Ed On The Web:
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
We just created a new YouTube channel featuring clips of me playing solo marimba. I'm planning to record and upload more clips that will feature solo marimba as well as marimba along with percussion and drum set. The clips will cover a variety of styles. Subscribers to my new YouTube channel will receive notification of new uploaded clips. The YouTube channel name is: edsaindonmarimba Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/edsaindonmarimba. All of my vibraphone and marimba videos can also be viewed on my website as well.
Thanks.
Ed
We just uploaded 15 clips from my Boston Sunday brunch gig at 75 Chestnut Street with clarinetist Bill Novick. Gustavo shot and uploaded the footage from his front row table at the restaurant. I played this gig for many years with the great Herb Pomeroy. Playing Sunday brunches through the years with Herb was my Sunday school education. Billy is an inspiration to play with and we always have a blast. The crowd noise might be a little loud at times but we have no problem with it. The customers and people that work at the restaurant are always nice. As I mentioned many times, duo playing is my favorite kind of playing. Here are a list of the tracks that can be viewed from my website (under Videos) or on my YouTube Channel here:
Easy Living, How Insensitive, Everything I Love, It Could Happen To You, Don't Get Around Much Anymore, Stella By Starlight, Bluesette, Moon River, The Days Of Wine And Roses, Pennies From Heaven, Invitation, Triste, Chega De Saudade, Chelsea Bridge, Liebeslied
For anyone that would like to take a private lesson and can't make the trip to Boston, I'm now available for lessons via Skype. Areas covered in the lessons include: technique (fulcrum grip, dampening skills, approaches to sticking, utilization of four mallets), solo playing concepts, improvisational techniques, comping (voicing techniques and concepts), jazz theory, repertoire development, how to practice,...For more information, please go here.
Joe and I played a duo concert at Berklee College of Music in Boston on Tuesday, July 26th. It was a special treat for me to have Joe come to Berklee and play duo vibes with him. Joe's playing, as always, was simply incredible. We had a nice hang (along with Gustavo Agatiello) at the house for a few days prior to the concert.
We had such a receptive and supportive audience. Many of the vibe students and local vibists were in attendance as well as marimbist/Berklee faculty member Nancy Zeltsman. It was a treat to have our good friends Christos Rafalides and Mike Blake there. Christos, Mike and his son Drew drove up from NYC. Vibist Andrew Nittoli came up from Philadelphia.
Here's the set list: Love is a Planchette, Hope, Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams, Blackbird, Snowfall in Central Park, Jitterbug Waltz, Stella By Starlight.
We had hired someone to videotape the concert, but unfortunately they totally dropped the ball. The good news is that Gustavo brought his FlipVideo camera and recorded the concert. I'm very thankful that he did and the music was documented. The entire concert footage is now up on my YouTube channel. We numbered the tracks and left in the talking in order to be able to view the entire concert as we performed it. We hope you enjoy the footage. Joe and I are very pleased about the performance. Ed
Ed's YouTube Channel
We are looking forward to Joe Locke's visit to Berklee on Tuesday, July 26th. Joe will be here for a concert in the David Friend Recital Hall (921 Boylston St, Boston) at 4 on the 26th. Joe and I will be playing a duo concert featuring two vibes. We'll be playing a mix of originals as well as other tunes including Blackbird, Shenandoah and classics from the Great American Songbook. Admission is free and open to the public.
We just added a new post on All Things Vibraphone. A Joe Locke solo on Coltrane's tune Satellite. Gustavo did a great job with the transcription and analysis. We also have a videoclip of Joe playing the solo. Beautiful lines by Joe as always played with incredible fluidity. The post can be viewed on Facebook or Blogspot. Here are the links:
Facebook
Blogspot
We just added another post to All Things Vibraphone. This one is a one chorus solo on Coltrane's Giant Steps. The solo technique uses the juxtaposition of major pentatonic and symmetrical diminished scales. You can either view it on All Things Vibraphone via Facebook or Blogspot. Here are the links:
Facebook
Blogspot
We have recently added the ability to purchase Ed's CDs directly on this site. Click here to see the current selection. We will be adding new products soon so keep checking the news for updates.
We just added an article to the website titled Harmonic Practices. The article covers harmonic principles that can be applied in the context of improvisation.
We just added a new post on All Things Vibraphone. The post is a chord melody solo to the standard You Are Too Beautiful. Here's the link: http://allthingsvibraphone.blogspot.com/2011/04/chord-melody-you-are-too-beautiful.html
We just added a new post on All Things Vibraphone. The post is Four Note Groupings on Rhythm Changes. It is an improv technique that generates interesting lines which sound rich tensions over the underlying harmony. It is prevalently used by such pianists as Kenny Kirkland, Joey Calderazzo and Chick Corea. Here's the link: http://allthingsvibraphone.blogspot.com/2011/04/four-note-groupings-on-rhythm-changes.html
We just created a site for vibists called All Things Vibraphone. It includes videos, articles, transcriptions and other things related to vibe's playing. Here's the link: http://allthingsvibraphone.blogspot.com
Photo with Berklee College of Music president Roger Brown taken at faculty award ceremony which took place on February 16th at the Skywalk - Prudential Center Boston. It's been a pleasure and privilege to have been teaching at the college for 35 years.
Hello everyone, I started a Facebook vibraphone page in order to post and share things related to the vibes. Possible topics to post and discuss: videos, improvisational techniques, mallet technique, concepts on solo vibe playing, comping ...The Facebook page is called All Things Vibraphone. Here's the link to check it out: All Things Vibraphone
We just added a new article on Chord Scale Theory to the list of articles here on the website. The articles are listed under Music Education/Articles.
We just added an article titled "Chord Tone Soloing" to the site. The article is located at Music Education - Articles. The article discusses improvisational concepts and techniques using only chord tones in improvisation and also includes a chord tone based solo on Coltrane's Moment's Notice.
We just added an interactive feature to the website.
Under the ShopTalk section, players can respond and ask questions on specific topics. So far, the topics are on The Fulcrum Grip and Four Note Groupings.
The Fulcrum Grip is a grip which incorporates the use of fingers in four mallet vibes playing. I have been working on this grip for quite awhile and it has influenced my playing in a very big way. I discuss some of the basics and nuances of the grip. There's an article from the Percussive Arts Society magazine Percussive Notes which vibists can access as well as a YouTube clip of me explaining and demonstrating the grip from my Paris Conservatory clinic.
Four Note Groupings is an improvisational concept used by many saxists and pianists such as John Coltrane, Jerry Bergonzi, Chick Corea, Joey Calderazzo, Kenny Kirkland and Dave Kikoski. We have a nice videoclip of Joe Locke playing two choruses on Stella By Starlight. The solo uses four note groupings exclusively and players can read the solo as Joe is playing it.
Come by and check out the topics and feel free to add your responses and/or questions. I'll be glad to offer my critique and suggestions if anyone would like to post a YouTube clip of them demonstrating any of the topics in ShopTalk. They can also email me a solo using the four note grouping concept and I can check it out and offer my critique.
We'll be adding more topics in the upcoming months.
Best,
Ed
Check out Ed's latest Twitter updates at http://twitter.com/edsaindon.
We just uploaded new clips from a Berklee College of Music Percussion Festival concert which took place this past June in Boston. The concert featured Guitar Department Chairman Larry Baione and myself on vibes. I've known Larry for many years and it's always great to get together and play. Duo playing is often my favorite way of playing. The music can change on a dime and the level of listening and interaction can be so spontaneous and intense. We had a lot of fun at this concert. Here is the set list of the concert: Jitterbug Waltz, Sweet Lorraine, Triste, Wrap Your Troubles In Your Dreams, Autumn Leaves and All The Things You Are. All of the clips can be viewed in the Video section of my website or on my YouTube page.
We just posted a new recording of Ed Saindon (vibes) and Larry Baione (guitar) performing a concert as part of Berklee College of Music's Percussion Festival during June 2010.
We have added a Guestbook to the website. We're also planning on adding an interactive ShopTalk which will allow posting back and forth on musical and mallet related issues. Come on by and leave a message on the Guestbook!
Click here to download an upcoming article in the July issue of the Percussive Arts Society magazine Percussive Notes. The article title is "The Healing" and discusses the recording session of Depth of Emotion with Dave Liebman as well as the compositional aspects of my original composition The Healing. You can listen to a clip of The Healing here.
We just added a new article available for download. The article is titled Four Note Groupings, Part Two and will be in the upcoming June issue of The Percussive Arts Society magazine Percussive Notes. The article is an excerpt from my new book on improvisation which I'm in the process of finishing.
Videoclips from an April 6th quartet gig featuring Rick DiMuzio - sax, Bruno Raberg - bass, Mark Walker - drums and myself on vibes are being uploaded to YouTube. The clips feature a variety of standards along with some of my originals. The clips can be viewed on my website under Videos or on my page on YouTube. The videoclip on this page of the website features the quartet playing Fats Waller's Jitterbug Waltz.