The Saxophone

The Saxophone,
3 record set,
Impulse/ABC ASH-9253-3

The saxophone is closer in timbre (i.e. tonal quality) to the human voice than any other Western instrument. Now here's a 3 record set from Impulse with cuts from some of the high-rollers down through the swinging 30's, the bopped-out 40's, the scintillating 50's, the Sandoz 60's, right up to June, 1973.

It says here on the liner notes that the sax first came to jazz when soldiers returning from the Spanish-American War pawned their instruments in New Orleans before returning to the interior: then, all the local clarinet players picked tip on saxes, cheap. The sax never really made it in the symphony hall (maybe because the tone is too expressive), however Adolphe Sax's brilliant invention (1846) did become a major sound in world music. How? Well, one reason is that the early geniuses of the horn, almost all of them black, were into exploring all the colors and range of the sax tone, as well as false fingerings and other funky techniques for putting the pots on. You can hear this right off the bat with Coleman Hawkins, who developed a screaming cry to contrast his more regular vibrato, and Ben Webster (who recently went out), a pioneer of mellow, sub-tones in the tenor saxophone's sometimes lugubrious low register.

Then another 2 big reasons for the sax getting over so good were Lester Young (tenor sax) and Charles Parker (alto). Lester came first with a mellifluous way of takin' on a talking melody. And Parker, who listened VERY close to Lester, when he was coming up, added some notes and spaces of his own. From this point on, the Standard for blowing sax is to sing thru the horn, no matter how sophisticated the harmony or rhythm of the tune. Of course this is true for any instrument, but on sax especially it's hard to blow without getting to know the instruments as these guys did.
John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Archie Shepp, Pliaroah Sanders, Dewey Redman, Eric Dolphy, Gato Barbieri, Albert Ayler and others (unfortunately, Wayne Shorter is absent) are all given space here. This record set will offer you hours of listening and learning enjoyment, for the casual listener and for anyone who has ever picked up a saxophone, blown into it, and said, "Oh, fuck it."

Crispin Cioe
Saxophone
Radio King & His Court of Rhythm