A recipe for saxophonist survival

First you take a legitimate career as a pro saxophone player, then you add a career as a saxophone teacher; and what that adds up to is a means for survival, here in Petaluma, as a musician in 2015. In a perfect world, the 55 years of playing experience across the globe and in many varied genres would allow David Sydney Scott to make a comfortable living solely performing his music. However, after arriving in Petaluma in 1990, Scott decided to rethink his money-gathering strategy. He added the mentoring of beginner and intermediate reed players to his regular schedule, as an integral piece to his income equation.

In 1959, David Scott was 19 and made the big leap, leaving his native Australia to further his career as a saxophone player, singer and band leader. He had no idea how long and winding his road would be. Criss-crossing the globe and chasing his musical dream has allowed him the rare opportunity to bring music and dance to many delighted audiences. The icing on that cake is that the music has always been far from the maddening drone of the top-40 world. The bands he’s chosen to play with, and the groups he’s formed, have always found ways to treat the crowds to sounds, laced with authentic musical influences from around the world.

I wanted to find out Scott’s methodology for the seamless mixing and blending of two careers, and invited him to give me an interview focusing on that subject.

SB: Can you explain to the readers your thought process when you decided to add teaching to your nightclub and touring schedule? (In addition to gigs here in The Bay Area Scott regularly performs up and down the west coast.)

DSS: “As a sax player, I had always sought out teachers in whatever town I happened to be living and working in. Getting a professional’s take on my playing has always been the best way I’ve discovered to move my playing to the next level. And I wanted to pass that opportunity on to the next generation of players. Secondly, Petaluma had less paying gig opportunities than are available in the larger metropolitan centers I’d been in. I figured teaching would provide the needed second source of income.”

SB: What do you do with your students to get them excited about their instrument and the seemingly endless learning process?

DSS: “Jazz is the connecting rod for me. Even kids that have no jazz background are able to embrace the jazz mood. Those moods and melodies, that originated came from New Orleans, don’t seem to be bound by normal generational limitations. I introduce the student to more than just structure by letting them pick a song (any song) for us to perfect during the lesson and practice sessions.”

SB: How do you market yourself as a teacher?

DSS: “At the moment, I’m working with The Cannon School of music in Sonoma. In addition, ‘word-of-mouth’ from former students has always been my best billboard. I also have a small teaching group called Zizoo that does concerts and workshops in the local elementary schools. We show the kids the instruments up close and personal; and hopefully give them the basic tools to develop a life-long love of music.”

Going back to Scott’s life as a player, his current band Gator Nation delivers the joy and dance fever of a 24/7 Mardi Gras party down in the bayou. He also plays with a quartet called Dorian Mode, a local eclectic jazz group - plus another group called Collaboration, where he mixes selections (standards) from The Great American Songbook with American pop. Scott’s hard-driving sax solos and lyrical and beautifully executed flute-playing contain the same degree of excitement he instills in all his students. That same contagious excitement seems to be the main ingredient in Scott’s ability to juggle a successful double career path. Play on DSS!

To contact David Sydney Scott: call 338-4407. To contact Sonoma Music School, call 996-7661.

(Sheldon Bermont is a longtime Petaluma musician. He can be reached by email at smb@sbermont writer.com)