{"id":3000,"date":"2022-08-31T11:47:18","date_gmt":"2022-08-31T15:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/?p=3000"},"modified":"2022-09-04T11:44:42","modified_gmt":"2022-09-04T15:44:42","slug":"who-plays-the-saxophone-and-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2022\/08\/who-plays-the-saxophone-and-why.html","title":{"rendered":"Who plays the saxophone? And why?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I love the sound of a saxophone, or rather the broad range of sounds available from this family of reeds <\/p>\n\n\n

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The author, who has never been very serious about his alto playing, with
apologies to Neil Tesser on tenor sax, Jim Baker on guitar;
photo by Lauren Deutsch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

instruments. Breathy, vocal-like, smooth, light, penetrating, gritty or greasy, able to cry and\/or croon (sometimes both at once), it strikes me as capable of the most personal of musical statements, although that’s probably a projection based on my imagination set free listening to these horns, mostly in the context of jazz, for more than half a century. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in some ways the sax seems a throwback. By the time I started actively seeking out music, electric guitars had asserted their dominance and ubiquity as the instrument of a successful, popular musician. Pianos are classy and useful; electric keyboards, including synthesizers, offer many more dimensions of sound production, notably polyphony, than horn players can summon only with the most assiduous practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s not just a matter of volume — electric wind instruments have been available for decades, but remain curiosities. In pop music, the sax has become conspicuous by its absence. To hear any saxophonics beyond the inanities of Kenny G and soul licks of Maceo Parker, you simply have to turn to jazz — with which the sax is virtually synonymous, having a leading if not fundamental role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So who plays the saxophone? The schedule of the upcoming Chicago Jazz Festival<\/a>, Sept 1 through 4 in the city’s Millennium Park tells us: Pulitizer Prize-winner Henry Threadgill,<\/a> heading his unique band Zooid. Donald Harrison<\/a>, 2022 NEA Master and Big Chief of The Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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