Ep 085 - Doug Webb; Playing for Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino

Doug Webb, a great saxophonist based here in Los Angeles, is featured on hundreds of recordings for artists including Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, Sal Marquez, Stanley Clarke, Brian Bromberg, Quincy Jones, Mat Marucci, Bobby Caldwell, Kyle Eastwood, Rod Stewart, Carly Simon, Art Garfunkel, Queen Latifah and Cher. He played for fifteen years with the Doc Severinsen Tonight Show Big Band. 

He has recorded music for hundreds of movies and television programs, including playing for the Family Guy orchestra. He solos on the soundtrack for Million Dollar Baby and Gran Torino.

He has 16 albums out as a leader, with one of his recent ones being a collaboration with Greg Fishman.

And he has one of the most extensive horn and mouthpiece collections in the world!

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

In this interview, we talked about: 

• What it was like in the studio playing on the soundtrack for Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino
• The Coltrane record that changed Doug’s saxophone playing forever
• How he practiced improvisation, without any lessons from a private teacher or online videos
• His CRAZY practice schedule that made him the monster player that he is today 
• A funny experience with Warne Marsh
• What to copy when listening to the masters
• What you will learn in his 2-hour masterclass on reharmonizations and modal playing
• And so much more!

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