Is the epic saxophone solo returning to pop music? With recent good time summer radio hits by ubiquitous hit makers Katy Perry and Lady Gaga featuring an unexpected saxophone solo, is this a hint towards a return of the woodwind as a staple in rock/pop music or just ironic posturing from vapid "tastemakers"?
posted by mediocre
on Jul 21, 2011 -
135 comments
Colin Stetson is an unusually gifted sax player. He's worked or is working with Tom Waits, Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, GY!BE, Bon Iver and others. He's opened for Arcade Fire, Tim Hecker, and The National. What's most unusual about Stetson is that he's able to make all the sounds you hear with one horn, utilizing no loops or overdubs.
Stream three tracks and
download one or watch
two videos of him play.
posted by dobbs
on Mar 17, 2011 -
28 comments
A handy rating guide to 1980s saxophone solos --
"I realized about 5 years ago that at some point in the 80s, lots of the popular music started incorporating saxophone solos into their songs. Some of them are fine, but most of them are ridiculous to have in the songs. I have attempted to separate the quality and appropriateness of the solos from what I think of the song as a whole..."
posted by miss lynnster
on Jun 26, 2009 -
140 comments
Smooth Jazz, also sometimes referred to as new adult contemporary music or instrumental pop, is generally described as a genre that utilizes instruments and improvisation traditionally associated with jazz and stylistic influences drawn from mostly R&B, but also funk and pop. Since the late 1980s and into the 1990s, it has become successful as a
radio format. [source
wikipedia]
[more inside]
posted by netbros
on Apr 20, 2008 -
251 comments
Here's a chance to acquaint (or reacquaint) yourself with the music of some of the great saxophonists who've made their mark in American improvised music. The following
MySpace Music pages feature audio, video, photos and text aplenty, to get your jazz mojo working. In no particular order:
Lester Young,
Hank Mobley,
Ornette Coleman,
Sonny Rollins,
John Coltrane,
Don Byas,
Pharoah Sanders,
Albert Ayler,
Charlie Parker,
Joe Henderson,
Earl Bostic,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Johnny Hodges,
Wayne Shorter,
Sonny Stitt,
Benny Carter,
Sidney Bechet and
David Murray.
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Dec 12, 2007 -
33 comments
MusicMoose wants "to provide the world with free, useful music lessons, and a community based site to help back it all up." The
site contains hundreds of free video music
lessons (often containing notation and/or tablature) with a distinct focus on acoustic and bluegrass music, all taught by some pretty
badass pickers (including the astonishingly good mandolin shredder Anthony Hannigan). There are also obligatory but very useful
forums.
Takeaway: the whole thing is free and you don't have to register to watch the lessons.
posted by kosem
on Jun 29, 2007 -
15 comments
Michael Brecker has passed away Arguably, one of the most influential saxophonists of all time, he has lost his fight against myelodysplastic syndrome. Truly a major loss for the jazz and rock worlds.
posted by milnak
on Jan 13, 2007 -
30 comments
Xaphoon! It's a saxophone! No, it's a clarinet! It's dirt cheap and it fits on your pocket! Apparently these have been around for twenty years, but I've never heard of them before. I've ordered myself one of the plastic ones. Has anyone here played one of these things?
posted by chrid
on Jul 8, 2004 -
16 comments
