I am being featured today on the front-page of SXSW.com – thank you SXSW! For those of you new to my music, welcome, and please have a look around. Be sure to check out my recordings, and if you are going to be in Austin for SXSW, I’ll be playing Friday night, March 16 at The Elephant Room. Time is still TBD but check back here often for updates. I’m also on Facebook where you can preview my music and on Twitter. I look forward to connecting with you!
I have been teaching students on and off for about 15 years now and although I don’t keep a full studio, I do have room for a few dedicated individuals. If you are interested in taking your playing to the next level, visit my saxophone lessons page and drop me a line. Even if you live outside of the Central Texas area, I have successfully given online lessons via Skype and email. I look forward to hearing from you. 3Z3653XSGM3T
February shows have been posted to the Shows tab and also on the Facebook BandPage. Highlights include performances with the Bob Meyer Concept Orchestra and the Pete Rodriguez Quintet.
Voting for the Austin Chronicle Music poll is over and I want to thank all of you who participated on my behalf. I’m honored! The poll itself is a popularity contest, there’s no masking that. Its outcome is not correlated to talent and in my mind the winners are not the “best” at anything other than effectively mobilizing their supporters to vote for them. For years, I struggled with this and refused to participate in the annual ritual of self-promotion because I believed that my music would be recognized by those who appreciate and understand it. I did not need a poll or contest to validate my artistic worth. I even peered down my nose, scoffing at those who blatantly campaigned for votes, thinking “how sad it is that THOSE people, who clearly aren’t as talented as others, have to prostrate themselves in order to try and rank in a popularity contest. How embarrassing!” Yes, I did feel that way until I made a pretty significant realization about myself and the business of music.
What music people like or don’t like is purely subjective. You can love or hate Coldplay – up to you. You can argue for hours on the merits of Katy Perry but in the end, you like her music or you don’t. Many artists who slave away for years and years and put thousands of hours into their craft have a hard time rationalizing this. Hours of practice time, pain and artistic suffering is a cool story but it won’t make people love your music (nor should it). Putting my ego aside and realizing this freed me from my musical snobbery and in fact, helped me to appreciate even more the hard work bands do to get noticed. And here’s the really important point I want to make:
Bands who succeed today are great at marketing and how good or bad the music is has absolutely nothing to do with a great marketing plan.
So in a nutshell – 1. get over yourself and 2. start marketing your music. And we’ll revisit this topic again next year when I ask for your vote again 
Thanks everyone.
Hello friends, it’s that time of year again. Would you take a moment to vote in the Austin Chronicle Music Poll? It’s easy and helps me spread the word about my music. Simply click the link below, fill out your info and scroll down to Best Performing Bands–>Jazz and enter my name. Next, scroll down to Best Austin Musicians–>Horn Player(s) and enter my name. Thanks for your consideration!
Austin Chronicle Music Poll
Eli and Alejandro
I recently had the opportunity to go into the studio for Alejandro Escovedo’s latest recording which is due out April of 2012. Producing the session was Tony Visconti who played bass and recorded with David Bowie for over 12 years (including some of his biggest hits like Fame, Young Americans, etc.). My partner in crime was Mr. Ephraim Owens on trumpet and I even played bari sax on a couple of cuts thanks to friend Scotty McIntosh who let me use his horn.
I first came to know about Alejandro way back in the 80′s when he was playing with the True Believers, an Austin super group featuring 3 guitar players (including Jon Dee Graham). Over the years, he’s recorded many, many great records under his own name and has become an Austin legend – playing with the likes of Bruce Springsteen and touring the country constantly. I first started playing with Alejandro last spring when Ephraim asked me to play at SXSW for Alejandro’s big show at the San Jose Hotel.
Eli and Ephraim
The session took place at Jim Eno’s studio called Public Hi-Fi and it was a really quick, fun day. Jim plays drums with Spoon and has built a really cool spot that is comfortable and sounds great. Tony was incredibly quick as he and guitarist David Pulkingham came up with the horn parts on the spot and Ephraim and I put them down. It’s days like this where the stars align and you feel like anything is possible as a musician. If only there were more opportunities like this! At this point in my life, however, I know that these are rare moments so I took a bunch of pictures and tried to take it all in. Alejandro asked us to play SXSW again this Spring so look for us on stage in the parking lot of the San Jose Hotel in a few months. Happy New Year!
As 2011 closes and we move toward a new year, I wish you all the very best and hope you have a healthy, prosperous 2012. It’s been a whirl-wind couple of months but I’m so fortunate to have been able to make some great jazz saxophone music along the way.
Dr. James Polk telling one of his famous stories
One of the highlights for me was the ability to go into the recording studio with Dr. James Polk, Austin jazz icon and former musical director for Ray Charles for many years. Dr. Polk played on my first CD, Standards, and I was thrilled to be able to have him play on my latest effort. Recorded in two days at Churchhouse Studios just before Thanksgiving, the new CD will feature Dr. Polk on Hammond B3 organ, Jake Langley on guitar, Daniel Durham on bass and Scott Laningham on drums.
The program features two new original compositions and eight standards that I arranged for the group. In contrast to my last CD Dream Story, which features all original compositions and is heavily influenced by the nuanced style of Wayne Shorter, this CD is very accessible, swinging and just feels good. Nothing wrong with that!
I’m going back into the studio next week to mix the recording and I hope to have it ready to release sometime in Feb or March – before SXSW. If you are interested in participating in this recording with me, please consider joining Patronism.com where 100% of your subscription goes to finishing this CD. Thanks for reading and enjoy your holiday!
Hello friends, the jazz saxophone concert Casa Karen concert was a huge success! Thanks to the great audience who really made it a special night and to the musicians, Bruce Saunders, Angelo Lembesis, Daniel Durham, and Steve Schwelling who played beautifully. Finally big thanks to George Oldziey and Suzi Stern for opening their wonderful space to us so we could perform.
I’ve added my performances for December on the Shows page which includes a date this Friday, December 9 at The Elephant Room. The band features Pete Rodriguez on trumpet, Scott Laningham on drums, Daniel Durham on bass and Ben Irom on piano. We start at 9:30pm and play ’til the wee hours. Hope to see you tomorrow night.
I’m pleased to announce that on Saturday, December 3, The Elias Haslanger Quintet featuring Angelo Lembesis, Bruce Saunders, Steve Schwelling and Daniel Durham will play an exclusive concert at Casa Karen, one of Austin’s finest listening rooms.
The Casa Karen concert series is produced by George Oldziey and Suzi Stern, fantastic musicians in their own right, who have carefully created the perfect listening environment. The setting is George and Suzi’s living room, where listeners are up-close and personal with the musicians and without the usual distractions of bar talk, wait-staff or less-than-ideal seating. Every seat is perfect and the room is filled with the amazing sounds of the 9-foot grand piano which is really something to hear.
Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 7:30pm. Tickets are $20. Free refreshments and treats of all sorts! Casa Karen is located at 7402 Greehaven Dr 78757 call for more info and reservations which are recommended: 512-459-9900 credit card payment accepted. This series is very popular and seating is limited so please, call now for reservations.
Hello friends, I’m running a bit behind this month but I have posted my November performances on the Shows page. Highlights include a November 18 gig on alto sax playing the part of Cannonball for a birthday tribute to Nat Adderly.
I also will be featuring two fantastic musicians on my November 11 gig at the Elephant Room: Peter Stoltzman on piano and Pete Rodriguez on trumpet. Mr. Stoltzman, an accomplished pianist has recently accepted a teaching job in Chicago but he’s back for a rare appearance. Mr. Rodriguez has recently returned to us from NYC and is a true talent on trumpet.
Finally, I was asked to sit in with the Bo-Keys, a Memphis-soul band, at the Continental Club this month on November 10. Full horn section with a serious groove.