Good point, saxmaniac, I hear a lot of recordings where the player isn't real confident about what they are playing, so they decide not to put a lot of air behind it, so you find yourself trying to transcribe some half-ass lick that could have sounded great.

"I hear a lot of recordings where the player isn't real confident about what they are playing" I have heard A LOT of sax players in person (high school, college, and jazz camps) that arnt confident about anything. It's really sad since a lot of them have great fundementals and stuff. They just don't want to be loud or something. Also, open your throat to get a nice warm open sound. Or that's what I have found at least to get the sound I want. Which is kinda like wayne shorter, kinda...

Yeah, have you ever watched Dick Oatts play? He's the lead alto in the Village Vanguard. His throat pops out wider than his head, he's got a vein that looks like it's about to explode. My old jazz teacher actually got to take lessons from him for a while.

I don't think volume and confidence necessarily have to go hand in hand - I'm thinking mostly of Paul Desmond and Stan Getz, two guys who didn't put a lot of force behind what they were doing but were most definiely confident in their ideas. I think the most important thing about producing a good sound is being confident in what you're producing. Ornette Colman, Parker, Rollins, Pharoah Sanders, Desmond, all have completely different sounds, but they're all great because they're confident.