Bass saxophone

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A B♭ bass saxophone made by Adolphe Sax in 1876 (right). To the left is a baritone saxophone made by Sax in 1858.
A B♭ bass saxophone made by Adolphe Sax in 1876 (right). To the left is a baritone saxophone made by Sax in 1858.

The bass saxophone is the second largest existing member of the saxophone family (not counting the subcontrabass tubax). It is similar in design to a baritone saxophone, but it is larger, with a longer loop near the mouthpiece. Unlike the baritone, the bass saxophone is not commonly used. While some composers did write parts for the instrument through the early twentieth century (such as Percy Grainger in Lincolnshire Posy), the bass sax part in today's wind bands is usually handled by the tuba, or in jazz and other popular-music bands by the double bass or electric bass, all of which have a lower range. In the 1920s, the bass saxophone was often used in early jazz recordings, since it was at that time much easier to record compared to the tuba or double bass. Leonard Bernstein used a bass saxophone in his original score and movie of West Side Story.

Although originally available in either B♭ or C (the latter for orchestral use), the modern bass saxophone is pitched in B♭, a perfect fourth lower than the baritone, and thus the same as the B♭ contrabass clarinet. Music for bass sax is written in treble clef, just as for the other saxophones, but it sounds two octaves and a major second lower than written. Like the other members of the saxophone family, the lowest written note is B♭ below the staff — for bass saxophone, this note is a concert A♭ in the first octave (~ 51.9 Hz).

A size comparison shot of a man holding a bass saxophone.
A size comparison shot of a man holding a bass saxophone.

The lowest existing member of the saxophone family used to be the rare (and massive) contrabass, pitched in E♭, a perfect fifth lower than the bass. Inventor Adolphe Sax had a patent for a subcontrabass saxophone (or bourdon saxophone), but he apparently never built a fully functioning instrument. Recently some custom–built subcontrabass saxophones have been made by Benedikt Eppelsheim, sounding an octave lower than the bass saxophone.

Adolphe Sax, the saxophone's inventor, first exhibited the bass saxophone in C at an exhibition in Brussels in 1841. The bass saxophone thus has the distinction of having been the first saxophone to be presented to the public.

[edit] Bass saxophone players

The bass saxophone enjoyed some measure of popularity in jazz combos between World War I and World War II, with the bass saxophone used primarily to provide bass lines (although occasionally players took melodic solos). Notable players of this era include Billy Fowler, Coleman Hawkins, Adrian Rollini, and Vern Brown of the Six Brown Brothers.[1] The American bandleader Boyd Raeburn (1913-1966), who led an avant-garde big band in the 1940s, was a bass saxophonist. In Britain, the leader of the Oscar Rabin Band played this instrument. American Bandleader Stan Kenton, well-known for expeditions into the avant-garde, included the instrument in his 1960s Mellophonium Orchestra. The instrument is featured in "Waltz of the Prophets", a chart by Kenton's lead trombone/arranger Dee Barton.

The 1970s traditional jazz band The Memphis Nighthawks built their sound around a bass saxophone played by the diminutive Dave Feinman, who could just reach his mouthpiece. Some of the finest revivalist bass saxophonist performing today in the 1920s-1930s style are Vince Giordano and Bert Brandsma, leader of the Dixieland Crackerjacks. Jazz players using the instrument in a more contemporary style include Roscoe Mitchell, Anthony Braxton, Peter Brötzmann, Hamiet Bluiett, James Carter, Stefan Zeniuk, Vinny Golia, Joseph Jarman, Jan Garbarek, Urs Leimgruber, Tony Bevan, and Scott Robinson, though none of these uses it as their primary instrument.

In the genres of rock and funk, Angelo Moore of the American band Fishbone plays bass saxophone. In the 1960s, Rodney Slater used the instrument in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, as did Ralph Carney of the avant-garde rock band Tin Huey. John Linnell of They Might Be Giants and Dana Colley of Morphine also play the bass saxophone on occasion.

[edit] External links

[edit] Listening

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Members of the Saxophone family
True saxophones
Tubaxes
† denotes saxophone not designed by Adolphe Sax• ‡ denotes saxophone proposed by Adolphe Sax