Sax Players

Originally Posted by Monsieur le Sax

That bass saxophone concerto is definitely different. I don't think I would like playing it mostly because I would always feel that I was being overpowered by the orchestra behid me.

Well that could be a problem. Mind you the saxophon is still young in terms of its been aroundness and its repertoire in classical music is somewhat limited. then again you're talking to a now full blown bassoonist. Prokofiev if I recall wrote some interesting saxophon parts on occassion, the one that hits me the most right now being "The Dance of the Knights" (Montagues and Capulets sometimes is what it's also called). Ravel also uses it in Bolero (a composer and piece I have strong grudges against) and apparently (according to wiki) as a part in Leonard Bernstein's west side story. if that's true or not i can't guarentee it, but I wouldn't be surprised either.
Hope this helps. Good luck.

I'm new to the forum, but, as you can probably guess from my name, I'm a classical saxophonist. I've only been playing for 5 or 6 years though, so I'm a relative beginner to a lot of people here. My favorite pieces for the saxophone would have to be the Glazunov concerto, the Larsson concerto, Tableaux de Provence, and just about everything written by Dubois or Creston. As a composer I also tend to write a lot for the sax - I've written a suite of dances for saxophone and piano, I frequently use saxophones in orchestras, and my current project is a saxophone concerto.

I am a sax player as well who does both classical and jazz. I remember liking the Creston so much when I first discovered it and then finding all the other standards such as the Tableaux, Glazunov, and so on. Now I have come across so much sax rep and played so much of it I have found many to call "favorites". As for writing sax music, I tend to include it in orchestral works but I hardly ever write a solo piece for it.

Classical Sax id like to see your concerto when u finish it.

Sonata, by Lawson Lunde. Great piece.

I've been playing sax since the 5th grade (1964). While obtaining my BA in Music Ed (K-12), I did both a Junior and Senior recital on sax as well as a Jan Term project arranging Glaz for Band with follow-up public performance in the Bethlehem, PA Rose Garden with the Moravian College Band. I also did an honors paper on musical composition. Never could earn much playing sax, so I currently limit my sax playing to recitals each year with the local music club.

Besides the usual suggestions (Ibert, Debussy, Creston, etc.), you may find audiences receptive to the following:
Concerto for sax and orchestra by Erland von Koch (my favorite - need a good altissimo)
Arioso and Presto for Alto Sax and Band by James Barnes
Introduction and Samba by Maurice C Whitney
Diversion by Bernhard Heiden (with cadenza by Eugene Rousseau)
Escapades by John Williams
Fantasia for Soprano or Tenor Sax by Heito Villa-Lobos
Pequena Czarda by Pedro Iturralde
Saxema by Rudy Widoeft (or anything else by him - loads of old-time fun)
Deux Caprices en Forme De Valse by Paul Bonneau (Part 2 is typically done unaccompanied)
Fantasia Concertante by Bernhard Heiden (need a good altissimo)
Scaramouche by Darius Milhaud
The Glaser-Rascher arrangement of The Carnival of Venice

The above should provide you with sufficient challenge and please most audiences (if done well). I, too, welcome any suggestions for challenging, crowd-pleasing saxophone works. I'm not a big fan of multi-phonics or other strange noises. My favorite saxophonists include Sigurd Rascher, Eugene Rousseau, Paul Desmond, Stan Getz, Lenny Pickett and Kenny G (especially LIVE - improvises beyond what you would expect, has phenomenal breath control including circular breathing and a signature tone). I also tend to rank players with better tone higher than those who seem to focus on speed.

Originally Posted by Bob Premecz

...My favorite saxophonists include ...Kenny G (especially LIVE - improvises beyond what you would expect, has phenomenal breath control including circular breathing and a signature tone).

Are you serious?!

Originally Posted by robinjessome

Are you serious?!

YES. Did you ever see him LIVE? Don't judge him just on his recordings or what some naysayers want you to think. Buy a ticket and sit through one of his concerts, if you have the chance. I formed a totally new opinion of him after I saw him doing his stuff LIVE. He's the real deal. Just my 2 cents.

Do you question my opinion regarding any of my other choices? Do you have examples of players you prefer?

Originally Posted by Bob Premecz

Did you ever see him LIVE? Don't judge him just on his recordings or what some naysayers want you to think. ...He's the real deal. Just my 2 cents.

I have no desire to see him live.

Originally Posted by Pat Metheny

I first heard him a number of years ago playing as a sideman with Jeff Lorber when they opened a concert for my band. My impression was that he was someone who had spent a fair amount of time listening to the more pop oriented sax players of that time...but was not really an advanced player, even in that style. He had major rhythmic problems and his harmonic and melodic vocabulary was extremely limited, mostly to pentatonic based and blues-lick derived patterns, and he basically exhibited only a rudimentary understanding of how to function as a professional soloist in an ensemble ...

But he did show a knack for connecting to the basest impulses of the large crowd by deploying his two or three most effective licks (holding long notes and playing fast runs - never mind that there were lots of harmonic clams in them) at the key moments to elicit a powerful crowd reaction (over and over again). The other main thing I noticed was that he also, as he does to this day, played horribly out of tune - consistently sharp.

That, plus the disturbing arrogance to overdub himself on top of Louis Armstrong has put Kenny G WELL below anything I consider worth putting any effort into checking out.

He's not the real deal; he's a charlatan and highly business savvy, but a mediocre saxophonist. There's nothing creative or artistic about what he does.

Originally Posted by Bob Premecz

Do you question my opinion regarding any of my other choices? Do you have examples of players you prefer?

I don't recognize the others. Paul Desmond, Stan Getz. Nice tone, though certainly not innovative or highly developed improvisors.

Dig: John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Lester Young, Wayne Shorter, David Liebman, Joe Lovano, Chris Potter, Cannonball Adderly, Dewey Redman, Jan Garbarek, Coleman Hawkins, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, John Zorn, Steve Lacy...I could go on for days.

Harvey Pittel, Eugene Rousseau and Claude Delangle have to be my favorite players ever. I don't really listen to much jazz so I can really only go with Coltrane, sonny, and branford.

I've been playing for four or five years; I'm a freshman in high school right now. My favorite pieces are Tableaux de Provence (although I still can't play the pesky fifth movement up to tempo), Bozza's Aria, Gurewich's Concerto (it's simply a fun piece to play), Creston Sonata, Jacobi Sonata, Glazunov Concerto, and Introduction and Samba.

Introduction and Samba is probably the hardest out of any of those. Insane altissimo, tonguing, and runs. It's very hard to make it all sound good, even the melodic parts.

YouTube - Irmo High School Symphonic Winds