Sharon Feinstein

I’ve been learning how to play Soul serenade- David Sanborn- and is Frank Walden the best saxophone teacher ever ? I think so. He doesn’t really have to bother with the likes of me and my struggle to practise and keep up with his incredibly fast mind and nimble saxophone fingers. but he does, and he doesn’t appear to be giving up.It’s officially been two years this Christmas and I have to say I didn’t even know what a reed was, a sling, a mouthpiece, how to read music properly and certainly not how to make a saxophone sound somewhat tuneful. He has painstakingly brought me to the point of David Sanborn- we’ve skipped by Van Morrison, my old favourite, as Frank thinks his sax playing leaves a whole lot to be desired, and in the end we had a laugh about it and I had to agree. One minute Frank’s backing Amy Winehouse at Coachella, or on tour with Tom Jones, or playing in a West End musical, and the next here he is in my study going through long notes, helping me get my embouchure stronger and discussing how I should structure my practise. We also head downstairs to the piano room and duet to pieces I’m learning and I get to improvise and play the blue note rather a lot. It’s a whole lot of fun in an otherwise grim journalistic day. Thanks Frank, you’re one in a million. Don’t let me give up.

The following video clip show Frank performing at Castle Stririn in the Czech Republic 14 months ago: