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Everything You Wanted to Know About Sax but Were Afraid to Ask

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Everything You Wanted to Know About Sax but Were Afraid to Ask Everything You Wanted To Know About Sax But Were Afraid To Ask Number 25 June 18, 1979 Drum on your drums, batter on your The saxophone is a very important in- banjoes, /sob on the long cool winding strument in recent musical hktory. It saxophones. /Go to it, O ja.zzmerr. “1 was invented by Antoine Joseph (also known as Adolphe) Sax in 1838, al- Some people collect stamps or coins. though a patent was not granted until The more affluent collect paintings or 1846.3 (p. 10) Sax was a prominent antique cars. Me, I collect saxophon- Belgian-born instrument maker who ists. lived in Paris. His father had also been a I’m not particularly compulsive about famous instrument maker. The saxo- it. I would not travel a thousand miles phone he created was a single-reed for just another record by John Coltrane instrument made of metal with a conical or Gerry Mulligan. I’m really a sampler. bore or intenor tube. It combined the But if I hear about a sax player who is softness of woodwind with the strength not in my record collection, I will go out of brass.J (p. 11) of my way to add him. I can say “him” The four most common types of sax- with certainty because I have never en- ophone are the soprano, alto, tenor, countered a recording by a woman sax and baritone, However, both higher player. It is well known, however, that a (smaller) and lower (larger) pitched ver- woman saxophonist, Mrs. Elise Hall, sions also exist. And back in the twen- commissioned Debussy’s Saxophone ties one of the most popular instruments Rapsocfie.2 was the C-Melody sax. The most com- I became interested in collecting monly available are the alto and tenor. records of sax players after my friend The straight version of the soprano sax- Danny Luciano gave me a tape of “Bat- ophone looks very much like a metaUlc tle of the Saxes.” clarinet. The curved version is less com- Performed by sax players Ray Fern, mon. Mine is a Borgani from Italy. Joe Fortunato, Stan Ross and Dan, Unlike the clarinet, which has open “Battle of the Saxes” was a rare personal holes covered by the left thumb and taping never commercially recorded. three middle fingers of each hand, each Dan was a popular Philadelphia sax hole on the saxophone is opened and player in the 1960s. He has recorded for closed with keys. The clarinet and sax Molly Records and Lumar Records. both have a “register” or an “octave” Though he never practices, he still plays key which is depressed by the left thumb a beautiful sax. when you play in the higher registers. “From SMOKE AND STEEL by Carl Sandburg, copyright 1920 by Harcourt Brace lovanovich, Inc., copyright 1948 by Carl Sandburg. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. 193 The right thumb is used to support the Many of the most influential figures in weight of the instrument. However, a saxophone did not fall into either neck strap is used to help support the “’classical” or ‘“jazz” categories, accord- weight of the alto, tenor, and baritone ing to Ted Hegvik, assistant professor of saxes. music at West Chester State CoUege.7 I remember the pain in my right For example, Al GaUodoro, known for thumb when I first took up the clarinet his staccato style, played in the Paul in high school. It also occurs when you Whiteman band in the 1930s. Andy take up the soprano saxophone for the SaneUa, who was prominent in radio first time after a period of not playing. during the 1920s and 1930s, and Clyde Historical accounts tell us that Sax in- Doerr, another radio figure who had a tended hk invention for military bands. saxophone octet and led his own or- In fact, the saxophone was adopted by chestra during the 1920s and 1930s, the French Army during Sax’s lifetime. were also influential, The first piece composed especially for Now, of course, the saxophone is the saxophone, however, was sacred recognized as a key jazz instrument. music, a hymn by Hector Berlioz. J Philadelphia has a special place in (p. 316) It was played in 1844. Unfor- American jazz saxophone history.8 It tunately, as I reported to you before, has produced an extraordinary group of thk music, like many other great com- musicians. Among sax players, Gerry positions, is irretrievably lost,qs Mulligan, John Coltrane, Sonny For- In 1857, Sax became instructor of the tune, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk are but saxophone at the Paris Conservatory. a few who either got their start here or His appointment was an important step lived here at one time. And the city in getting the new instrument recog- abounds with jazz musicians who are nized by serious musicians. He pro- not as weU known but have played with duced many fine students. Sax fell in the best. Most of them, however, got and out of political favor many times tired of traveling or starving and took up during his life and the acceptance of the alternative professions while nursing saxophone in France followed his along their true love for music. One of political fortunes.s (p. 215) The sax- my closest friends, Bunch Hammond, ophone, however, did spread to military played bass for Horace Heidt and bands outside of France and occasional- backed up Nina Simone, among others. ly it was used in orchestral pieces. His trio, including saxist Johnny Bel- The instrument did not find a home in mont and pianist Esau Coleman, plays jazz bands until the second decade of regularly at the chic “Saloon” in South this century. Leonard Feather, the jazz Phllly. critic, says the sax was “a late starter in The bible, or current authority on jazz. For at least two decades while this jazz musicians, is a hi-weekly magazine music was crystallizing, it played a caUed Down Beat. (It is covered negligible role. Not until the late regularly in Current Contents@ /Arts 1920s.. did it cross over the line suc- & Humanities and the Arts & cessfully after decades of identification Humanities Citation IndexTM. ) The principally with brass bands.”b (p. 92) name of the magazine is somehow a re- This does not mean that the saxophone flection of a lot in jazz. Apart from its was not popular outside the jazz band. strict musical meaning (the downstroke Saxophonist Rudy Wiedoeft was prac- of the conductor indicating the first tically a national hero by 1926. He was stressed beat of a composition or the personally auditioned by Thomas A. first beat of the first measure of a piece), Edison and became the first famous sax- the word has connotations of sadness in ophone recording artist. its ordinary lay usage. The word can 194 mean pessimistic or gloomy, as when Ffgure 2: The winners of Down Berm’s Reader’s you talk about a play with a downbeat Polls for Tenor Saxophone 1937-78, ending. Chu Berry (1937) Down Beat takes a poll of its readers Bud Freeman (1938) each year to select the most popular Coleman Hawkins ( 1939) Eddie Miller (194Q) jazz musicians in several categories. It Tex Beneke ( 1941-42) also polls critics for their opinions of the Vido Mussn ( 1943) best jazz players. Saxophone players are Lester Young (1944) Charley Ventura (194S) now chosen in the four most common Vido Mus.so (1946-47) sax categories-soprano, alto, tenor, Ffip Philips (1948-49) and baritone. Stan Getz ( 195Q-59) In the last Do wrr Beat poll appearing John Coltrane (19fW61 ) Stan Gem ( 1%2-63) in the December 21, 1978 issue,g the John Coltrsne ( 1964-66) most popular alto sax player was still Stan Get. (1967-71 I Phil Woods. He had also won the poll Sonny Rollins ( 1972-76) Dexter Gordon ( 1977-78) the previous three years. In Figure 1 I’ve listed all the alto sax players who’ve won Freeman, and Zoot Sims are only a few the Do wrr Beat polls since they began examples. Professor Pryor also com- and the years they won the award. In ments that Down Beat now covers a lot Figure 2 I’ve listed the tenor saxophon- of popular music and rock. Many com- ists, followed in Figure 3 by the sopra- mitted jazz buffs subscribe to another, nos and baritones. The award for sopra- more specialized, British publication no was only begun in 1969. The popu- called Jazz Journal International. larity of Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan A lot of jazz sax music may be has been phenomenal. However, Figure “upbeat” but it is mostly soulful and 4 shows that jazz critics’ selections don’t downbeat. Probably no sax player today always agree with the fans’! better reflects thk new pensive, lyrical style than Jan Garbarek of Norway. Co- FSgure 1: The winners of Down Beat’s Reader’s incidentally, I am acquainted with Jan’s Polls for Alto Saxophone 1937-78. father, Czeslaar, dkector of Math and Jimmy Dorsey (1937-39) Science Libraries at the University of Johnny Hndges (1940-49) Oslo. Recently Jan and I exchanged Charlie Parker ( 19543-54) Paul Deamond (1955-S9) transcriptions when we met after a con- Cannonbaff Adderley ( 1960-61) cert he gave in Philadelphia with pianist Paul Desmond (1%2-67) Keith Jarrett. Jan is well known to Cannonbaff Adderley ( 1968-71) Omette Coleman (1972-74) American jazz lovers through his associ- Phil WoodS (1975-78) ation with Jarrett. There is no Down Beat type poll for My colleague and fellow jazz lover the most popular classical musicians in William Pryor, Boyd professor of any category-at least not that I know chemistry at LouKlana State University, Ffgure 3: The winners of Down Beaf’s Reader’s Down Baton Rouge, points out that the Polls for Soprano ( 1%9-78) and Baritone Beat list does not reflect the position of 11944-78) Saxophone.
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