th, 2022 with a BARITONE MARATHON. 12 hours of baritone and a jam session to boot. In addition to performances from groups led by Gary as well as each of the council of baritonists, we have additional performances from Lauren Sevian, Dave Schumacher, Roger Rosenberg and Carl Maraghi! The day will start at 12pm with Gary Smulyan and end at 12:30pm with an open Jam Session! Click here to see the full line up and schedule.
But perhaps the even more exciting news is that we have launched LowBlowMusic.com - this is a site that offers exclusive baritone content for a very affordable yearly membership of $25. The amount you get for $25 is insane, so please consider supporting this organization.
And I hope to see you on October 8th!
DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE EDITOR’S PICK - JANUARY 2022
’The piece serves as a loving ballad, and a bit of a nod to Claude Debussy’s “Clair de Lune,” delivered with stunning precision and grace. …So, is it jazz? New music? Who cares. It’s a work of extraordinary beauty.”
—Frank Alkyer
DownBeat Magazine
‘Regarding the Moon’ is a new single being released. This is the first in a series of commissioned compositions to feature the baritone saxophone with string ensembles of varying sizes.
This is the next evolution of the ‘For Us, The Living’ Project.
Click here to check out the new single!
Engage posts
Like, comment, subscribe - Point the algorithm beast in the right direction! Even just pausing on a post tells the tech-overlords that you showed interest. Go the extra step, silence your inner grinch - click that like button! Maybe even drop a comment.
Rate/review tracks and albums
Most platforms have a rating or review system. Give tracks and albums a review! iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon etc all have ways of providing feedback. More feedback tells the algorithm to serve this content to more of the masses.
Click the share button
Sure, you could actually share their music. But why sully your pristine collection of Puppuccino art with a post about someone's music? Even just clicking on the share button on many platforms will tell the datalords that someone wanted to share this music.
Add the music to playlists
Even if you don't listen, having the track added to a playlist can help.
Got a work playlist? restaurant? store? add it there.
Tag the gatekeepers
Like a song? Post about it and tag media outlets, reviewers, journalists, influencers, editors, magicians etc
Its the world we live in, might as well inject some merit.
Direct sales
If you are going to buy the music *GASP*, buy it through BandCamp or directly from artist.
If you've asked me in the last two years what I've been working on I probably told you about a new project. The first installment is almost here.
It has involved two continents, over a dozen musicians, 12 months of relearning the saxophone, and a lot more. I guarantee you haven't heard a baritone saxophone quite like what you'll hear in this piece.
On Friday, December 24th the ΠΚ Music label will be releasing the single 'Regarding the Moon' A new composition by Petros Klampanis for double string quartet, piano, bass and percussion - that features the Baritone Saxophone.
This is the first in a series of commissioned works for strings and baritone saxophone, a continuing part of my project 'For Us, The Living'. After two years, I'm looking forward to sharing it with you.
I recently came across a QRS PlayASax - a saxophone shaped toy from the early 20th century. I’ve made a video about it demonstrating and describing it. Check it out below.
Sylvain Carton recently interviewed me and asked me a lot of questions. I did my best to answer them and not put too many feet in my mouth while doing so. Check it out:
Recently JazzBariSax.com went dark for 48 hours in solidarity with the BLM movement. I would hope that the students, educators, and artists that make up the thousands of visitors every month already know how much they owe to Black Americans but It seems they may not be aware. Perhaps this can at least influence a few of them.
Some people want to just be able to focus on the saxophone and not mix politics. I’m pretty sure that’s how the artists felt 60 years ago. See below for the message displayed during the dark period.
JazzBariSax.com would not exist without Jazz. Jazz is a Black American Music. All of the content on this site is directly descended from the art and lives of Black Americans. In solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement JazzBariSax.com will be unavailable for 48 hours.
If you are grateful, or have use for the content on this website, I humbly suggest that you take some time to appreciate the great American artists that have made it possible. It is important then to acknowledge the struggles, discrimination, and brutality they faced while creating this music in America and the rest of the world. We have taken so much joy and pleasure in their art without doing enough to end the misery they endured.
I urge you to support the reforms needed to end violence and discrimination. If possible please consider donating to one of the following organizations:
NAACP Legal Defense Fund: https://www.naacpldf.org/
ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/
Black Lives Matter: https://blacklivesmatter.com/Sincerely,
Andrew Hadro
Curator, JazzBariSax.com
An article I recently wrote was featured in the WAVE (We Are Vandoren E-Newsletter). It covers a bit of the history of the bass saxophone, both the players and the instrument itself. But more importantly it delves into the relevance of the bass saxophone today. Head on over to the DANSR website to check it out!
I recently had some extra time (ouch). So I spent a few hours perusing all of the patents I could find relating to the saxophone in the US from about 1914 to 1943. I found a lot of interesting things, I posted them on the site I curate, JazzBariSax.com. So head on over and check out the finds.
I don't subscribe to streaming music services. Instead I buy people's music. Here in no particular order are some of the people I have bought from, listened to, and really enjoyed lately. There's no shortage of great new music, and its worth paying for.
Jennifer Wharton, Darcy James Argue, Godwin Louis, Julian Shore, Petros Klampanis, Matt Ulery, Ben Monder, John Pattitucci, Nick Grinder, Ben Kono, Brad Mehldau, Terraza Big Band, Paul Jones, Paul Nedzela, Jen Clark Allen, Frank Basile, Kevin Hays, Gilad Hekselman, Wayne Shorter, Brian Krock, Adam Larson, Alex LoRe, Carmen Staaf, Steven Lugerner
Made the rising star list in @downbeat_mag's critics poll this month. As a friend just told me, I'll be an overnight success in another ten years. Happy to be listed among other practitioners of a big horn.
Watch out next year- I'm going to black mail them into creating a bass sax category for the new crop of lowest-blowers.
Happy 20th Birthday to JazzBariSax.com!
http://jazzbarisax.com/celebrating-20-years-on-the-internet/
A while back I wrote a post marking the 11th year that I have been in charge of this site. I refer to it as curating because a lot of the content on the site comes from and features other places on the internet. I also encourage fellow baritone saxophonists to submit and provide content as much as possible. Quite a bit of the biographical information on this site pre-dates my time at the helm.
Eric Plaks is an adventurous pianist in NYC and I have been very fortunate to spend a lot of time playing with him in the last few years. As part of the Shrine Big Band, as well as many different smaller configurations, Eric always puts together excellent musical situations and fresh writing.
Recently we went into the studio in Brooklyn to record an album and I am very pleased with the results. The album features Eric's compositions, which he defines as 'Themes' as we generally start with the theme and improvise in and out of the composition. The album is titled "Chrysalis" and is being released by the OutNow record label.
I am very much looking forward to the album release performances scheduled for this fall.
Listen to a bit of the album and pick up a copy here on the OutNow Bandcamp page!
A nice short write up from an online jazz newsletter.
“Andrew’s baritone sound wonderful as a lead instrument and Marcescence is a meaningful release.”
-O’s Place Jazz Newsletter
"Andrew Hadro teams up with Julian Shore/p-key and deliver a mix of free flowing originals along with some modern creations to create a gorgeous and sublime musical tapestry. At a time when intuitive music tends towards cacophony, Hardo wisely steers clear of all pitfalls, using his serene baritone to create rich impressions..."
-George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
I was recently interviewed by Larry Kemp, for his excellent radio show, "The House That Jazz Built" on the WKUNM radio station. I really enjoyed speaking with Larry, his knowledge of music and music selection for his show is excellent.
You can listen below to the entire hour long interview including a number of cuts from the latest album.
There is a nice piece in DownBeat Magazine from an interview I did where we discussed being a DIY or Indie musician today. It was a pleasure discussing how I’ve chosen to make my way through today’s scene and how I hope I am taking a path somewhere different than other people.
Click here to download and read the article from the June 2018 issue of DownBeat Magazine. Article by Bill Milkowski.
Today, April 1st, is the 'official' release date for my second album. 🎉
I'll thank you in advance for the inevitable congratulations - I am fortunate to have kind internet friends, I do appreciate the sentiment very much.
April Fools seemed as fitting of a release date as any - release dates being mostly arbitrary vestiges of a once-existent jazz industry. The title of my album is Marcescence. Marcescence refers to when leaves die and wither upon a tree but do not fall off - My own semi-private joke about how it feels to study, practice and perform original acoustic music. I don't mean to be overly-bitter, but having a dark sense of humor seems to help with being a musician these days.
It's four years to the day since my first album released - It took over two full years to make this album. I wanted something I could keep going back to and work on until I felt it was done, rather than lining up a day in the studio and hoping for the best. (And why limit the self-deprecating torture of hearing yourself play to a single session when you can stretch it out for months?)
A lot of thought and production went into the album, but at the core of it, it is a duo album with my friend and pianist Julian Shore. While I am constantly in doubt of my own abilities and ideas, I trust Julian's taste and ears more than most things in my world. Rogerio Boccato was kind enough to add his percussion to the tracks that required more than I initially could foresee. Michael Perez-Cisneros is the first person to ever capture the sound of my saxophone in a way that matches what I want to hear in my head, the audio quality and sound of this album makes me as proud as the performance on it.
As with my first album, I recorded compositions I've collected from living composers. A couple of my own ideas, but mostly those of other people who write beautiful music that doesn't get heard as much as it could. I like the idea of recording, or re-recording others' works - Why must jazz artists all write AND compose? One could spend a lifetime dedicated to either pursuit.
I was recently interviewed by a journalist for an upcoming article in Downbeat Magazine about being an independent/DIY musician. So I've spent a lot of time thinking about the last 15 years I've spent in New York City working as a musician and damn near every other aspect of the music business as well. Many people marvel at my Jack of All Trades abilities - Web designer, production assistant, arranger, tech support, interviewer, graphic designer, composer, consultant, teacher, administrator, product specialist, saxophonist, editor, band leader, record label manager, crowd funding planner, distribution/shipping lackie - I would give it all up to be master of one - and am slowly shedding the parts I am fortunate to not need anymore. This history and ability to see so many different facets of music has just made me want to do something different with my output.
There is no Kickstarter. This album won't be on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, or Amazon. There aren't really liner notes. I sent it to only the few reviewers I respect or who were kind enough to listen to my last album. I won't be posting outside of my own site the inevitably positive reviews (has anyone read a jazz review that was incredibly negative recently?), and I won't boast to you how well its doing on the radio (although this I am actually genuinely optimistic and thankful for).
You can hear the album on my website. I don't expect you all to buy it, but as I said of my last album, if you think its good, buy it for a friend. This album will not reach the far corners of the universe, but I will be pleased if the people who appreciate beautiful sounds made with acoustic instruments hear and enjoy the album.
For those of you that made it this far, I invite you to my performance at the Cornelia St Cafe in New York City to celebrate the new work. Ingrid Jensen is kind enough to lend her beautiful sound as a special guest on Wednesday April 18th.
