The Sound of the Saxophone

Tonight I attended a concert in Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School of Music. It was a jazz concert of big band music. The concert was filled with people and I sat in a seat at the top of the hall. It was incredible to see a Big Band on stage and to notice how my ears were drawn to the sounds of the saxophone.

As a classically trained musician, it isn't often that the saxophone is used in the classical literature. The instrument didn't exist at the time of Mozart and Beethoven. So, when I think of a saxophone, I think about the turn of the 20th Century and the Jazz Age.

Wikipedia tells me: "The saxophone (also referred to simply as sax) is a conical-bored transposing musical instrument which is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in 1841. He wanted to create an instrument that would both be the loudest of the woodwinds and the most versatile of the brass, and would fill the then vacant middle ground between the two sections. He patented the sax in 1846..."

The saxophone has such a soulful quality and tonight the heart of the instrument was revealed in the performances of the young men who performed. Both tenor and alto saxophones had some great solos. The highlight of the evening was a solo featured in a Duke Ellington tune. Wow! What a composer!

The saxophone is an instrument that I know very little about. I did play it for one semester several years ago during teacher certification, but I really don't have any skill.

As I listened tonight, my thoughts turned to thinking about the quality of their reeds and the way the keys must feel under their hands as they play complex harmonies in patterns with such grace and skill. There is so much love there.

I was also amazed at how a composer can think up the way the brass is used and also by the skill of the percussionists. How relaxed the drummers were in unbelievably complex rhythms. How lucky I am to be able to hear music like this and played at such high levels!!