Saxophone: Internet Resources

Adolphe Sax (1814-1894) became something of a footnote in history after his creation was almost forgotten after his death, until it was revived by jazz musicians who barely remembered his name. In his own time, however, Sax made musical headlines. His life story is a rich source of information about music—and musical politics—in the nineteenth century, full of controversy, public scenes, and dramatic reversals of fortune. Sax's life, wrote a contemporary observer quoted on the Web site of the inventor's home city of Dinant, “rises to the heights of a social event.” (encyclopedia.com)

The students of Joseph Allard (1910-1991) fondly remember their mentor reminiscing about his life in music. Although his experiences were not especially unique to the working musician of the 1930s and 1940s, Allard never let the commonplace be anything but enlightening. His ability to reflect upon the past served as a tool to better himself as a musician and to provide inspiration and guidance for his students. Allard's post-secondary teaching affiliations began as a clarinet, bass clarinet and saxophone instructor at The Juilliard School, although the school catalog from 1957 lists him only as a saxophone instructor. Allard taught there from the 1956/57 school year through the 1983/84 school year. (joeallard.org)

Paul Brodie’s (1934-2007) virtuoso playing and his clear, full tone greatly extended the appeal of the saxophone in classical music circles. In addition to developing his reputation at home, Brodie toured incessantly, attracting large audiences throughout the Americas, Europe, Australia and Asia. His visits to China were especially fruitful, and his seminars and workshops were extremely well attended. (allmusic.com)

Gustav Bumcke (18 July 1876 – 4 July 1963) was a German composer and founder of the first German saxophone orchestra. He taught music theory, harmony and composition at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin. For lack of good saxophonists, Bumcke played many of his compositions himself and in 1927 founded his own saxophone class at Stern's Conservatory, then later at the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory, from which especially Bumcke's daughter Hilde became famous as a German saxophonist under her stage name Ingrid Larssen.

Daniel Deffayet (1922-2002) began his teaching career in 1948, and was a professor at municipal Conservatories in Paris, the Ecole municipale de musique de Beauvais, and at the Conservatoire du Mans. For many years he taught beside Allard Mayor, who created the Conservatory of the 10th arrondissement, the first of the municipal Conservatories in Paris. Tuition was free, with teaching provided by benevolent professors, to provide a larger access for students to music; some students have thus been able to enter the Paris Conservatory*. (adolpesax.com)

Soloist, researcher and pedagogue, Claude Delangle (b. 1957), one of the greatest contemporary saxophonists, stands out as the master of the French saxophone. Privileged interpreter for classic works, he enriches the repertoire and encourages creation by collaborating with the most renowned composers, including L. Berio, P. Boulez, Toru Takemitsu, A. Piazzolla, and promoting the youngest. (sax-delangle.com)

During a professional career spanning an amazing nine decades, Alfred J. Gallodoro (1913-2008) has played his saxophone, clarinet and bass clarinet in all forms and venues of music - - - from vaudeville houses to New Orleans speak-easies, from night clubs to symphonies, and from Carnegie Hall to international jazz festivals. He was a regularly featured “front stage” soloist on live broadcasts spanning from the 1930’s through the 1970’s, and even continues those live radio performances today with regular appearances on North East Public Radio. (algalladoro.com)

Before joining John Philip Sousa´s Band, Jascha Gurewich (1896-1938) worked with Julius Lenzberg´s orchestra at the Colonial Theatre in New York and after that played in Canada with
Thaviu´s band. After one season he heard that Sousa was looking for a saxophone
player. Gurewich played for Sousa at an audition and he was immediately hired for
the 1920 season beginning August 1. (Olli-Pekka Tuomisalo)

John Harle (b. 1956) is an Ivor Novello award-winning composer, saxophonist, record producer and educator whose work spans across musical genres from classical to contemporary pop.
John is the composer of operas, around fifty concert works and over 100 film and TV scores including the theme to BBC1's Silent Witness and the epic score to Simon Schama’s A History of Britain.

Frederick L. Hemke (1935-2019) was the first American to receive the First Prize for Saxophone at the Conservatoire National de Musique de Paris, where he studied with Marcel Mule. He also holds a B. A. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, an M.A. in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music and a Ph. D. in Music from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. (selmer.fr)

Cecil B. Leeson (16 December 1902 – 17 April 1989), a musician and teacher, was widely credited with establishing the saxophone as a legitimate concert instrument in the U.S. Leeson taught saxophone performance at Northwestern University from 1955 to 1961 and then at Ball State University. His papers and his collection of original Adolphe Sax and other famous saxophones are in the America's National Music Museum at the University of South Dakota. (wikiwand.com)

Edward Abraham Lefebre (15 December 1834 – 22 February 1911) was a virtuosic saxophonist in the late nineteenth century, best known for his work with Patrick Gilmore, John Philip Sousa, C. G. Conn, and the New York Saxophone Quartette Club. His frequent international performances and continued advocacy of the saxophone led to his nickname of "Saxophone King”. While little is known of his early musical career, he primarily performed on the clarinet until meeting Adolphe Sax in Paris in the 1850s. He later abandoned the clarinet entirely when he joined the Twenty-second Regiment National Guard Band, under direction of Patrick Gilmore, in 1873. This group was one of the first American military bands to include a full saxophone section based on the instrumentation of the Garde Républicaine. (wikipedia.com)

A student of Marcel Mule and Jean Rivier, Jean-Marie Londeix (b.1932) has made a name for himself as a concert performer, teacher (Conservatories of Dijon and Bordeaux), facilitator and author of major pedagogical works. He has performed very regularly as a soloist all over the world, often opening concerts or saxophone recitals. He has made numerous recordings. About a hundred of the most representative works for the instrument are dedicated to him. (selmer.fr)

French classical saxophone virtuoso, Marcel Mule (1901-2001), is regarded as a master of his instrument on a par with figures such as Luciano Pavarotti, Nicolo Paganini, Jascha Heifetz, and Arthur Rubinstein. In fact, so great was his influence that it’s likely the saxophone wouldn’t have become so popular throughout the music world were it not for Marcel Mule’s visibility and fame as an international performer, recording artist, and master teacher. (saxmagazine.onilne)

More than any other classical saxophonist before or since, Sigurd Rascher (1907-2001) contributed to the legitimization of an instrument many composers and musicians disliked. With immense fluidity and lovely, rounded tone, Rascher mastered the instrument, giving heretofore-unimagined polish and variations in temperament from virginal to seductive. Works already written for the instrument emerged in new light while contemporary composers recognized fresh possibilities and devised new scores utilizing the alto saxophone. (allmusic.com)

Eugene Rousseau (b. 1932) has performed across North America and on five continents since his Carnegie Hall debut. The legendary saxophonist Marcel Mule described Rousseau as “a brilliant saxophonist and distinguished artist,” and critics the world over have echoed Mule’s praise. He was a co-founder of the World Saxophone Congress.(rousseaumouthpieces.com)

Larry Teal (1905-1984) is considered by many to be the father of American orchestral saxophone. Teal became the first full-time professor of saxophone at any American university when he was appointed to the faculty of the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in 1953. (keisersouthernmusic.com)

During the period from 1900 to 1930 in America, there was a saxophone craze which made the electric guitar phenomenon of the 1960’s look like nothing in comparison. The one person who best personifies this period is perhaps the biggest musical star of the 1920’s, Rudy Wiedoeft (1893-1940). The fact that Wiedoeft is almost forgotten now takes nothing away from his essential role in establishing the saxophone in the public mind. When one looks at the facts, it seems quite evident that everything that happened after Wiedoeft would have been much more difficult if he had not lived. (classicalmusicnow.com)

Pepper Adams (1930-1986) was born in Highland Park, Michigan in 1930. He would lead a long and fruitful career spanning 28 years, and over 600 recordings. He began to play the clarinet in a school band in 4th grade, and eventually purchased a bari saxophone from a job at a music store in Detroit. It was also during this time that he would gain an early ear for the music from listening to the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, and Fats Waller’s nightly radio show (jazzempowers.org)

Julian Adderley (1928-1975) was born on September 15th, 1928 in Tampa, Florida. He initially wanted to play tenor saxophone, but since both money and instruments were scarce during the Second World War, Adderley ended up buying a beat-up alto. Adderley was drafted into the U.S. Army. He was a member of the 36th Army Band, which played mostly dance material. (jazzgiants.net)

John Coltrane (1926-1967) was born in Hamlet, North Carolina in 1926. He only lived in North Carolina for a few years. After his grandparents and father died within a few months of each other, he relocated with his mother to Philadelphia. John Coltrane began his illustrious career in the 1950’s with two high list associations; Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk. (jazzempowers.org)

The tenor saxophonist, whose distinctively beautiful tone earned him the nickname “The Sound,” entranced listeners and put him on top of the polls. He recorded a critically acclaimed album, Focus, with the orchestra of arranger Eddie Sauter and was introduced to Brazilian music by guitarist Charlie Byrd with whom he recorded Jazz Samba. The album rose to number one on the charts in 1963 and earned Getz a Grammy for best jazz solo. Finally in 1985 he attained sobriety. He taught at the Stanford Jazz Workshops and recorded with Diane Schuur who won a Grammy for her 1986 Timeless album for which Getz provided sensitive accompaniment. (jazzstandards.com)

Dexter Gordon (1923-1990) was one of the leading bebop tenor saxophonists, with his near-vibratoless sound and prodigious ability to improvise. He was a strong influence on the tenor saxophonists who came after bebop, especially Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. (arts.gov)

Coleman Hawkins (1904-1969) was the first important tenor saxophonist and he remains one of the greatest of all time. A consistently modern improviser whose knowledge of chords and harmonies was encyclopedic, Hawkins had a 40-year prime (1925-1965) during which he could hold his own with any competitor. (allmusic.com)

A virtuoso jazz saxophonist with a wry improvisational sense, Branford Marsalis (b. 1960) is a boundary-pushing performer who has explored an array of styles from post-bop and traditional jazz to classical, funk, hip-hop, and rock. Initially emerging in the 1980s to widespread acclaim alongside his brother, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, Branford drew early comparisons to idols Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane, and Sonny Rollins. (allmusic.com)

One of the most widely respected and admired jazz musicians of our time, Gerry Mulligan (1927-1996) occupies a unique place in the American musical scene. As arranger, composer, saxophonist, and conductor, he has played a vital role in the history of modern jazz and contemporary music. Mulligan has performed with such jazz immortals as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Lester Young, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Jack Teagarden and Billie Holliday. He was consistently voted number one in jazz polls around the world and has won a record twenty-nine consecutive Down Beat Readers Poll awards. (loc.gov)

At age eleven, he had just begun to play the saxophone. At age twenty he was leading a revolution in modern jazz music. At thirty-four, he was dead from years of drug and alcohol use. Today, Charlie “Yardbird” Parker (1920-1955) is considered one of the great musical innovators of the 20th century. A father of bebop, he influenced generations of musicians, and sparked the fire of one of the most important and successful American artistic movements. (pbs.org)

With 7 recordings to his credit, Charles Pillow (b. 1960) has established himself as one of the premier woodwind instrumentalists and saxophonists of the day. A fluent performer, educator and touring musician, he has appeared on over 100 CD’s of jazz and pop artists such as Brad Mehldau, John Scofield, Michael Brecker, David Liebman, David Sanborn, Jay Z, Paul Simon, Tom Harrell, Joe Henderson, Maria Schneider and Bob Mintzer. (esm.rochester.edu)

Sonny Rollins (b. 1930) is the most enduring tenor saxophonist of the bebop and hard bop eras, but also one of the greatest jazz saxophonists of all time. His fluid and harmonically innovative ideas and easily accessible sound have influenced generations of players. Nicknamed "Newk," he served early apprenticeships with bop masters from Bud Powell and Miles Davis to Max Roach & Clifford Brown. (allmusic.com)

One of the true masters of the bop vocabulary, Phil Woods (1931-2015) had his own sound beginning in the mid-'50s and stuck to his musical guns throughout a remarkably productive career. There was never a doubt that he was one of the top alto saxophonists in jazz, and he lost neither his enthusiasm nor his creativity through the years. (allmusic.com)

Lester Willis Young (1909-1959), nicknamed Prez, was born in Woodville, Mississippi, on August 27, 1909. Lester was taught how to play music by his father, Willis Handy Young, who was a very good musician in his own right. Lester was first taught to play the violin, the trumpet, and the drums.(Early years). He later decided to stick to the alto saxophone, despite the fact that the drums were his favorite instrument to play. When he was eleven years of age, Lester and his father moved to Minneapolis where they formed a family band and Lester played alto saxophone with them at age 13. (mswritersandmusicians.com)

One of the most recognized and sought-after saxophonists/vocalists in the music industry, Grammy Award nominee Mindi Abair (b. 1969) has been electrifying audiences with her dynamic live performances and utter command of the saxophone since her debut album in 1999. No one since Junior Walker has brought saxophone and vocals in one package to the forefront of modern music, along with a raucous tone and dynamic stage presence. (yamaha.com)

Hailing from Santiago, Chile, Melissa Aldana (b. 1988) is an adept jazz tenor saxophonist known for her fluid harmonic lines and strong sense for the acoustic post-bop tradition. Discovered by pianist Danilo Pérez while still a teenager, Aldana debuted with Free Fall in 2010. (allmusic.com)

New York-based saxophonist Roxy Coss (b. 1986) is an award-winning musician, composer, bandleader, educator, and activist. While she most often writes in the post-bop idiom, she is well-versed in the jazz tradition, with her warm and strident tone informing her canny improvisational skills on saxophones, flute, and clarinet. In addition to leading her own bands, Coss is an in-demand side musician who has worked with Clark Terry, Louis Hayes, Rufus Reid, Billy Kaye, and Claudio Roditi, among others. She was a member of trumpeter Jeremy Pelt's group between 2012 and 2014, and toured with the Macktet, co-led by Pelt and drummer Willie Jones III.

Amy Dickson (b. 1982), an Australian saxophonist, began honing her memorable sax stylings and between 2005 and 2011 performed at some of the world's most prestigious venues and events. As a result of her prolific work rate and following these memorable live performances, she released her debut album Smile in 2008. (allmusic.com)

Chisato Eda Marling received a Bachelor of Music in Saxophone Performance from the Musashino Academia Musicae, Tokyo, Japan, a Master’s Degree in Saxophone Performance from the University of Minnesota and a Doctor of Musical Arts with minor in Musicians’ Wellness from the Eastman School of Music. She is the member of the Vertex Saxophone Quartet. She performs regularly in the Rochester NY area. As an educator, she has taught several colleges in Greater Rochester Area, and has served as judge for the Rochester Philharmonic Young Artist Competition, the Hochstein Recital Competition, and for the New York State Music Teachers Association Collegiate Young Artist Woodwind Competition. (esm.rochester.edu)

Grammy-nominated artist and accomplished educator Tia Fuller (b. 1976) has been the featured saxophonist with pop diva Beyoncé, featured on the I Am…Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé Experience, and Live at the Wynn Theatre worldwide tours (2006–2010). In addition, she served as assistant musical director for Esperanza Spalding’s Radio Music Society tour and performed with Terri Lyne Carrington’s Mosaic Project and Money Jungle tours. She is also part of the ensemble faculty at Berklee College of Music. (college.berklee.edu)

Though little known today, Elise Hall (1853-1924) was one of the most important proponents of the concert saxophone in the early 20th century. Best known as the dedicatee of Claude Debussy’s Rhapsodie for saxophone and orchestra, Hall commissioned a significant number of orchestral and chamber works that either feature or include the saxophone. (wam.rutgers.edu)

Charlotte Harding (b. 1989) is a composer and saxophonist based in London. Charlotte Harding’s music, for media and concert hall, fuses her colourful musical background and classical training with a passion for live musicianship, creative approaches and high level production.
Charlotte graduated from the Royal College of Music, London with a first class honours degree and won the Cobbett and Hurleston Prize for Composition. She was also awarded the Theodore Holland Intercollegiate Composition Prize having been nominated to represent the RCM and won the RCM Concerto Competition with her orchestral work, ‘Fuse’. As well as writing pieces for the RCM’s woodwind and percussion ensembles, she composed ‘Fleot Fanfares’ for Prince Charles’ visit to the RCM in March 2012.

As a Downbeat Critic’s Poll winner for Rising Star Big Band, Arranger, and Soprano Saxophonist, Christine Jensen (b. 1970) is constantly in motion leading her own jazz orchestra and small ensemble. Her jazz orchestra recordings have gone on to win Juno awards, including Habitat (2014) and Treelines (2011). She is two-time recipient of SOCAN’s Hagood Hardy Jazz Composer Award. Habitat received the coveted 5 stars in Downbeat, along with being included at the top of several international critic’s polls, including Jazz Album of the Year in 2014. (esm.rochester.edu)

Anne Kunkle earned her Bachelor of Music degree with High Distinction as a double major in Saxophone Performance and Music Education from the Eastman School of Music, where she was a student of Dr. Chien-Kwan Lin. As soprano player in the Khroma Saxophone Quartet, Anne earned the Silver Medal at the 2019 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition in the Senior Winds Division. The quartet was also selected to perform a recital at the 2018 Midwest Band Conference in Chicago, IL. In addition to chamber music, Anne also possesses a broad range of performance experience, having performed with a wide variety of large ensembles such as the Eastman Wind Ensemble, Musica Nova, Eastman Philharmonia, as well as the Illinois Wind Symphony which performed at Lincoln Center in 2018. Anne has performed with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and has recorded Shostakovich’s Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 1 and Suite of Variety Orchestra No. 1, as well as Youman’s Tahiti Trot (Tea for Two) with the ensemble. (esm.rochester.edu)

The bold young Berliner Ingrid Larssen (1913-1994) must have seemed very modern and sophisticated in the early/mid 1930s. With her ambition, the energetic young woman did a lot to ensure that the saxophone could develop into a musical art form. The young talent's father, Gustav Bumcke, recognized his daughter's abilities with a practiced eye.
Bumcke introduced his Ingrid to the instrument of the saxophone from the routine of a music theorist, composer and holder of a chair at the Stern Conservatory.
Bumcke, who was himself a very good saxophonist, trained his daughter very thoroughly.

Louise Linden (10 September 1862 – 22 August 1934) was a nineteenth-century American saxophone virtuoso. From 1877–1881, when female woodwind and brass players were rare, Linden performed throughout the eastern United States as a soloist in regional theatrical circuits, female minstrelsy, and vaudeville.Linden made her professional debut on 7 September 1877 in Reading, Pennsylvania, as part of a benefit concert for John D. Mishler, manager of the Swedish Lady Vocal Quartet. Fred ter Linden accompanied Linden on piano. Mishler then hired them to join the Swedish Lady Quartet on a five-week tour of central and western Pennsylvania and upstate New York. Louise Linden has succeeded in mastering the saxophone, and has accomplished what no other lady has ever attempted. She executed a solo in the most artistic manner, producing the softest and sweetest tones, to the astonishment of all present. This was her first public appearance and was an entire success.

Bessie Mecklem Hackenberger (19 April 1876 – 5 June 1942) was one of the earliest American-born saxophone soloists. In her teens, she was a student of Edward A. Lefebre (1835–1911), pre-eminent saxophonist of the nineteenth century and soloist with Gilmore and Sousa's bands.[1] During the 1890s, when female woodwind and brass players were uncommon, she performed extensively throughout the northeastern United States with her father, harpist Henry Clay Mecklem (1841–1915).[2] The pair appeared in a wide variety of venues popular during the Gilded Age including lyceum; YMCA and temperance organizations; meetings of fraternal societies, labor organizations, and civic groups; benefit concerts; solos with professional wind bands; and amusement parks. Mecklem recorded twelve wax phonograph cylinders at the Edison Laboratories on 23 April 1892. (wikipedia.com)

Debra Richtmeyer (b. 1957), an internationally renowned saxophonist and pedagogue, has been Professor of Saxophone at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since 1991 and has performed as a soloist and clinician in North America, Europe, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Thailand and China. She has performed or recorded as a concerto soloist with numerous bands and orchestras, including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Slovak Radio Orchestra, The Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Washington D.C. United States Navy Band. She was principal saxophonist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra from 1981-1991 and with the St. Louis Symphony from 1992-2002. She is Past-President and Honorary Life Member of the North American Saxophone Alliance and an Artist/Clinician for Conn-Selmer Incorporated. Amy Quate's Light of Sothis is dedicated to her.(music.illinois.edu)