Mark Maxwell Music

How To Create More Romance In Your Life

Mark — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:32:59 +0000

Ah, romance, that wonderful and exciting feeling, that most glorious intertwining of two hearts. So intense, such a high, but so fleeting, and so often for so many once gone never to return. But does it have to be that way? Can we intentionally create and sustain more romance in our lives? Most folks [...]

The Saxophone Loves You

Mark — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:46:42 +0000

As a saxophonist and recording artist who’s out and about quite a bit, I constantly hear from people who tell me how the sound of the saxophone effects them in their hearts, their souls, and their lives. There is something about the sound of the saxophone that has a clear and profound effect on [...]

7 Reasons Why Music Is So Important

Mark — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:37:17 +0000

Everyone loves music. Music is everywhere, it pervades our world. Everyone knows music has power and importance. But have you ever stopped to consider why? What it is about music that gives it so much power and importance?

Composing Smooth Jazz: Evolution of a New Song – Transcendance, Part 4

Mark — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 06:32:51 +0000

(Part 3 can be found here.) Next, I started doing something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time. In the sequencer that I use, Digital Performer, I have installed a plugin sampler called MachFive. And in MachFive you have the ability to load any sound into it and then trigger that sound on your keyboard. In [...]

Composing Smooth Jazz: Evolution of a New Song – Transcendance, Part 3

Mark — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 06:12:23 +0000

(Part 2 can be found here.) A big part of what I do with any song I’m composing is edit sound files. This is where I take recorded parts, cut them up into smaller pieces, then move them around so they are exactly the way I want them. (I can spend hours doing this kind of [...]

Composing Smooth Jazz: Evolution of a New Song – Transcendance, Part 2

Mark — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 06:07:23 +0000

(Part 1 can be found here.) Now that I’ve got a good working groove going, I can start to actually design the song with chord changes and melody that way I originally heard it and described it on that envelope. It’s time now to compose bass and keyboard parts that incorporate the chord changes that I’m hearing. [...]

Composing Smooth Jazz: Evolution of a New Song – Transcendance, Part 1

Mark — Fri, 29 May 2009 16:08:55 +0000

Composting smooth jazz music is, for me, a never-ending process. It comes to me in a variety of ways, and sometimes, when I least expect it. Recently, while driving back and forth to a show over several days, I came up with a song in my head. I thought it would be interesting to chronicle the evolution of this song, so I'm going to make notes as I go along and share them with you.

Performing Smooth Jazz Saxophone: Grant Reeves

Mark — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:13:12 +0000

Before you read this entry, start this song: Just Tell Me The Truth I know this guy, a friend of mine, a sax player, lives in the Sacramento area. His name is Grant Reeves. Grant is an amazing guy. In a number of ways, actually, but the way I’m thinking about at the moment is his arranging and [...]

Love Music YouTube Video

admin — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:48:26 +0000

I recently ran across a YouTube video someone had put together that features a song of mine, I Give You My Love And My Life, from my CD Sweet Sax. This YouTube post is from a Bay Area woman named Luba. The words are Polish. Here’s a translation: When you find a true friendship, care for it [...]

Smooth Jazz Saxophone Pioneer: Eddie Harris

Mark — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:58:56 +0000

Eddie Harris (1933-1996) was an amazing saxophonist and musician, an inventor and innovator, an educator, a savvy and successful businessman, a masterful performer, a fierce individualist, and a true smooth jazz pioneer. Eddie Harris is not a super-famous sax man. He's not someone that gets mentioned a lot when you ask sax players who they listen to or are influenced by. But when you consider his career and his achievements, and the pervasive influence of his style and technological innovations, it becomes clear that Eddie Harris was a major force in the evolution of jazz/funk/blues fusion music, i.e., the forerunner of smooth jazz. Eddie Harris, smooth jazz saxophone pioneer Eddie Harris is not a super-famous sax man. He's not someone that gets mentioned a lot when you ask sax players who they listen to or are influenced by. But when you consider his career and his achievements, and the pervasive influence of his style and technological innovations, it becomes clear that Eddie Harris was a major force in the evolution of jazz/funk/blues fusion music, i.e., the forerunner of smooth jazz.