Happy Birthday Stan!

Stan Karp has influenced an entire generation of saxophone players in this city, maybe two. There would be a very lengthy list of people, from the rawest young talent to established veterans on the scene, who have spent a little or a lot of time with him. Some of the latter would include Cory Weeds, Jon Bentley and Chad Makela. The young lions would have to include Evan Arntzen, Jamie Campbell, Tyler Summers and Eli Bennett. A full list would be a pretty big undertaking.

I've known guys who've moved to Vancouver just to study with Stan, also guys who insist on staying here when their careers may be better served to move somewhere else, again just to stay with Stan.

Stan is a bit of an enigma. Only a handful of people have ever seen him gig, despite the fact that he is a fantastic player. He's funny. He's cool. He's a gifted teacher, having learned from the very best - Bill Green, Buddy Collette, Joe Henderson. It was Joe that told him that he should teach and that's the path that he chose. I am convinced he could write the definitive book on how to play saxophone.

In over 10 years, I can't say that I've seen him give me a "bad" lesson, not when he had pneumonia, not when he had congestive heart failure. If the lessons were bad, it was not on his part, but mine. And on reflection, all of those ones were some of my most valuable. He never gives less than his very best if you walk through the door willing to learn and work at it. During some of my most important lessons, we never played a note.

Stan has a way of saying things that will stay with you forever. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of the saxophone. He is very intuitive with his teaching method, often zeroing in on what needs to be worked on, almost before you walk in the door. He constantly explores new angles, new avenues, new philosophies towards playing. He loves his students deeply. And he can outplay any of them.

He's turning 60 in a couple of weeks, and it was a major undertaking to pull of a surprise party. He thought he was coming to a gig by Eli Bennett, fresh back from his performances at the Grammy awards. Instead, there was a roomful of his longtime friends and students. He prides himself in always being in the know, but ringleaders Jenna and Bob got him this time.

Jerry Cooke put together a fine little R&B band. Jerry was sounding mighty fine, and was a deliberate choice because he wasn't ever a student of Stan's. The evening was meant to be fun (it was), not a jam session. The only other player to bring a horn was Eli, and everyone wanted to hear him. He played with a maturity way beyond his years and has come light years under Stan's guidance. He's a sweet guy and a great player at age 17.

Without a doubt, the most talked-about gift was a new horn from Sandro and the boys at Massullo Music. A KEYLESS SAXOPHONE! This is one strange-looking beast. No doubt Stan will be playing Donna Lee on it in a month, and will have developed a whole new teaching methodology within two.

Even though Stan's retiring this year from teaching at Cap College, he intends to be around for a long time, continuing to inspire, educate and love his students. I'm sure there were plenty more guys who couldn't make it last night because they were out gigging. We all love Stan. Certainly anyone who has been reading my blog will know my admiration for this guy. Things would most definitely have unfolded very differently had I not started studying with him back in October 1996. I can't imagine that I would have had many of the experiences that I've been writing here for the last nine months. I owe much of it to him.