Ed On The Web:
We just uploaded some new YT clips with that feature Mark Carlsen on bass and myself on vibes. Here's a link to a clip pf Jobim's Wave http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uggT_Z4DHFg
Vic Firth just finished editing this promotional clip for my Signature mallet (M38). The playing was taped at Berklee in one of the percussion department studios and the interview at the VF headquarters. Tunes in the clip are Black Orpheus and Somewhere Over The Rainbow on vibes and Ain't Misbehavin' and St. Thomas on marimba. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhCbJG43fWs
Hello everyone, I've been listening to Joe's new recording all this week. First of all, the musicianship of Joe, Geoffrey Keezer, Mike Pope and Terreon Gully is impeccable. That's a given. On top of that, the writing is beautiful and the so...und of the recording is fantastic. The vibes sound is excellent. Fat, round, with great clarity. You can hear all of Joe's nuance. Fantastic mix. There's a great clip up on YT of Joe soloing on his tune The Lost Lenore that was videotaped at the session. Check that out and you'll definitely want to get this recording. This is a killer band and recording. Ed
I'll be giving a clinic/concert on June 26th in Ocean Grove, NJ as part of Leigh Howard Stevens' 2nd World Vibe Congress. Other faculty include: Joe Locke, Dave Samuels, Christos Rafalides, Ed Smith and Anders Astrand. The event will take place from June 22-28th. For more info, here's the link: http://www.mostlymarimba.com/home/events/event/4-vibes_2011.html
I recently set up my new YouTube channel (edsaindonmarimba) for the purpose of posting some solo marimba performances featuring music from various genres. The marimba is a beautiful instrument that has a lot of depth and color from which to draw from and create many moods. While I'm known as primarily a vibist, I have always enjoyed playing the marimba. One thing that I especially like about the marimba versus the vibraphone is the expanded range and various possibilities with the lower range. Through the years on vibraphone, I've worked on developing a pianistic approach to mallet keyboard playing along with techniques that fully utilize the four mallets in solo playing. These techniques are fairly easy to transfer on marimba. In addition, some of the dampening and deadstrokes that are effective for playing the vibraphone are also effective on marimba. Playing piano since I began playing the vibraphone has been helpful when it comes to playing the marimba in terms of dealing with harmony, developing arrangements, orchestrating, use of counterpoint and improvising.
Through the years, I've had the pleasure of teaching quite a few wonderful marimbists at Berklee College of Music. With the marimbist's high level four mallet technique, well-developed musicality and great ears, I've been amazed at how quickly they grasp and apply the concepts. Some of my past students include: Hidemi Murase, Nanae Mimura, Pius Cheung, Eriko Daimo, Setsuno Kutsuno, Chieh Huang, Aya Shinozaki, Momo Ishikawa, Yui Koda, Alex Delgado, Jeremy Barnett,…
Some of the topics covered in the marimba lessons include Four Mallet Techniques, Theory and Harmony, Approaches in Developing Arrangements, Improvisational Concepts, Orchestration/Arranging Concepts (that utilize four mallets). Musical styles address American Folk Songs, Pop (The Beatles), Movie Themes, Jobim Bossas, Piazzolla Tangos, Choros, Latin, Contemporary Jazz (Jarrett, Corea, Metheny) and songs from the Great American Songbook (Gershwin, Porter, Carmichael,...).
Comments from Players:
Gary Burton: Ed, you sound terrific! Excellent, loose swinging melody lines, nice steady groove. And, a perfect example of a solo that develops, that unfolds like a story, instead of just being a collection of familiar phrases. I was captivated immediately and had to listen all the way to see where it was going to go. That's the way to do it.
Joe Locke: I don't know anyone who can do this, quite like this. GB is the 4 mallet man, but Ed is equally adept, using different vocabulary ... his own, plus some wonderful nods to the great pianists. And the thing that knocks me out about Ed is that this is only one aspect of his playing. Check out the YT vid of Green Dolphin St w/ Lieb to get another side.
I seriously think this should be transcribed by someone and then attempted by marimba players. I wonder who would be able to make the notes AND get close to the jazz feeling Ed has here. It'd be great to see some literature out there like this. Fantastic work, Ed!
In a recent interview, Joe raved about marimba player Ed Saindon, calling him “the guru of mallet jazz.” (“You’ve got to search ‘Saindon’ and ‘marimba’ on YouTube,” he enthused. FYI: I followed his advice, and the results are pretty cool.)
David Friedman: Quite beautiful Ed. You make the marimba sing!
Man, Ed, stupendous! I loved every note. It grooved, it swung and you made me tap my feet and my jaw at the same time, which was kind of a drag because I was eating a bowl of Müsli. (only kidding, of course.) How could I have missed this? Excellent!
Pius Cheung: Ed's imagination of music always transpires through his playing and teaching. The way he 'orchestrates' music through the marimba and/or vibes is astounding. He has certainly been an inspiration for me to learn how to use the marimba to it's best advantage, but never forgetting the true goal of artistic expression.
Nanae Mimura: I truly love Ed's marimba solo performances. I wish I could play like him! Ed's marimba playing is so musical and has so much groove. I'm hoping to go back to the US in 2013 and take more private lessons from Ed.
Eriko Daimo: One of the main reasons why I studied in Boston was to study with Ed Saindon. Ed is a very encouraging and heartwarming teacher. I am always inspired by him. I love the way he conceives music with no boundaries or barriers. He loves and plays Bach and Mozart just as well as he plays jazz standards. As a classical musician myself, that is most admirable. To quote Ed, "Music is music. It's all the same 12 notes."
Ed and his wife Pam had invited me and Pius Cheung to his house for Christmas. That was also something very special for me since I had never seen a "Real Christmas". I thought that was only on TV until I visited his house. It was also extremely nice of Pam and Ed to invite me to their house since I was an international student and didn't have a family in U.S.
Stefan Bauer: outstanding and beautiful, the piece, your playing, phrasing, time etc - really!!
Information regarding the scheduling of lessons and payment is available on my website under Music Education/Lessons. Here's the link: Private Lessons
