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107-742: Sigurd Manfred Raschèr (15 May 1907 – 25 February 2001) was an American saxophonist born in Germany. He became an important figure in the development of the 20th century repertoire for the classical saxophone. Sigurd Raschèr was born in Elberfeld , Germany (now part of Wuppertal ), where his father, Hans August Raschèr (1880–1952), was temporarily stationed as a military physician. His schooling began in Arlesheim , Switzerland and continued in Stuttgart , Germany, where he graduated from

214-570: A horn section in some styles of rock and roll and popular music . The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in the early 1840s and was patented on 28 June 1846. Sax invented two groups of seven instruments each—one group contained instruments in C and F, and the other group contained instruments in B ♭ and E ♭ . The B ♭ and E ♭ instruments soon became dominant, and most saxophones encountered today are from this series. Instruments from

321-409: 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 . A person who plays the saxophone

428-449: A 15-year patent for the instrument on 28 June 1846. The patent encompassed 14 versions of the fundamental design, split into two categories of seven instruments each, and ranging from sopranino to contrabass . A limited number of instruments in the series pitched in F and C were produced by Sax, but the series pitched in E ♭ and B ♭ quickly became the standard. All the instruments were given an initial written range from

535-407: A B ♭ soprano saxophone, E ♭ alto saxophone, B ♭ tenor saxophone, and E ♭ baritone saxophone (SATB). On occasion, the soprano is replaced with a second alto sax (AATB); a few professional saxophone quartets have featured non-standard instrumentation, such as James Fei 's Alto Quartet (four altos). There is a repertoire of classical compositions and arrangements for

642-676: A Dutch emigré and saxophonist who had family business associations with Sax. Lefebre settled in New York in early 1872 after he arrived as a clarinetist with a British opera company. Gilmore organized the World Peace Jubilee and International Music Festival taking place in Boston that summer. The Garde Republicaine band performed and Lefebre was a clarinetist with the Great Festival Orchestra for that event. In

749-544: A classical instrument waned in the late nineteenth century. Saxophone teaching at the Paris Conservatory was suspended from 1870 to 1900 and classical saxophone repertoire stagnated during that period. But it was during this same period that the saxophone began to be promoted in the United States, largely through the efforts of Patrick Gilmore , leader of the 22nd Regiment band , and Edward A. Lefebre ,

856-506: A concave ("excavated") chamber are truer to Adolphe Sax's original design; these provide a softer or less piercing tone favored by the Raschèr school of classical playing. Saxophonists who follow the French school of classical playing, influenced by Marcel Mule , generally use mouthpieces with smaller chambers for a somewhat "brighter" sound with relatively more upper harmonics. The use of

963-502: A copper-nickel-zinc alloy more commonly used for flutes, for the bodies of some saxophone models. For visual and tonal effect, higher copper variants of brass are sometimes substituted for the more common "yellow brass" and "cartridge brass." Yanagisawa made its 902 and 992 series saxophones with the high copper alloy phosphor bronze to achieve a darker, more "vintage" tone than the brass 901 and 991 models. Other materials are used for some mechanical parts and keywork. Buttons where

1070-433: A degree in saxophone performance. During the earlier decades of his career, many saxophonists resisted and even ridiculed his pioneering work in extending the upward range of the instrument beyond two and a half octaves. Composers, however, were more inclined to embrace this expanded expressive capability that Mr. Raschèr had singularly fostered. By [1977], his lifelong commitment to the saxophone's high register, coupled with

1177-403: A detachable neck or a bow but some have a small detachable neck and some are shaped like an alto saxophone with a bow section. There are rare examples of alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones with mostly straight bodies. Baritone, bass, and contrabass saxophones have extra bends to accommodate the length of tubing. The fingering system for the saxophone is similar to the systems used for the oboe ,

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1284-432: A final concert featuring all attendees playing together as a "saxophone orchestra." The last U.S. workshop was held at Yale University in 1992 and the last European workshop was held in southern Germany in 1993. One subject that was of great importance to Raschèr was his tonal concept. He believed that when used in classical music , the saxophone should sound as its inventor, Adolphe Sax , had intended. Upon inventing

1391-443: A half octaves above the low B ♭ , but many instruments now have an extra key for a high F ♯ , and some modern soprano saxophones even have a high G key. Notes above this are part of the altissimo register and require advanced embouchure techniques and fingering combinations. Saxophone music is written in treble clef, appropriately transposed for each different type of instrument, and all saxophones use

1498-483: A melodic sense based on blues tonalities. Illinois Jacquet , Sam Butera , Arnett Cobb , and Jimmy Forrest were major influences on R&B tenor styles and Louis Jordan , Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson , Earl Bostic , and Bull Moose Jackson were major influences on alto. The R&B saxophone players influenced later genres including rock and roll , ska , soul , and funk . Horn section work continued with Johnny Otis and Ray Charles featuring horn sections and

1605-416: A reading of the piece with him prior to its publication, the composer playing the piano part. Glazunov almost certainly never heard his Saxophone Concerto publicly performed, as the first Paris performance of the work did not occur until after his death. He made no mention in his letters of any collaboration with another composer on the concerto. However, in 1936, the publishing company made an addition to

1712-413: A single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. Each size of saxophone (alto, tenor, etc.) uses a different size of reed and mouthpiece. Most saxophonists use reeds made from Arundo donax cane, but since the middle of the twentieth century some have been made of fiberglass or other composite materials. Saxophone reeds are proportioned slightly differently from clarinet reeds, being wider for

1819-437: A sound stand out among amplified instruments. Mouthpieces come in a wide variety of materials including vulcanized rubber (sometimes called hard rubber or ebonite ), plastic and metals like bronze or surgical steel . Less common materials that have been used include wood, glass, crystal, porcelain and bone. Recently, Delrin has been added to the stock of mouthpiece materials. The effect of mouthpiece materials on tone of

1926-429: A three-octave range (up to a high C) to composers in the 1840s. Despite the initial resistance on the part of the saxophone community to the altissimo register, it has since come to be an accepted technique, and is utilized by nearly all classical and jazz saxophonists. Despite its difficulty, it is now commonly taught to advanced high school and college students, and has become a required skill for any student who desires

2033-511: A vaudeville performer. C.G. Conn introduced two new variants in 1928–1929, the Conn-O-Sax and the mezzo-soprano saxophone , both keyed in F, one step above the E♭ alto. The Conn-O-Sax is built straight, with a slightly curved neck, a spherical liebesfuss -style bell, and extra keys for low A and up to high G. It was produced only in 1929 and 1930, and intended to imitate the form and timbre of

2140-401: A woodwind. He wanted it to overblow at the octave , unlike the clarinet, which rises in pitch by a twelfth when overblown. An instrument that overblows at the octave has identical fingering for both registers . Sax created an instrument with a single-reed mouthpiece and conical brass body. Having constructed saxophones in several sizes in the early 1840s, Sax applied for, and received,

2247-406: Is an octave key , which raises the pitch of the lower notes by one octave . The lowest note on most modern saxophones is the written B ♭ below middle C. Nearly all baritone saxophones are now constructed with an extra key to allow them to play low A, and a small number of altos with a low A key have been manufactured. The highest keyed note has traditionally been the F two and

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2354-437: Is an expensive process because an underplating of silver is required for the gold to adhere to. Nickel plating has been used on the bodies of early budget model saxophones and is commonly used on keywork when a more durable finish is desired, mostly with student model saxophones. Chemical surface treatment of the base metal has come into use as an alternative to the lacquer and plating finishes in recent years. The saxophone uses

2461-402: Is called a saxophonist or saxist . The saxophone is used in a wide range of musical styles including classical music (such as concert bands , chamber music , solo repertoire , and occasionally orchestras ), military bands , marching bands , jazz (such as big bands and jazz combos), and contemporary music. The saxophone is also used as a solo and melody instrument or as a member of

2568-770: Is continued by the quartet, which has led more than 300 composers in 35 nations to dedicate works to the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet. Raschèr taught saxophone at the Juilliard School , the Manhattan School of Music and the Eastman School of Music . Many of his students went on to become well known saxophone teachers and performers themselves, including: After retiring from his performing career in 1977, Raschèr continued to give week-long workshops to groups of saxophonists, both in

2675-556: Is credited for bringing about the concerto's composition. He hounded Glazunov for a saxophone concerto, so much so that the composer wrote to a colleague that he had started the piece in March "under the influences of attacks rather than requests from the Danish (sic) saxophonist named Sigurd Rascher". He completed the work in June 1934. According to French saxophonist Marcel Mule , Glazunov had

2782-402: Is often considered the prototype for quartets due to the level of virtuosity demonstrated by its members and its central role in the development of modern quartet repertoire. However, organized quartets existed before Mule's ensemble, the prime example being the quartet headed by Edward A. Lefebre (1834–1911), which was a subset of Patrick Gilmore 's 22nd Regiment band between 1873 and 1893. In

2889-553: Is the exploration of non-Western ethnic sounds on the saxophone, for example, the African-influenced sounds used by Sanders and the Indian -influenced sounds used by Coltrane. The devices of the avant-garde movement have continued to be influential in music that challenges the boundaries between avant-garde and other categories of jazz, such as that of alto saxophonists Steve Coleman and Greg Osby . Some ensembles such as

2996-479: The Boehm clarinet for the right, was simplistic and made certain legato passages and wide intervals extremely difficult to finger; that system was later improved with extra keys, linkage mechanisms, and alternate fingerings. Early in the development of the saxophone the upper keyed range was extended to E, then to F above the staff; 1880s era sheet music for saxophone was written for the range of low B to F. In 1887

3103-580: The Boehm-system clarinet , and the flute . From the earliest days of the saxophone the body and key cups have been made from sheet brass stock, which can be worked into complex shapes. The keywork is manufactured from other types of brass stock. King made saxophones with necks and bells of sterling silver from the 1930s into the early 1960s. Yanagisawa revived this idea in the 1980s and later introduced instruments entirely made of sterling silver. Keilwerth and P. Mauriat have used nickel silver ,

3210-485: The Buffet-Crampon company obtained a patent for extending the bell and adding an extra key to extend the range downwards by one semitone to B ♭ . This extension is standard in modern designs, with the notable exception of baritone saxophones which have keys down to low A. The upper range to F remained the standard for nearly a century until a high F ♯ key became common on modern saxophones. In

3317-535: The Count Basie Orchestra in the late 1930s and the popularity of Hawkins' 1939 recording of " Body and Soul " marked the saxophone as an influence on jazz equal to the trumpet, which had been the defining instrument of jazz since its beginnings in New Orleans. But the greatest influence of the saxophone on jazz was to occur a few years later when alto saxophonist Charlie Parker became an icon of

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3424-656: The Great Depression . During the 1920s the saxophone came into use as a jazz instrument, fostered by the influences of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra and the Duke Ellington Orchestra . Starting in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the modern era of classical saxophone was launched largely through the efforts of Marcel Mule and Sigurd Raschèr , and the classical repertoire for the instrument expanded rapidly. The use of

3531-749: The Memphis Horns , the Phenix Horns , and Tower of Power achieving distinction for their section playing. Horn sections were added to the Chicago and West Coast blues bands of Lowell Fulson , T-Bone Walker , B.B. King , and Guitar Slim . Rock and soul fusion bands such as Chicago , The Electric Flag , and Blood, Sweat, and Tears featured horn sections. Bobby Keys and Clarence Clemons became influential rock and roll saxophone stylists. Junior Walker , King Curtis and Maceo Parker became influential soul and funk saxophone stylists, influencing

3638-717: The Royal Danish Conservatory of Music . In 1934 he was in Malmö , Sweden. Over the next four years he performed concerts in Norway, Italy, Spain, Poland, England and Hungary. In April 1936 he participated in the XIV Festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM), premiering the work Concertino da camera by Jacques Ibert . In 1938 he visited Australia, and in 1939 moved to

3745-485: The SATB instrumentation dating back to the nineteenth century, particularly by French composers who knew Sax. However, the largest body of chamber works for saxophone are from the modern era of classical saxophone initiated by Marcel Mule in 1928. Sigurd Raschèr followed as a soloist in orchestral works, starting in 1931, and also figured prominently in development of modern classical saxophone repertoire. The Mule quartet

3852-491: The World Saxophone Quartet use the soprano-alto-tenor-baritone (SATB) format of the classical saxophone quartet for jazz. In the 1990s, World Saxophone Quartet founder Hamiet Bluiett formed the quartet Baritone Nation (four baritones). The "jump swing" bands of the 1940s gave rise to rhythm and blues , featuring horn sections and exuberant, strong-toned, heavily rhythmic styles of saxophone playing with

3959-761: The bebop revolution that influenced generations of jazz musicians. The small-group format of bebop and post-bebop jazz ensembles gained ascendancy in the 1940s as musicians used the harmonic and melodic freedom pioneered by Parker, Dizzy Gillespie , Thelonious Monk , and Bud Powell in extended jazz solos. During the 1950s, prominent alto players included Sonny Stitt , Cannonball Adderley , Jackie McLean , Lou Donaldson , Sonny Criss and Paul Desmond , while prominent tenor players included Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Dexter Gordon , John Coltrane , Sonny Rollins , Stan Getz , Zoot Sims , Lucky Thompson , Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis , and Paul Gonsalves . Serge Chaloff , Gerry Mulligan , Pepper Adams and Leo Parker brought

4066-478: The cor anglais . With fewer than 100 surviving instruments, the Conn-O-Sax is highly sought after by collectors. The Conn mezzo-soprano experienced a similarly short production run, as the economics of the Great Depression curtailed the market for what were regarded as novelty instruments. Most were subsequently expended by Conn to train its repair technicians. The most successful of the unusual 1920s designs

4173-400: The ophicleide , a large conical brass instrument in the bass register with keys similar to a woodwind instrument. His experience with these two instruments allowed him to develop the skills and technologies needed to make the first saxophones. As an outgrowth of his work improving the bass clarinet, Sax began developing an instrument with the projection of a brass instrument and the agility of

4280-535: The syncopated African-American rhythmic influences of ragtime were an exciting new feature of the American cultural landscape and provided the groundwork for new styles of dancing. Two of the best known ragtime-playing brass bands with saxophones were those led by W. C. Handy and James R. Europe . Europe's 369th Infantry Regiment Band popularized ragtime in France during its 1918 tour. The rise of dance bands into

4387-480: The " altissimo register ," but Raschèr himself refused to use that term, preferring to call them "top tones." A few players played above high F before 1940, including H. Benne Henton of the Conway Band c. 1911 (to high D), Dick Stabile , an early jazz artist (to high F), and Jascha Gurewitz , an early recitalist (to high F#). Raschèr was vocal in encouraging composers to make use of this extended range. He

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4494-399: The "sweet" music of Paul Whiteman and Guy Lombardo , jazz, swing, and large stage show bands. The rise of the saxophone as a jazz instrument followed its widespread adoption in dance bands during the early 1920s. The Fletcher Henderson Orchestra , formed in 1923, featured arrangements to back up improvisation, bringing the first elements of jazz to the large dance band format. Following

4601-505: The 1840s and 1850s, Sax's invention gained use in small classical ensembles (both all-saxophone and mixed), as a solo instrument, and in French and British military bands. Saxophone method books were published and saxophone instruction was offered at conservatories in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, and Italy. By 1856 the French Garde Republicaine band was the largest ensemble of its time to prominently feature

4708-543: The 1920s experimental designs, in addition to the Saxello, provide the basis for similar instruments produced during the modern era. Straight altos and tenors have been revived by Keilwerth, L.A. Sax and Sax Dakota USA. A mezzo-soprano in the key of G has been produced by Danish woodwind technician Peter Jessen, most notably played by Joe Lovano . This instrument is more in the timbral quality of Bb soprano saxophone. Saxophone Concerto (Glazunov) Although invented in

4815-503: The 1920s followed from the popularity of ragtime. The saxophone was also used in Vaudeville entertainment during the same period. Ragtime, Vaudeville, and dance bands introduced much of the American public to the saxophone. Rudy Wiedoeft became the best known individual saxophone stylist and virtuoso during this period leading into the "saxophone craze" of the 1920s. Following it, the saxophone became featured in music as diverse as

4922-410: The 1920s. The Raschèr mouthpiece is still manufactured today. Of special importance is Raschèr's emphasis on the extended range of the saxophone. As early as 1930 he demonstrated that an advanced player can achieve a range of four octaves on the saxophone, despite the fact that few players at that time ever played beyond the conventional range of two and a half octaves. This upper range became known as

5029-480: The 20th and 21st centuries, the saxophone found increased popularity in symphony orchestras. The instrument has also been used in opera and choral music. Musical theatre scores also can include parts for saxophone, sometimes doubling another woodwind or brass instrument. Coincident with the more widespread availability of saxophones in the US around the turn of the century was the rise of ragtime music. The bands featuring

5136-461: The B below the treble staff to the E ♭ one half-step below the third ledger line above staff, giving each saxophone a range of two and a half octaves. Sax's patent expired in 1866. Thereafter, numerous other instrument manufacturers implemented their own improvements to the design and keywork. Sax's original keywork, which was based on the Triebert system 3 oboe for the left hand and

5243-517: The Buescher factory create a custom instrument for him: a saxophone body with no tone holes at all. A picture of this instrument is seen on the inside page of the Top Tones book. He demonstrated that it was possible to play at least 16 overtones on this instrument, and on a conventional saxophone as well, and claimed that diligent study of the overtone technique was the best way to gain a command of

5350-494: The Cleveland Band Instrument Company started producing saxophones under contract to the H. N. White Company in 1916. The saxophone was promoted for the casual market with introduction of the C soprano (slightly higher than the regular soprano) and C melody (between alto and tenor) saxophones, both pitched in C to enable them to play from piano music. Production of such instruments stopped during

5457-408: The New Orleans or large band formats, fostering the innovations of saxophonists Jimmy Dorsey (alto), Frankie Trumbauer (c-melody), Bud Freeman (tenor) and Stump Evans (baritone). Dorsey and Trumbauer became important influences on tenor saxophonist Lester Young. Lester Young's approach on tenor saxophone differed from Hawkins', emphasizing more melodic "linear" playing that wove in and out of

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5564-487: The US. Lefebre worked with the music publisher Carl Fischer to distribute his transcriptions, arrangements, and original works for saxophone, and worked with the Conn Conservatory to further saxophone pedagogy in the US. Lefebre's associations with Conn and Fischer lasted into the first decade of the twentieth century and Fischer continued to publish new arrangements of Lefebre's works after his death. While

5671-507: The United States and his native Germany until well into his 80s. These workshops typically attracted between 40 and 80 players of all ages, and were usually held at universities where his admirers or former students held teaching positions, such as The University of Georgia (1976 & 1977), The University of Southern Mississippi , Georgia State University , Union College , SUNY Fredonia , and Syracuse University . Workshops featured master classes, performances by soloists and quartets , and

5778-754: The United States. His last saxophone solo performance was playing the Glazunov concerto for saxophone and string orchestra with the Vermont Symphony in 1977, on the eve of his 70th birthday. After suffering a debilitating stroke in 1994, Raschèr died in 2001 at age 93 in Shushan, New York . The Sigurd Raschèr Special Collections Archive is currently held at the State University of New York at Fredonia . During Raschèr's life, 208 works for saxophone were dedicated to him, many counted as among

5885-734: The United States. Raschèr arrived in the United States in 1939 and made his American debut on 20 October 1939 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Serge Koussevitzky . On 11 November 1939 he was a featured soloist at Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Sir John Barbirolli . He was the first saxophonist to appear as a soloist in a subscription concert with both orchestras. His career continued with solo appearances in Washington, D.C. and at New York City's Town Hall in

5992-530: The United States. And it is not without significance that among all the pieces written for and dedicated to him during his life, not one was commissioned. He inspired new music, he never needed to purchase it. Works dedicated to Raschèr include: With his daughter Carina, Linda Bangs and Bruce Weinberger, Raschèr founded the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet in 1969, one of the first classical saxophone ensembles to perform worldwide. He remained with

6099-405: The baritone saxophone to prominence as a solo instrument. Steve Lacy renewed attention to the soprano saxophone in the context of modern jazz and John Coltrane boosted the instrument's popularity during the 1960s. Smooth jazz musician Kenny G also uses the soprano sax as his principal instrument. Saxophonists such as John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman , Sam Rivers , and Pharoah Sanders defined

6206-557: The baritone saxophone to prominence with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. The New Orleans player Sidney Bechet gained recognition for playing the soprano saxophone during the 1920s, but the instrument did not come into wide use until the modern era of jazz. As Chicago style jazz evolved from New Orleans jazz in the 1920s, one of its defining features was the addition of saxophones to the ensemble. The small Chicago ensembles offered more improvisational freedom than did

6313-521: The casual market as parlor instruments during the early twentieth century, and saxophones in F were introduced during the late 1920s but never gained acceptance. The modern saxophone family consists entirely of B ♭ and E ♭ instruments. The saxophones in widest use are the B ♭ soprano, E ♭ alto, B ♭ tenor, and E ♭ baritone. The E ♭ sopranino and B ♭ bass saxophone are typically used in larger saxophone choir settings, when available. In

6420-467: The chordal structure and longer phrases that differed from those suggested by the tune. He used vibrato less, fitting it to the passage he was playing. His tone was smoother and darker than that of his 1930s contemporaries. Young's playing was a major influence on the modern jazz saxophonists Al Cohn , Stan Getz , Zoot Sims , Dexter Gordon , Wardell Gray , Lee Konitz , Warne Marsh , Charlie Parker , and Art Pepper . The influence of Lester Young with

6527-520: The early 1840s, the saxophone was still fairly new and unfamiliar in Glazunov's day; it remained untouched for a long time as it was considered "middle class". However, Glazunov was enthralled by the sound of the saxophone: a new timbre in the musical world. The work premiered in Nyköping , Sweden , on 25 November 1934, with Sigurd Raschèr , a famous German saxophonist, as soloist. It is Raschèr who

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6634-402: The extended range and improve overall tone quality. The extended range (altissimo register) was highly controversial throughout the middle of the 20th century, and Raschèr stirred the controversy among the classical saxophone community by insisting that the instrument's inventor, Adolphe Sax, had intended the instrument to be played in this manner. Raschèr cited evidence that Sax had demonstrated

6741-757: The fall of 1873 Gilmore was reorganizing the 22nd Regiment band under the influence of the Garde Republicaine band and recruited Lefebre, who had established a reputation in New York as a saxophonist over the previous year. Gilmore's band soon featured a soprano-alto-tenor-baritone saxophone section, which also performed as a quartet. The Gilmore-Lefebre association lasted until Gilmore's death in 1892, during which time Lefebre also performed in smaller ensembles of various sizes and instrumentation, and worked with composers to increase light classical and popular repertoire for saxophone. Lefebre's later promotional efforts were very significant in broadening adoption of

6848-431: The fingers contact the keys are usually made from plastic or mother of pearl . Rods, screw pins, and springs are usually made of blued or stainless steel . Mechanical buffers of felt, cork, leather, and various synthetic materials are used to minimize mechanical noise from key movement and to optimize the action of the keywork. Nickel silver is sometimes used for hinges for its advantages of mechanical durability, although

6955-544: The first Waldorfschule . After learning piano for some time, he decided to study clarinet with Philipp Dreisbach at the Stuttgart Hochschule für Musik (1928/1929). In an interview, Raschèr said, "Obeying necessity, not following my inclination, I started to play saxophone in order to be in a dance band. As I did this for a couple of years, I became more and more unsatisfied. I started to practice furiously and slowly found out that it had more possibilities than

7062-407: The forefront of creative exploration with the avant-garde movement of the 1960s. The new realms offered with Modal , harmolodic , and free jazz were explored with every device that saxophonists could conceive of. Sheets of sound, tonal exploration, upper harmonics, and multiphonics were hallmarks of the creative possibilities that saxophones offered. One lasting influence of the avant-garde movement

7169-509: The innovations of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, the Duke Ellington Orchestra and Jean Goldkette 's Victor Recording Orchestra featured jazz solos with saxophones and other instruments. The association of dance bands with jazz would reach its peak with the swing music of the 1930s. The large show band format, influenced by the 1930s swing bands, would be used as backing for popular vocalists and stage shows in

7276-400: The instrument a brighter and edgier sound. Whenever he taught or lectured to saxophone players, Raschèr emphasized that the modern mouthpieces were not what Sax had intended, and the sound they produce, while useful to a jazz player who requires a loud penetrating sound, was not appropriate in classical music. His students and other disciples felt that the desirable tone for a classical saxophone

7383-637: The instrument was initially ignored in Germany, French and Belgian military bands were quick to include it in their ensembles. Most French and Belgian military bands incorporate at least a quartet of saxophones, comprising an E ♭ baritone, B ♭ tenor, E ♭ alto and B ♭ soprano. These four instruments have proven the most popular of all Sax's creations with the E ♭ contrabass and B ♭ bass usually considered impractically large and E ♭ sopranino insufficiently powerful. British military bands tend to include at minimum two saxophonists on alto and tenor. The saxophone

7490-433: The instrument, Sax had specified the shape of the interior of the instrument's mouthpiece as being large and round. All saxophone mouthpieces were made in this style until the 1940s, when the advent of big-band jazz made saxophonists experiment with different shapes of mouthpieces to get a louder and edgier sound. Between 1940 and 1960, it became common for classical saxophonists to use narrow-chamber mouthpieces, which give

7597-459: The instrument, using eight saxophones. The saxophone was used experimentally in orchestral scores, but never came into widespread use as an orchestral instrument. In 1853-54 the orchestra of Louis Antoine Jullien featured a soprano saxophone on a concert tour of the United States. After an early period of interest and support from classical music communities in Europe, interest in the saxophone as

7704-404: The left thumb. Ergonomic design of keywork evolved rapidly during the 1920s and 1930s. The front F mechanism supporting alternate fingerings for high E and F, and a stack-linked G ♯ key action, became standard during the 1920s, followed by improvements to the left hand table key mechanisms controlling G ♯ and the bell keys. New bore designs during the 1920s and 1930s resulted from

7811-513: The main theme. The melody is then played by the soloist. The strings provide a lush background texture. Several musical themes follow. The saxophone begins to dominate with passages of scales and interval jumps. The opening part is in G minor while the central section is in Cb major. The saxophone then intertwines the melody with lyrical themes of the strings. This interaction results in tonal color. This part features tempo shifts. The saxophone then plays

7918-506: The majority of the classical saxophone world. There were other ways in which his playing differed from the majority of classical saxophonists; these included his insistence on using the slap tongue as a pizzicato technique, and his use of flutter-tonguing . By 1970, narrow-chambered mouthpieces had become nearly universally popular, and mouthpiece manufacturers ceased production of large-chambered mouthpieces. This meant that Raschèr's students had difficulty finding mouthpieces that would produce

8025-404: The momentum provided by so many composers who used it, had served to establish the extended range as an essential element of modern artistic saxophone performance. Saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax ) 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

8132-602: The more technical jazz-fusion sounds of Michael Brecker and Bob Mintzer and pop-jazz players such as Candy Dulfer . A number of experimental saxophones and saxophone-related instruments have appeared since Sax's original work, most with no lasting impact. During the early 1920s Reiffel & Husted of Chicago produced a slide soprano saxophone . During the 1920s some straight alto and tenor saxophones were produced by Buescher , which proved cumbersome to handle and more difficult to transport. Buescher custom produced one straight baritone saxophone as novelty instrument for

8239-449: The most common material for such applications has remained brass. Manufacturers usually apply a finish to the surface of the instrument's body and keywork. The most common finish is a thin coating of clear or colored acrylic lacquer to protect the brass from oxidation and maintain a shiny appearance. Silver or gold plating are offered as options on some models. Some silver plated saxophones are also lacquered. Plating saxophones with gold

8346-786: The most important 20th century works for the concert saxophone. Throughout the middle decades of the twentieth century, a preponderance of the significant new saxophone solo and chamber repertoire would appear with the familiar dedication to Sigurd M. Raschèr, the outcome of not just his ongoing commitment to motivate some of the world's finest composers, but also in part the result of genuine close friendships he developed with so many. Among them were Larsson, Glaser, and von Koch in Sweden; Jacobi, Dressel, von Knorr and Hindemith in Germany; Haba, Macha, and Reiner in Czechoslovakia; and Benson, Brant, Cowell, Dahl, Erickson, Husa, Hartley and Wirth in

8453-411: The piano reduction: they added A. Petiot as a second composer, probably for copyright purpose as it was common for Soviet Union artists. This is the structural breakdown according to Glazunov himself, taken from a letter he wrote to Maximilian Steinberg : Above forms occur again before leading to the coda (E flat major). The concerto consists of a single movement that opens with the strings playing

8560-488: The post World War II era, and provided a foundation for big band jazz. Show bands with saxophone sections became a staple of television talk shows (such as the Tonight Show that featured bands led by Doc Severinsen and Branford Marsalis ) and Las Vegas stage shows. The swing era fostered the later saxophone styles that permeated bebop and rhythm and blues in the early postwar era. Coleman Hawkins established

8667-541: The quartet for its first ten years, during which it performed at major concert halls in Europe and the United States. The quartet was acclaimed by the Wiener Zeitung as the "Uncrowned Kings of the Saxophone". The quartet performed in all the countries of Europe, as well as North America, Southeast Asia, and Australia. It is the longest existing saxophone quartet. Raschèr's tireless pursuit of classical composers

8774-545: The quest for improved intonation , dynamic response and tonal qualities. The 1920s were also an era of design experiments like the Buescher straight altos and tenors, the King Saxello soprano, the C. G. Conn mezzo-soprano saxophone keyed in F, and the Conn-O-Sax saxophone–English horn hybrid. French saxophonist and educator Jean-Marie Londeix greatly expanded the saxophone repertoire and available techniques in

8881-520: The right-side bell key layout. In 1948 Selmer introduced their Super Action saxophones with offset left and right hand stack keys. Thirty to forty years later this 1948 Selmer layout was nearly universal. The high F ♯ key was also first introduced as an option on the Balanced Action model, although it took several decades for it to gain acceptance because of perceived deleterious effects on intonation. Marcel Mule established study of

8988-399: The same key arrangement and fingerings. Therefore any written note corresponds to the same fingering on any saxophone, making it easier for players to switch instruments. Alto and larger saxophones have a detachable curved neck at the top, and a U-shaped bend (the bow ) that turns the tubing upward as it approaches the bell. Soprano and sopranino saxophones are usually constructed without

9095-463: The same length. Commercial reeds vary in hardness and design, and single-reed players try different reeds to find those that suit their mouthpiece, embouchure, and playing style. Mouthpiece design has a profound impact on tone. Different mouthpiece design characteristics and features tend to be favored for different styles. Early mouthpieces were designed to produce a "warm" and "round" sound for classical playing. Among classical mouthpieces, those with

9202-583: The saxophone as a classical instrument at the Conservatoire de Paris from the 1940s. Larry Teal did the same in the United States at the University of Michigan a decade later. A number of other American institutions have since become recognized homes for the study of classical saxophone. They include Northwestern University , Indiana University , and the Eastman School of Music . The saxophone first gained popularity in military bands . Although

9309-401: The saxophone for more dynamic and more technically demanding styles of playing added incentive for improvements in keywork and acoustic design. Early saxophones had two separate octave keys operated by the left thumb to control the two octave vents required on alto or larger saxophones. Around the turn of the century, mechanisms were developed to operate both octave vents with a single key using

9416-420: The saxophone has been the subject of much debate. According to Larry Teal , the mouthpiece material has little, if any, effect on the sound, and the physical dimensions give a mouthpiece its tone color. There are examples of "dark" sounding metal pieces and "bright" sounding hard rubber pieces. The extra bulk required near the tip with hard rubber affects mouth position and airflow characteristics. The saxophone

9523-420: The saxophone in dance orchestras and jazz ensembles from the 1920s onward placed emphasis on dynamic range and projection, leading to innovation in mouthpiece designs. At the opposite extreme from the classical mouthpieces are those with a small chamber and a low clearance above the reed between the tip and the chamber, called high baffle . These produce a bright sound with maximum projection, suitable for having

9630-592: The saxophone remained marginal, used mainly as a novelty instrument in the classical world, many new musical niches were established for it during the early decades of the twentieth century. Its early use in vaudeville and ragtime bands around the turn of the century laid the groundwork for its use in dance orchestras and eventually jazz. As the market for saxophones grew in the US, the manufacturing industry grew. The Martin Band Instrument Company started producing saxophones between 1905 and 1912, and

9737-463: The saxophone. Starting near the end of the 1880s he consulted with the brass instrument manufacturer C.G. Conn to develop and start production of improved saxophones to replace the costly, scarce, and mechanically unreliable European instruments that were in the American market. The early 1890s saw regular production of saxophones commence at Conn and its offshoot Buescher Manufacturing Company , which dramatically increased availability of saxophones in

9844-487: The second half of the 20th century, commissioning a great deal of new saxophone works with extended techniques, including those by Denisov , Lauba , Rossé, and Rolin. The modern layout of the saxophone emerged during the 1930s and 1940s, first with right-side bell keys introduced by C. G. Conn on baritones, then by King on altos and tenors. The mechanics of the left hand table were revolutionized by Selmer with their Balanced Action instruments in 1936, capitalizing on

9951-537: The series pitched in C and F never gained a foothold and constituted only a small fraction of instruments made by Sax. High-pitch (also marked "H" or "HP") saxophones tuned sharper than the (concert) A = 440 Hz standard were produced into the early twentieth century for sonic qualities suited for outdoor use, but are not playable to modern tuning and are considered obsolete. Low-pitch (also marked "L" or "LP") saxophones are equivalent in tuning to modern instruments. C soprano and C melody saxophones were produced for

10058-402: The spring of 1940, which Arturo Toscanini attended and thereupon embraced Raschèr. Due to the war in Europe, he could not return to Germany. On 4 November 1941, his wife Ann Mari, of Swedish descent, joined him in the United States where they established their home on a small farm in the rural town of Shushan in northern New York State, where they would reside for nearly 60 years. Although he

10165-413: The table below, consecutive members of each family are pitched an octave apart. The pitch of a saxophone is controlled by opening or closing the tone holes along the body of the instrument to change the length of the vibrating air column. The tone holes are closed by leather pads connected to keys—most are operated by the player's fingers, but some are operated using the palm or the side of a finger. There

10272-669: The tenor saxophone as a jazz solo instrument during his stint with Fletcher Henderson from 1923 to 1934. Hawkins' arpeggiated , rich-toned, vibrato-laden style was the main influence on swing era tenor players before Lester Young , and his influence continued with other big-toned tenor players into the era of modern jazz. Among the tenor players directly influenced by him were Chu Berry , Charlie Barnet , Tex Beneke , Ben Webster , Vido Musso , Herschel Evans , Buddy Tate , and Don Byas . Hawkins' bandmate Benny Carter and Duke Ellington's alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges became influential on swing era alto styles, while Harry Carney brought

10379-501: The tone they desired. For a period of time the only large-chambered mouthpieces were ones that had been manufactured in the 1920s and 1930s, leading Raschèr students to search pawn shops and other sources of old instruments. Raschèr responded to this lack of supply by engaging a manufacturer to make a "Sigurd Raschèr brand" mouthpiece, which was simply a virtual duplication of the mouthpieces that had been readily available from American saxophone manufacturers Buescher , Conn and others in

10486-435: Was a softer, rounder sound—a sound that can only be produced by a mouthpiece with a large, rounded interior (often referred to as an "excavated chamber"). His steadfast and irascible insistence in this area, while nearly all the world's classical saxophonists were moving to narrower mouthpieces (along with saxophones with a non-parabolically expanding bore) and a brighter tone, resulted in quarrels with, and alienation from,

10593-512: Was born in Germany, publicity from the 1940s often refers to Raschèr as having come from Sweden. This reflected both his distaste for the Hitler regime, and reaction to American suspicion during that time of all things German. His international career as a soloist and his ability to gain residence and citizenship in many countries could have been damaged or destroyed if any suspicion arose about his background. After World War II ended in 1945, Raschèr

10700-513: Was designed around 1840 by Adolphe Sax , a Belgian instrument maker, flautist , and clarinetist . Born in Dinant and originally based in Brussels , he moved to Paris in 1842 to establish his musical instrument business. Before working on the saxophone, he made several improvements to the bass clarinet by improving its keywork and acoustics and extending its lower range. Sax was also a maker of

10807-420: Was eager to demonstrate his command of these "top tones," and argued that the use of these tones was a legitimate musical technique, not a trick or novelty. His book on this subject, Top-Tones for the Saxophone , was published in 1941 and remains highly regarded to this day. To better demonstrate that the technique of playing tones above high F had its basis in the natural overtone series of the saxophone, he had

10914-605: Was introduced into the concert band , which usually calls for an E ♭ alto saxophone, a B ♭ tenor saxophone, and an E ♭ baritone saxophone. A concert band may include two altos, one tenor, and one baritone. A B ♭ soprano saxophone is also sometimes used, and is played by the first alto saxophonist. A bass saxophone in B ♭ is used in some concert band music (especially music by Percy Grainger ). Saxophones are used in chamber music, such as saxophone quartets and other chamber combinations of instruments. The classical saxophone quartet consists of

11021-421: Was invited to give concerts in Europe again, where he traveled for months on end, performing as soloist with many orchestras. As Raschèr's reputation grew in the United States, he also performed many orchestra concerts as soloist as well as with various university bands. Raschèr performed as soloist with more than 250 orchestras and wind ensembles worldwide, including concerts in Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada and

11128-462: Was revived by jazz musician Rahsaan Roland Kirk , who called his straight Buescher alto a "stritch" and his Saxello a "manzello" . The Buescher straight alto was a production instrument while the manzello was in fact a Saxello with a custom-made large bell and modified keywork. More recently, the mezzo-soprano, or a modern variant of it, came into use by jazz musicians Anthony Braxton , James Carter , Vinny Golia , and Joe Lovano . Some of

11235-971: Was such a success that the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra , under the baton of Eugen Jochum , gave a performance with Raschèr in Berlin on 6 January 1933. In the summer of the same year, Raschèr performed the Borck concerto again in Strasbourg at Hermann Scherchen's International Musician's Working Conference, and in 1935 he performed it with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw under the baton of Eduard van Beinum . As Hitler rose to power in 1933, Raschèr's friend Johan Bentzon, whom he had met in Strasbourg, invited him to Copenhagen, Denmark , where Raschèr then taught at

11342-547: Was the King Saxello , essentially a straight B ♭ soprano, but with a slightly curved neck and tipped bell, made by the H. N. White Company . Such instruments now command prices up to US$ 4,000. Its lasting influence is shown in the number of companies, including Keilwerth, Rampone & Cazzani ( altello model), L.A. Sax and Sax Dakota USA, marketing straight-bore, tipped-bell soprano saxophones as saxellos (or "saxello sopranos"). Interest in two 1920s variants

11449-633: Was usually thought of." In 1930 Raschèr moved to Berlin. He was called upon when the Berlin Philharmonic needed a saxophonist for a performance. This is where he met the composer and conductor Edmund von Borck (1906–1944), who composed a concerto for him in 1932. Borck's Concerto Op. 6 for Saxophone and Orchestra was performed at the General German Composers Festival in Hanover , Germany on 3 October 1932. It

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