Tracing the history of the saxophone through time (03/20/24)
You’re going to have to take this oolong tea to go, we’re doing some time travel today!
In writing the background section to my senior project paper, I’ve been tracing the origins of the saxophone and its entry into popular music. This is important in understanding how the instrument gained the reputation and function that it had prior to the introduction of free jazz, so we can better analyze how free jazz influenced the use of the instrument going forward. Most of this information comes from the book The Saxophone by Stephen Cottrell, which has been massively helpful in gaining context for my research (and has a killer book cover, where someone is playing the saxophone upside-down!)
Our first stop is in mid-19th century Paris, which is still…let’s say…figuring things out after an interesting start to the century (I hear cake has gone out of style these days). Young inventor Adolphe Sax had already made a career out of refining pre-existing instruments like the clarinet or bass clarinet. Sax (along with other musical inventors of the time), were looking to create a new instrument, one that had the power of a brass instrument (something which most woodwinds lacked), but with enough versatility to be played alongside string instruments in an ensemble. The ophicleide, a now outdated brass instrument, was a sort of precursor to the saxophone, with the same conical bore (the bell shape at the end of the instrument) and the same overall goal, but its execution was flawed: the ophicleide was “noted for its unreliable tuning” and the sound and tone created from certain notes was inconsistent, while the instrument was overall hard to play (Cottrell, 39). The saxophone, with its single reed and relatively simple fingerings, was easy to pick up, and the almost identical fingering between different saxophone models made things yet easier. Interestingly, the saxophone also had a few spiritual ancestors in the saxhorn and saxotromba (Sax evidently really liked putting his name on everything). The industrial revolution and patenting had allowed Sax to hold exclusive rights to the instrument as it gained popularity, while being able to scale up production and spread the instrument. The saxophone, being so new, had trouble breaking into the stiff orthodoxy of European orchestra, but found a home in the military bands of Napoleon III’s Second Empire. Sax was quite the controversial figure among his contemporaries in the instrument production business, and died in debt and relative obscurity, but his instrument would live on…
Our next stop is the United States, late 19th century. Just about the only Gilded thing back in those days was the insane amount of profit being made by newly minted monopolies. The saxophone had already gained prominence in certain parts of Europe as a part of military bands, but the instrument spread across the United States first through traveling professional bands who had adopted the instrument from Europe, and later vaudeville, circus, and minstrel acts. As this was the popular entertainment of the time, this is how the saxophone was introduced to American popular music, and also came to be introduced to the African-American community. The instrument was also heavily involved with genres like ragtime. One of the most popular groups, the Brown Brothers, helped influence the showmanship and fun, mischievous nature of the instrument, even if they were not necessarily virtuosic (this further spread the instrument’s popularity, given that their music was recorded early on for records). The instrument’s popularity caused a boom in American saxophone production (to this point, saxophone production was mostly in France), and saxophones were promoted by actually skilled and somewhat famous saxophone players in the early 20th century. As these popular forms of music eventually gave way to jazz, which started out as a popular form of dance music, so too did the instrument’s role evolve.
Next stop, the roaring ‘20s. So much fun to be had here! Let’s dance the Charleston and hit the New Orleans jazz clubs. The economy’s doing great! What’s the worst that could happen?! The jazz community in New Orleans, which also saw some Blues influence, came to introduce soloing to the performance lexicon of saxophonists. Here, jazz artists enjoyed the unique tone of the saxophone. In particular, creole saxophonist Sidney Bechet is described by Cottrell as “one of the first truly modern saxophonists” who “established the jazz soloist as a cultural icon, and by association therefore, the saxophone” (Cottrell, 187). Becheet was one of the first to utilize rhythm and harmony, but with the use of different textures to “colour the melodic line” (Cottrell, 188, 189). Other artists like Louis Armstrong would influence soloing as a whole, but in terms of the saxophone, Bechet also brought out that iconic image, with an embellished posture derived from clarinet playing (Cottrell, 190). The saxophone would go on to take a prominent role in jazz music, with artists like Duke Ellington revolutionizing the musical harmonies composed for the instrument and artists like Coleman Hawkins or Harry Carney developing different techniques and leaning into the saxophone’s different musical registers (Carney specifically is prominent for his use of circular breathing). Through bebop and hard bop, the sax was, to audiences and players, a stylish and versatile centerpiece, but especially during its early association with jazz (which again, was mostly dance music played in clubs), gained a reputation as a sort of counterculture instrument, even harkening back to its legacy of not fitting in with the other orchestra instruments.
And this, dear reader, brings us to the modern day. Or, I suppose, the modern day with regard to where this project starts, the mid ‘50s with the work of Ornette Coleman. I hope you have enjoyed our time travel journey. Next week’s blog post will include photos of some of the things described here (which I was unable to upload for this blog post). Tune in next time!
Au Revoir,
Ibrahim Bah