Säx by Tyler James Cook

I recorded 🎷Säx🎷 sometime in 2004--I think. I composed several pieces for what I hoped to be a breakthrough EP/demo of both my composing and my saxophone playing. I even went so far as to create a fake band, much like the band Gorillaz, with cartoonish "members" of my enigmatic saxophone quartet.

A buddy of mine, Paul Riechman (who went on to become a sound engineer of some note) was just learning sound recording and production and was already quite good. I asked him to record me, which he graciously did for free.

I recorded one track at a time. At that point, I had little concept of a "click track," but we eventually figured that out by way of a metronome, which (as I recall) Paul recorded. I then played my parts over that.

The overall jankiness of this EP--the cracked notes, the heavy breathing, the horrendous intonation--are the result of my poor playing and timing, not to Paul's inabilities as a studio engineer. Still, there is something charming about these amateurish forays into multi-track recording.

The result was 🎷Säx🎷, a collection of saxophone quartet pieces written for two alto and two tenor saxophones (I lacked easy access to baritone saxophone, so I couldn't incorporate it). I engaged in some of my earliest guerilla marketing with this release, urging friends to put the phrase "Säx is coming..." in their AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) "away" messages. A surprising number of people did.

I also ruined a perfectly good white t-shirt by writing "Säx '04: Last Tour Ever" on it. Or maybe it was my neighborhood friend's kid brother's shirt. Regardless, a shirt was ruined.

Of course, in those days, I was totally ignorant about digital distribution--or even physical! Bandcamp was still four years off; YouTube did not exist; and Facebook was in its infancy (and I didn't join it until 2005). I think I just burned a few CD-Rs and wrote "Säx" on them with a Sharpie.

A few people listened to it, and more probably chucked the CD into the trash or underneath their car seat.

I found the old 🎷Säx🎷 files and decided to re-release the bulk of the EP. Some of the pieces I composed for it were too difficult for me to play, so I scrapped them. One bonus track is available with this download, but it's too much of a rip-off of a famous artist's song for me to distribute it through other streaming services. You'll just have to buy the EP to hear it!

So, sit back, relax, and drift back to the halcyon days of 2004, when a doughy young college sophomore recorded sax quartet pieces in his friend's sweltering attic in South Carolina.

Tracklist

1.	Ancient Story	4:23

2.	Experiment in 7	2:09

3.	Gospel Pop Sentiment	3:21

4.	Jack Black Jack	1:41

5.	Middle Class White Kid Blues	2:14

6.	The Greatest Schmo on Earth	2:30

Credits

released August 1, 2004

License