Yesterday evening I got a message from my friend, colleague, former teacher and mentor Richard Ingham that a giant in the saxophone world, Dr. Eugene Rousseau, had died.
Eugene Rousseau has been a huge influence to me, even though I only met him a few times. His book, Saxophone High Tones, has been my go to book for altissimo since my first dismal attempts in 1987. The clarity and brilliance of his pedagogy is seen right across the saxophone world. His style of teaching will have been replicated by his students and their students and so on.
In 1987 I began lessons with Richard Ingham. He had worked with Rousseau a few years earlier and Richard taught me the importance of mouthpiece work, and those pesky closed tube exercises at the start of Rousseau’s High Tones book. I still turn to that book when I am working on my altissimo technique.
I use the exercises with my students. The front of the book says ‘a systematic approach to the above normal range of the saxophone’. I think that is one of the things Rousseau gave us, a systematic approach. By working diligently on our technique we can unlock our musical ideas.
Rousseau was ground breaking. When he began learning the saxophone, it was just another of his many instruments. I read his biography With Casual Brilliance with fascination. It became clear to me he was a musician, who happened to find the saxophone a good vehicle for his musical ideas. He worked closely with Yamaha in the development of the saxophone, and I am proud to be a part of the Yamaha family. Friends such as Otis Murphy, Michael Duke, and Kenneth Tse, who were taught by Eugene and subsequently became Yamaha artists themselves, continue to be inspiring to me and to their students.
In 2012 I was the Artist Liason for the World Saxophone Congress in St. Andrews, Scotland. One of my tasks was to help host Eugene’s 80th birthday celebration event. I am glad we were able to celebrate him that evening.
I was planning on announcing the recipients of my Markham Awards for 2024 today. Is this the right time to do it? I think Eugene would have said, “sure, go for it”. But I will delay for a few days. Now is the time to reflect on all that Dr. Eugene Rousseau achieved. Thank you, Eugene.