Free Improvisation: A Practical Guide
Tom Hall, a graduate of New England Conservatory, is an improvising saxophonist and music teacher. He has been teaching free improvisation ensembles at Brandeis University since 1997 and has conducted improvisation classes at New England Conservatory,   Wellesley College, the Royal Conservatory, and the Rotterdam Conservatory.Tom has played saxophone professionally since he was seventeen. He is a co-founder of Your Neighborhood Saxophone Quartet, and has performed and recorded throughout the world in a wide variety of musical styles. Whether he s playing Jazz, Blues, Rap, Rock, Folk, Funk, Latin, or R&B;, what has always fascinated Tom most is not the differences between musical styles, but what they all have in common - the process of improvisation.Performing and studying with actors, dancers, and visual artists has shown Tom that improvisation is a creative process common not only to all music, but to all creative endeavors.In addition to teaching and performing, Tom has served as curator for Cultural Constructions, a concert series which creates the opportunity for musicians from different cultures to improvise, compose, and perform together. Currently, Tom produces The Sessions, an improvised music series that brings together great improvisers from all styles of music and sets them loose in a free improvisatory setting.