Perhaps the greatest thing about the saxophone is the sound — the range of sound, the possibilities, and the unique sonority that comes from each individual who plays the instrument. The saxophone lives in a lot of spaces, whether it be jazz, Latin, reggae, hip hop, funk, or chamber or orchestral music. As an educator, I have encountered many students through the years who are skating back and forth from jazz band to wind band and are always seeking advice on how to best transition.
In this context, “code-switching” is our ability as saxophonists to fit into various ensembles, genres, and performance situations with the idiomatic style appropriate to the given performance situations.
This short post will only scratch the surface of what is important, what is possible, and what can be taught—but I will at least attempt to begin the discussion.
Similarities between the tone of concert saxophone and the tone of jazz saxophone
In my opinion, is best to start with the similarities because there are arguably more similarities than differences. As saxophone players, we all want these things and these are our goals:
great core sound
ability to be expressive with dynamics, vibrato, and nuances
control of articulation
a clean sound throughout all of the registers
consistently great intonation throughout all of the registers
How to get a great core sound:
One thing to practice would be mouthpiece pitches. If the voicing and the air are not well done with just the mouthpiece, then the sound of the instrument will be affected. I recommend a Bb mouthpiece pitch for alto for concert playing and a G or below for jazz playing.
Another thing that both concert and jazz sax players practice are overtones. All saxophones have a conical bore, meaning the instrument gets larger between the mouthpiece and the end of the bell. The result is that (similar to a trumpet) we can finger a low Bb and manipulate the instrument so the upper partials of that pitch will speak—including the octave, then the 5th above the octave, etc. The text that most everyone uses to practice overtones is the Sigurd Rascher Top Tones book. I will demonstrate mouthpiece pitches and overtones in the video below:
How to change the brightness or darkness of tone:
Students should experiment with using different syllables to alter the timbre of the sound. First, I will play while forming the inside of the mouth to shape the word “new” and then I will shape the inside of the mouth saying “neee” and you will heard the difference in tone color:
Embouchure:
When I was a student, I thought there was a vastly different embouchure for concert and jazz playing, but at this point in my career, I recognize more similarities. A few years ago, I had the epiphany that if I were to focus on having top lip pressure right at the canine teeth, then I would bite less and have less pain in the lower lip. Larry Teal’s Art of Saxophone Playing details this, but it took a while for me to understand the concept. I often refer to his “embouchure wheel” to describe how to have an efficient embouchure:
Why do we use different mouthpieces for concert and jazz playing?
There are a great number of sax players who would use the same mouthpiece whether it is a wind band or a rock band. In my opinion, I would rather use a mouthpiece that is appropriate to the playing situation. I have a performance with a Symphony Orchestra in a few weeks and if I show up with my Theo Wanne jazz/funk mouthpiece, I could easily blast dynamics that are louder than the entire cello section. We need to do our best to blend with the rest of the ensemble!
My alto saxophone is a Selmer Series II and the concert setup I am using is a C* mouthpiece with a Legere classic cut 3 strength. The jazz setup is a reproduction of a vintage Selmer Soloist (with the specifications of Kenny Garrett’s mouthpiece) with a Riggoti Gold 2.5 reed and a Boston Sax Shop custom neck (thanks Jack!).
I want to experiment with playing the wrong music on the wrong mouthpiece and hear the results. I will start by contrasting the sound of an excerpt of Glazounov Concerto on a jazz setup and a traditional setup:
Now, here is the tune “Donna Lee” played on both setups. I think that there is a noticeable difference in what is possible on jazz setup in terms of a wider range of color in the sound:
Perhaps it is not a question of right or wrong, correct or incorrect—but rather EFFICIENCY. What is the easiest and most efficient mouthpiece to use to achieve your goal?
The differences — vibrato and articulation
Vibrato
We do approach these two concepts differently in concert and jazz contexts. I am going to use the George Gershwin tune “Summertime” as an example. First I will play it in a style as if I were with an orchestra—vibrato will generally be played evenly throughout. The second example will be the same piece played as if I were playing lead in a big band:
Articulation
There are a few differences with regard to the concept of articulation. These include:
1. The beginning of notes — typically in concert music we want to not hear the tongue at the beginnings and ends of notes. In jazz playing, it is not always a concern if we start and end the note with the tongue.
2. How to interpret articulations on a score. In my opinion, there is more of a breath attack with the concert setup and more of a tongue attack with a jazz setup.
Here is an example of the standard jazz “back tongue” articulation. This is what jazz players do to articulate the lines. I will also include an example of what I call the “Mozart articulation” which I hear prevalent in Baroque and Classical styles:
Here is an example of how that would be heard:
Admittedly, there is much more information to share and this is only the beginning, but these are important concepts to reference when exploring the sonority of the saxophone. As always, I welcome comments and whatever ideas that you all have!