Easy Funk Play-Along: Tenor Saxophone: Saxophone Book & CD

Playful and grounded. These tunes have personality; titles like Funkasaurus Rex and Eat Your Greens hint at Harlow's irreverent energy without being silly. The grooves breathe, the rhythms sit comfortably under the fingers, and the recorded accompaniment sounds like musicians having fun rather than a machine playing back parts.

Intermediate saxophonists who are ready to improvise but don't need theoretical heavy lifting. This works equally well for students discovering funk in jazz ensemble or soloists building a gigging repertoire.

• Keep the eighth-note pocket tight with the drums on the recording. Funk lives or dies on where you sit relative to the beat, so lock in early and resist the urge to push ahead.
• Treat the head as a conversation starter, not the destination. Leave space for call and response between your solo lines and the rhythm section.
• Listen to the keyboard and bass interplay while you're improvising. They outline the harmonic movement and give you a safety net for exploring without getting lost.
• Articulate cleanly on the downbeats of your phrases. Funk demands definition; slurred or lazy tonguing will bury the groove.

Drop one or two of these into a pops concert to give your jazz band a gear shift from the standard big band fare. They also work as solo features for advancing students at spring recitals, with the CD providing professional-level backing that makes even first-time soloists sound polished.

• Improvising over funk grooves in straight eighths and sixteenths
• Recognizing and responding to harmonic changes in real time
• Locking rhythm section feel and pocket placement
• Building solo phrases with space and call-and-response
• Articulation clarity and tonguing definition in contemporary styles