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Harvey Kaiser

Began to play the saxophone in 1956;Played blues & r&r in high school (1960-64) liked O.Coleman.Heard Ben Webster in 1964 & decided to play the tenorsaxophone.Taught reading @ IS88 NYC & studied w/ Joe Henderson;Met Dexter Gordon in Copenhagen in 1970 & thanked him;Met Sonny Stitt in NYC in 1975, thanked him, and played forhim until he passed ( see Downbeat: Caught in The Act Feb'75 )Met Bobby Johnson Jr. in 1978 and worked with him until hispassing June '01.Co-founded the Kansas City Sound in 1995 with Bill Crow andincluded all my friends: Ed Diehl, Gene Randolph, Marvin B.Smith, Taro Okamoto,Ray Mosca,Joel Bishop O'Brien , Billy Alfred, Mike Kull, Marty Napoleon,Roswell Rudd, Eddie Bert,Fred Jacobs, Fred Smith, BobbyJohnson Jr,Ron Finck, Hugh Brodie,Walter Booker, AllenMurphy,Matt Finck,Larry Packer,Kitt Potter,GlendaDavenport,Rita Kaiser,Josh Schneider,Gary Sloane,RobBlumenthal,Tootsie Bean,Larry Moses,Dennis Makrell,IraColeman,Thurman Barker,Bubba Brooks,Cameron Brown. ( That's a lot of friends wholike to swing !) Some have passed on ; the music keepsliving on. It's visited by greatness.Current sub-set is called "The KC Four & More"

Awards

'The Art of Sax' : Luminarie Publishing

Gear

Selmer Paris Saxophones: Mark VI & VII; Haynes Flute; Selmer Centertone Clarinet

Tags

Harvey Kaiser saxophone, tenor

'He unleashed a ...fresh...solo that anyone would have been proud of playing....Sonny (Stitt) likes him & it's easy to hear why !" Scott Albin : Caught in The Act : Downbeat: 02/75 "Harvey's playing starts with a great respect for Lester Young, but doesn't imitate him. His sound on all his instruments is more vigorous than Lester's. He is a strider, not a floater, a Pavarotti rather than a Sinatra. He is bold, clear, agile and resonant, and his sense of humor accompanies his sense of artistic design. Here he has chosen material that ranges from Armstrong to Monk, and in his imaginative renditions he always speaks in his own unique voice

Primary Instrument

Saxophone, tenor

Location

Poughkeepsie

Willing to teach

Advanced only

Credentials/Background

Dynamic Breath Control, from Carmine Caruso; The Dominant 7th System of Tonal Organization , from Joe Henderson Methodo Solfeo, from Maestro Alberto Soccaras Availability flexible; sliding scale; some beginners / intermediate accepted