There are some pretty smart monkeys out there....

But pat yourself on the back if you think that's enough. Most jazz guitarists and pianists are supposed to know that, AND turn a great solo in, too.

Stan Getz, Bird, Trane, you name 'em..... I defy you to find one solo they ever played that doesn't use slurs, scoops, bends, trills, cross-fingering, a myriad techniques to get more than just 'the note' and then 'the next note'. How they are joined up, how they transition from one to the other has as much to do with their individual styles as the notes themselves.

If you ever want to get away from pianism, and explore expressive horn lines, you HAVE to learn these techniques. There is nothing in the world more 'fake' than listening to a keyboard 'sax' solo that doesn't use the bender, or can only use it at times when there are no changes.

We'll discuss piano sample sets 'til the cows come home, but then play a decent sax sound so poorly that it will make any horn player in the house want to get up and leave. That's the thing about synthesis - every sound demands a different technique to make it realistic (at least imitative synthesis), you have to use the tools that make it work, or better to not play the sound at all.

Just as Yamaha have finally cracked the 'tongued/legato' problem, with the SA technology, they tie it to a system that doesn't allow (short of sequencing in advance) you to use the other thing that makes saxes (and so many other sounds) so expressive.

One step forward, one step back.....