'Saxophone Guy' Grooves at Open Mics

When Alex Adamczyk learned that he could skip middle school P.E. by learning to play an instrument, he suddenly discovered a desire to take music lessons.

“I heard that you'd have to run and get naked, and I was a chunky kid with little self esteem. I chose the saxophone after being told that I didn't have the 'ear' for french horn. As insulted as I was I see now that it was a working of fate to have me choose the sax,” Adamczyk explained.

He found a private saxophone teacher near his house who disregarded what Adamczyk was learning in band and taught the fledgling saxophonist how to improvise. Adamczyk is forever grateful for his teacher's insight and has benefited immeasurably from the unconventional training.

Adamczyk's style involves elements of jazz, blues and bebop. He has an uncanny ability to place his notes in places that create the greatest impact with the utmost ease.

“Improvisation gives me a focus on feeling. I want to show people how I feel with music, and I want them to resonate with that. When I play, my eyes often involuntarily close. I am improvising and synthesizing music on the fly. My brain decides to focus on the music and eyesight is not important,” he said.

Adamczyk does not write his own music, per say. Instead, he enjoys an occasional intrusion into other's bands to lend his unique musical intuition to their performances. Though he sometimes performs solo during open mics, he is a frequent accompaniment to bands such as .

“I don't have the patience for songwriting. I improvise. I let the pressure fuel me into playing something acceptable. Sometimes I'll crash or a groove will suddenly halt. That can happen when you improvise solo. I like to have a group that I can bounce musical ideas off of."

His favorite venues are , campfires and his own living room with his dog as the audience. During these performances, he plays what he calls jazz 'standards' such as “Stella” and “April in Paris”. He understands vocal covers are often compared to the originals, but he says his take on a given standard is usually fresh and interesting.

“As an instrumentalist, I can bet that my rendition will always be different enough to be appreciated."

Many locals are familiar with Adamczyk's saxophone skills, though he is humbly unaware of his avid fans.

“I suppose you could ask some of the performers that frequent the open mic night in Downtown Woodstock. I try to establish connections with people wherever I can. Ask around. I'm the saxophone guy now.”