lee konitz

Saxophonist Educator and Composer, Dr. Woody Witt, is a Professor of Music at Houston Community College and is the Instructor of Saxophone at the University of Houston Moores School of Music. 

He got his Masters degree in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas, where he taught saxophone and jazz methods.

As a jazz artist, Woody has had the opportunity to perform and record with Randy Brecker, Billy Hart, David Kikoski, and Tim Hagans among countless others.

In Fall 2023, Witt released his first book/video project of standards based jazz etudes, Stream of Consciousness, inspired by techniques he uses for himself and his students.

Woody has been a performing artist for Eastman Saxophones since 2018, and was integral in the design and testing of the Eastman Saxophones Rue St George and the new 52nd Street 852 model with Bob Mintzer and Ryan Richmond.

The link to his full biography, along with more links for this episode, is on our website.

In this episode, we talked about:

• How Woody got into music
• Improvisation tip
• Importance of melody audience connection
• Effects of social media on music
• The process of writing a dissertation Sonny Stitt
• And more!

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Brad Linde is a tenor and soprano saxophonist based in Washington, D.C., where he’s known as “the capital city’s contemporary cool king” (Giovanni Russonello, Capitalbop).

The North Carolina native regularly performs at the Sharp Nine Gallery, the Cave, and other venues in the Triangle. 

Brad spoke with host Xara Wilde and guest co-host Peter Burke of Locavore Jazz in Carrboro a few hours before his performance at the Cave in Chapel Hill. The quartette (featuring Danny Grewen on trombone, Casey Toll on bass, and TJ Maiani on drums) paid tribute to Eli “Lucky” Thompson (1924–2005), a tenor and soprano saxophonist known for incorporating swing and bebop elements into his music. 

The interview also took place during the 46th Carolina Jazz Festival and 17th North Carolina Regional Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Festival (February 16–18, 2023) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Brad had just returned from the Elon Jazz Festival with Georgetown Day School, where he’s the director of jazz and creative music. 

Brad is the founder of the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra, a 17-piece big band. He studied music at Elon University and UNC–Chapel Hill for his bachelor’s, and he earned a Master of Music from the University of Maryland, College Park. 

(Episode photo by Joe Crocetta)

Music credits

This episode features the songs “Just One Of Those Things,” by the Brad Linde Ensemble with Lee Konitz (BRADLEE, 2021), and “Ball Poppin,’” by Brad Linde’s Team Players (Just the Tip: Swinging Songs by Team Players, 2022). 

This season features the songs “Forged in Rhythm” and “Callous & Kind” byKeenan McKenzie & The Riffers (2017), used by Six Count with permission from the artist. 

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If you’d like to support Six Count, you can make a gift on DonorBox or Venmo @thexarawilde. Follow Six Count on Instagram at @sixcountpodcast and Xara Wilde on Facebook and Instagram @thexarawilde.