Success Beyond The Score

As most of you know, I am predominantly a sax player. I am also a pianist, a vocalist, and someone who dabbles in music production. Each of these "identities" as a musician require a different instrument —yes, the voice and music production software are also instruments. We know that, in order to do our job, we must take care of them, but many times, we are so busy that we end up neglecting them.

For example, a few months ago this year, I started noticing that some of the keys of my saxophone were sort of sticky. They answered slower than usual, and it made playing a bit awkward. Although I decided that the issue was above my basic maintenance knowledge, and that I should take my saxophone to a repair shop to get it solved, I thought it would be something small and simple. Imagine my surprise when they discovered that five pads, which are a leather-type material piece sitting under the cup of each key, were so worn out that they needed to be replaced!

One quote that stung in the wall...

We’re almost at the end of this series of posts made to introduce—or reintroduce—the stars of the Time For My Music’s Evening Showcase to you. We're also about to open the doors of the programme for new members. If you’re interested, be sure to join the mailing list to stay up to date.

Today is Angela’s turn to shine. She’s an alto saxophonist known for creating a soulful atmosphere in genres like reggae, ballads, and gospel, and praised for her mesmerizing presence at prestigious venues including The Holiday Inn at Birmingham Airport.

This is what she told the audience about Time For My Music:

If you have a gift or have a talent, don’t sit on it.

In Time For My Music, we are with Millicent Stephenson. If you have a gift, women—because, as you can see, it’s just women— you can come and try anything. [If] you feel like you want to stay, you can stay. 

Time For My Music has been really good for me.

It hasn’t been just Millicent. She’s really good with bringing other people in. [F

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Let us use this great shot by GL360 Productions to introduce Asharp, the next star in the Time For My Music Evening Showcase’s line-up.

Asharp is a versatile saxophonist who plays all three alto, tenor and soprano sax. She has recently broadened her talents by branching out as a solo artist, and is now a regular performer at the ‘Wednesday Mic Fever’ happening at the Legacy Centre.

This is what she told the audience about her experience with Time For My Music:

I joined Time For My Music—it wasn’t at the beginning, but probably after they’d had about two or three sessions […] What I found has helped me most is learning about technology, because I’m the world’s worst when it comes to computers and technology. Millicent, I don’t know how she has managed to do it. She’s just so patient when I can’t log in or pick up the password. She doesn’t shout at all, she just talks calmly, which is good for me, ’cause I’ll panic at it even more [otherwise]. 

It’s the meetings, the fellowship. Yo

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Angela is a long time member of Time For My Music, our online community for emerging female musicians. She plays the alto saxophone, delving mostly into jazz, although she's a versatile interpreter that's open to other genres as well. 

Last year, motivated by the workshops and discussions that take place in the T4MM community, Angela took an important step in her journey by creating her own YouTube channel.

This is her testimony about it:

T4MM has helped me in many ways. The workshops are excellent. One of the workshops that
has really helped me was the one about setting up a YouTube channel.

I used to choose a few friends to share my songs with and leave it at that, but I considered creating a YouTube channel for a while —I just didn't have the confidence to do it. However, I really wanted to do a gig to celebrate the Jamaican Independence in 2023. For doing so, I told myself: "I am going to start my YouTube Channel." I recorded two songs in one session, which added to three mor...

Hillary, known professionally as Tiny Sax, is part of the Time For My Music online community for emerging female musicians. Her instrument is the alto saxophone, with which she plays a variety of genres including blues, soul, jazz and funk.

She has performed as a solo artist at a number of events, like a Windrush celebration (H Suite), OPOL function (Legacy Centre of Excellence), Our Journey function (Ibis Hotel), and as part of the ‘Not Just Jazz V’ concert of multi-award-winning saxophonist Millicent Stephenson. She has also played at private events like garden parties, and for children at schools.

Hillary plays in two bands: ‘As One Collective’ and ‘Mojo Train’. She has been occasionally invited to join the brass section in the Mike Davids Band too. You can watch her in action on her YouTube channel:

About Time For My Music, this is what Hillary has to say:

When I initially learned to play the saxophone, I had no real intention of performing in public – mainly because I didn’...