Jorge Polanuer

    Source: http://www.autores.org.ar/polanuer/index.htm

Like many sax players, I used to be a regular reader of the Saxophone Journal. In their September/October 2001 issue, the enclosed CD was a Rock Sax Masterclass by Argentinian-saxophonist, flutist, & composer, Jorge Polanuer.

    Source: dornpub.com/saxophonejournal 

I had never heard of Jorge before, but since I love rock & was working in a rock band at the time, I thought that this would be an interesting CD for a change. (By this I mean compared to what the Saxophone Journal usually was including with their mag.)

I put the CD in the stereo, and started putting my horn together. As soon as I started listening to the scales and phrases he was demonstrating, I was hooked. I loved Jorge’s playing.

To my ears, he seemed to combine a lot of regular rock sax conventions, with a certain laid-back feel & ease, that wasn’t as conventional in the hard-hitting rock genre. There was just something about Jorge’s style and approach to the music, that was a bit different.

This particular CD from the Saxophone Journal, was actually a good one for me and the styles of music I played. I liked it, and have used it a lot. I still use it to practice to. It’s a great way to keep all those scales we don’t play regularly with our bands, under our fingers.

Jorge has written a number of books, and I’ve been able to find 2 of them in music stores. (They are also currently available new on Amazon.com for under $20. Forget Amazon.ca! At the time of writing, they had none available, and the ones that were available through dealers, were over $200!!! WTF????)

Saxophone Styles is a very useful book for working on the various styles it mentions on the cover. But just as importantly, it is a lot of fun to play along with. 

The book contains both Eb and Bb parts, so if you play both pitches of horns, you don’t have to buy 2 books… Something I really like. (That’s a pet peeve of mine: Books that are available in both Eb and Bb versions, so you end up spending double if you happen to play tenor & bari, or soprano and alto.)   

Tango Solos for Saxophone, like Saxophone Styles, contains both Eb & Bb parts, but, as the title indicates, contains nothing but tangos. It too is a fun play along. I often use it as either a warm up, or a wind-down. (Playing along with this book actually reminds me of my days with the Latin band Cesar Morales y Sabor Latino. Had I had this book when I first joined that band, it would have been a very handy tool.)

Jorge Polanuer’s website is in Spanish, with unfortunately only 1 page in English. I was able to make some sense of the Spanish, (spending time with Cesar, some Spanish did rub off on me) but using a web page translator like Yahoo’s Babel Fish or Google Translate would be one way to read the content if the Spanish was non-sensical to you.

Jorge is one of those musicians who is very accomplished, but seemingly relatively unknown outside his own region. I’m glad he hit my radar screen 7 years ago, because his style of playing is a bit different.

If we’re open to change, those small differences we’re exposed to on a regular basis, will allow us to continue to grow & evolve as players. Because IMO, nothing is more boring, than being stagnant & complacent with where we’re at: No matter what style of music we play, or how well we play it.