The saxophone is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to produce a sound wave inside the instrument's body. The pitch is controlled by opening and closing holes in the body to change the effective length of the tube. The holes are closed by leather pads attached to keys operated by the player. Saxophones are made in various sizes and are almost always treated as transposing instruments. Saxophone players are called saxophonists.
Maceo Parker is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of Brown's hit recordings, and a key part of his band, playing alto, tenor and baritone saxophones. Since the early 1990s, he has toured under his own name.
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭, smaller than the B♭ tenor but larger than the B♭ soprano. It is the most common saxophone and is used in popular music, concert bands, chamber music, solo repertoire, military bands, marching bands, pep bands, carnatic music, and jazz.
Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers Jr. was an American jazz double bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, he has become one of the most widely-known jazz bassists of the hard bop era. He was also known for his bowed solos. Chambers recorded about a dozen albums as a leader or co-leader, and over 100 more as a sideman, especially as the anchor of trumpeter Miles Davis's "first great quintet" (1955–63) and with pianist Wynton Kelly (1963–68).
Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a sideman. He worked with an array of musicians, and had especially fruitful collaborations with trumpeter Donald Byrd and as a member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band.
The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger than the tenor saxophone, but smaller than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contrabass and subcontrabass saxophones are relatively uncommon. Like all saxophones, it is a single-reed instrument. It is commonly used in concert bands, chamber music, military bands, big bands, and jazz combos. It can also be found in other ensembles such as rock bands and marching bands. Modern baritone saxophones are pitched in E♭.
John Douglas Surman is an English jazz saxophone, clarinet, and synthesizer player, and composer of free jazz and modal jazz, often using themes from folk music. He has composed and performed music for dance performances and film soundtracks.
The bass saxophone is one of the lowest-pitched members of the saxophone family—larger and lower than the more common baritone saxophone. It was likely the first type of saxophone built by Adolphe Sax, as first observed by Berlioz in 1842. It is a transposing instrument pitched in B♭, an octave below the tenor saxophone and a perfect fourth below the baritone saxophone. A bass saxophone in C, intended for orchestral use, was included in Adolphe Sax's patent, but few known examples were built. The bass saxophone is not a commonly used instrument, but it is heard on some 1920s jazz recordings, in free jazz, in saxophone choirs and sextets, and occasionally in concert bands and rock music.
Leon Brown "Chu" Berry was an American jazz tenor saxophonist during the 1930s. He is perhaps best known for his time as a member of singer Cab Calloway's big band.
The Blues and the Abstract Truth is an album by American composer and jazz saxophonist Oliver Nelson recorded in February 1961 for the Impulse! label. It remains Nelson's most acclaimed album and features a lineup of notable musicians: Freddie Hubbard, Eric Dolphy, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers and Roy Haynes. Baritone saxophonist George Barrow does not take solos but remains a key feature in the subtle voicings of Nelson's arrangements. The album is often noted for its unique ensemble arrangements and is frequently identified as a progenitor of Nelson's move towards arranging later in his career.
Stephen Gregory is an English jazz saxophonist and composer. He plays tenor, alto, soprano and baritone saxophone as well as the flute.
Bennie Ross "Hank" Crawford, Jr. was an American alto saxophonist, pianist, arranger and songwriter whose genres ranged from R&B, hard bop, jazz-funk, and soul jazz. Crawford was musical director for Ray Charles before embarking on a solo career releasing many well-regarded albums for labels such as Atlantic, CTI and Milestone.
Richie Cannata is an American music producer, saxophonist, keyboardist and studio owner. He is most notable for playing saxophone in Billy Joel's band alongside Liberty DeVitto, Russell Javors, and Doug Stegmeyer. After leaving the band in 1981, he opened Cove City Sound Studios in Glen Cove, New York. Artists including Celine Dion, Billy Joel, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony have recorded in Cannata's studio. Cannata also worked with The Beach Boys for most of the 1990s, touring and occasionally recording with them during this period.
The genre of solo saxophone has a rich, but largely unmapped history in contemporary music, particularly jazz. Many, but not all, musicians who play and record solo saxophone use extended techniques, a vocabulary of the saxophone beyond its normal range. Notable musicians in this field include Kaoru Abe, Anthony Braxton, Peter Brötzmann, John Butcher, Don Dietrich, Eric Dolphy, Brandon Evans, Paul Flaherty, Mats Gustafsson, Coleman Hawkins, Lee Konitz, Steve Lacy, Roscoe Mitchell, Evan Parker, Sonny Rollins, Sam Newsome, Ned Rothenberg, Masayoshi Urabe, Ken Vandermark, Colin Stetson, Jonah Parzen-Johnson and Andre Vida, Gianni Gebbia.
That Is Why You're Overweight is an album by American jazz saxophonist Eddie Harris recorded in 1975 and released on the Atlantic label.
Saltash Bells is a solo album by the English saxophonist John Surman, recorded in June 2009 and released on ECM in 2012. After winning the Jazz FM Awards 2013 for Album of the Year, it was announced in May 2013 that the record has also won the Parliamentary Jazz Awards for Jazz Album of the Year by pointing out that on this "extraordinary solo recording" Surman's "beautiful blend of reeds and electronics summons the mists, moors and mysteries in hauntingly evocative style."
Extension is the third album by composer/arranger/keyboardist Clare Fischer, and his first for big band, recorded and released in 1963 on the Pacific Jazz label, reissued on CD in 2002 as America the Beautiful, and, under its original name, in 2012.
Zongo Junction was a nine-piece instrumental Afrobeat band based in Brooklyn, New York. The band was formed in 2010. The members of Zongo Junction stretch the Afrobeat style to fit their musical interests, combining elements of Sun Ra, Talking Heads, and Fela Kuti to create their own version of afrobeat. Zongo Junction released their five-song debut EP Thieves! in 2010.
Gerry Mulligan '63 is an album recorded by American jazz saxophonist and bandleader Gerry Mulligan featuring performances recorded in late 1962 which were released on the Verve label.
Sideshow is the second album by the jazz group 8 Bold Souls. It was recorded in November 1991 in Chicago, and was released in 1992 by Arabesque Records. The album features performances by saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Edward Wilkerson, saxophonist Mwata Bowden, trumpeter Robert Griffin, Jr., trombonist Isaiah Jackson, tubist Aaron Dodd, cellist Naomi Millender, bassist Harrison Bankhead, and drummer Dushun Mosley.
