Why does a section of saxophones playing in harmony sound SO good? I was recently listening to an episode of the Cool Toddcast podcast hosted by a great bassist and educator named Todd Coolman. This particular episode features and interview of saxophonist Dick Oatts and something that Dick said made me think deeply about the sound of a sax section and how to get the best sax section sound. Dick Oatts is one of the most talented and inspiring people that I have even been around. Most people know his work with the Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra on Monday nights in New York City, where he has played lead alto for many years. I invited him as a guest with my students in 2018 and spending time with him was tremendously impactful. Specifically, his ability to connect with the instrument and to play so melodically was such a treat. He is a great composer and bandleader as well so there was so much that the students and I gleaned from having time with him.
In one short part of the conversation Dick Oatts talked about the paradigm of a saxophone section — a “how to” for section playing. He mentioned that the lead alto and the bari sax should have the bright sounds in the section while the second alto and the rest of the section needs to play darker to blend the section.
Since hearing this interview and insightful words, I thought it would be fun to write a saxophone section soli, record it, and then re-record to demonstrate common mistakes.
First, I want to introduce the melody that I wrote for the lead alto. It is one chorus written over the standard chord changes of the composition “Minority,” by Gigi Gryce.
Here is an edited version of the melody that includes dynamics, crescendos, decrescendos, accents, and articulations. A very important goal in the development of a young jazz player is obtaining the skills about idiomatic jazz language and style to be able to interpret the unedited melody.
Next, I want to introduce the soli as I have scored it for a sax section. It is not the absolute best audio quality because I recorded it through iPhone headphones using the A Cappella app, but it is a good illustration of what it should sound like:
THREE THINGS TO AVOID!
I have a lot of experience directing high school and collegiate level jazz groups in addition to extensive experience playing each of the five saxophone chairs (Alto 1, Alto 2, Tenor 1, Tenor 2, and Bari) so I am confident that avoiding these three things will make all of your saxophone sections better.
1: Avoid a second alto sax player that is too loud and/or has a sound that is too bright
This is a somewhat common occurrence in jazz ensembles and it can happen for a variety of reasons. The result is that the lead alto part is not clearly heard so this needs to be avoided. The recommendation would be that the lead alto player needs to be encouraged to have a bright sound and the second alto player needs to play softer and embrace a darker tone. It is disorienting when the sound of both the alto 1 and alto 2 part are not blending in the correct way. Compare the sound of the original recording with this one, where the second alto is too loud and too bright:
2: Tenor saxophone players not subtoning the bottom octave register.
One of the joys of the tenor saxophone is the sound of the understated subtone sound in the low register. This is achieved by releasing pressure at the bottom of the embouchure underneath the mouthpiece and playing with slower airflow. The result is a darker tenor sound in the low register that is less “reedy” or “brassy” and at a softer dynamic. This has especially been an issue when I have had alto sax students playing tenor sax in a big band as the tenor sax embouchure can be more loose and the voicing can be much lower than alto. Here is an example with both tenors not subtoning the bottom octave register. The reason why this is problematic is because the full volume of the tenor sax register throws off the balance of the section. This problem can especially be heard after the 11 second mark:
3: The section not playing contours.
As mentioned earlier, the contours are essential when shaping phrases. Unless otherwise told, the ascending lines should crescendo and the descending lines should decrescendo. When musicians are struggling to chase down notes, the contours tend to get ignored. The contours and phrasing allow for the melody to be clear and easy to understand. There is a bit of cacophony on display here as only the lead alto and bari play the contours while the three inner voices do not play the contours:
I have put quite a bit of information here, so I am curious if any of these aspects should be further explained in coming posts?
If you have any thoughts about this or other questions, please feel free to leave a comment!
What are the elements that make a sax tone bright vs. dark? I know what that sounds like, but I don’t know how those tones are generated.
Thanks for this great advice on saxophone section playing. GREAT demos and comparisons. In my experience, the use - or not - of vibrato has always been an issue. It seemed that Marshall Royal of course used it but the rest of the section didn’t? I remember being called out from the lead player when as a section member on tenor I used vibrato. Great presentation Jared! ❤️👏