Great Players Who sparked your love of Sax music

[altissimo]

freedom of expression consists of honks, burrrrs, split octaves, squeaks and sometimes no sound at all.

don't knock it, some of us have made a career out of that...

 

[Caz]

Kenny Gorelic, not trolling!

 

[altissimo]

don't knock it, some of us have made a career out of that...

don't laugh, I wasn't joking - it was seeing musicians like this, back in the early 80's that made me want to play the sax

View: https://youtu.be/_ZVEyEL0jws

 

[Jules]

don't laugh, I wasn't joking - it was seeing musicians like this, back in the early 80's that made me want to play the sax

View: https://youtu.be/_ZVEyEL0jws

I remember John Butcher in our shop. Thoroughly nice guy and immensely technical in his approach to what he does and his horns. He had most of the staff baffled as he thoroughly put various sopranos through their paces for harmonic potential... I'd always been intrigued by him but seeing how precise his method was increased my respect considerably. He also seems to destroy reeds like no other player I've come across- with the exception of Peter Brotzmann- who I once saw finish a gig with a pile of dead reeds round his feet

 

[altissimo]

I remember John Butcher in our shop. Thoroughly nice guy and immensely technical in his approach to what he does and his horns. He had most of the staff baffled as he thoroughly put various sopranos through their paces for harmonic potential... I'd always been intrigued by him but seeing how precise his method was increased my respect considerably. He also seems to destroy reeds like no other player I've come across- with the exception of Peter Brotzmann- who I once saw finish a gig with a pile of dead reeds round his feet

that's what I've heard, butI've seen both of 'em a few times and never saw either of them have to change a reed - maybe they're using softer reeds these days, like Steve Lacy using 1 1/2's on his Otto Link 11

 

[Jules]

Really- Brotzmann at the Green Door Store a few years ago was getting through a .... hm... a panda- full of reeds across his set... John Butcher I mainly know because I am familiar with his reed buying habits. Not noticed him break them live but his consumption of plasticovers is prodigious (panda like maybe - to continue the metaphor)

 

[tatooandy67]

Earliest memories of a sax player as a child about 11 or 12 years old I saw a busker playing sax outside a shopping precinct and I was totally hypnotised by the sound he was making so I immediately got on to my parents to get me a saxophone, I ended up with a clarinet from school as that was all that was available 🙁 then as I hit my teens I got into music by Bowie and pink Floyd both of which contain lots of sax which was my inspiration for sax although it has taken me until quite recently to take a serious try at actually playing/learning

 

[altissimo]

Really- Brotzmann at the Green Door Store a few years ago was getting through a .... hm... a panda- full of reeds across his set... John Butcher I mainly know because I am familiar with his reed buying habits. Not noticed him break them live but his consumption of plasticovers is prodigious (panda like maybe - to continue the metaphor)

well, it has been 20 years since I last saw Brotzmann, so he may have gone down a strength or two - recent pictures certainly show him with a table full of reeds ready for action that he didn't used to have. Perhaps he's taking it easy in his old age on that big old Berg Larsen...
I suspect the John Butcher has to go through a box of reeds just to find one or two that are good enough to play the way he needs them to - plus he's a touring musician so will need to carry a good stock of reeds.. I've seen players with big bundles of reeds in their sax cases, just to make sure they can make it through a month's touring

 

[jeremyjuicewah]

I know, it takes a lot of time and practice to sound effortless otherwise freedom of expression consists of honks, burrrrs, split octaves, squeaks and sometimes no sound at all.

Ok, I pressed the wrong button. See the quote above. It describes my experiences as a young man with Newcastle Brown Ale.

 

[Alice]

I meant the sounds that a beginner makes, not a professional who has chosen to.
Re my post above: "It takes a lot of time and practice to sound effortless etc"

 

[Saltosax]

I’m curious to know how you fellow saxophonists began playing and for which reason 🙂

 

[Jeanette]

I’m curious to know how you fellow saxophonists began playing and for which reason 🙂

I think many were inspired by hearing someone see here 🙂

Jx

 

[Saltosax]

I think many were inspired by hearing someone see here 🙂

Jx

Ah thank you! I too was inspired by hearing a player who was on the radio!

 

[Jeanette]

Threads now merged

Jx

 

[Veggie Dave]

Apologies for not reading the whole thread but in my my case, no-one did. I just saw an ad in a local paper from a music shop

Phew, I'm not as odd as I first thought. 😉

I, too, found the instrument first and then slowly discovered those who really knew how to make it sing.

 

[Jeanette]

Phew, I'm not as odd as I first thought. 😉

Hmmm, not so sure about that 😉

Jx

 

[Veggie Dave]

Hmmm, not so sure about that 😉

And that goes for you, too, Alice.

 

[Keep Blowing]

I know that a lot of us think of the jazz greats when we think of great sax players but what track or player was the initial spark that lit the flame of love for the sax and sax music.

I think it was the sax part in careless whisper played by Steve Gregory that started it all and the the sax solo from "Will you" by Hazel O Conner can't remember who the sax player was but someone will tell me

Who was it for you?

mamos

in 1980ish when I was a Punk Rocker, I had been to a Punk Gig and went back to a mates flat in Kettering. He put a Ben Webster record on that blew me away . the album was Blow Ben Blow. tracks I think were: John Browns Body, Worksong, The Preacher and Straight No Chaser.
Keep Blowing!

 

[kevgermany]

Ben Webster.... Superb.

 

[Dino]

Johnny Roadhouse. He played 1st alto with the Northern Dance Orchestra, NDO, after that I was completely blown away buy Paul Desmond and his gentle but beautiful tone and phrasing. Ofcourse Parker figured but lots of others from Ellington Era. Getting older now, oh yes Cannot forget good ole Benn Carter.