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Aaron Cohen
Honorable Mention: DownBeat Reviews
Editor Aaron Cohen has been recognized
with an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for
his article “Ray’s Kind Of Jazz,” published
as the cover story in the October 2010
issue of the magazine. The article is an
analysis of Ray Charles’ connections
and contributions to jazz. The awards are
given in recognition of outstanding print,
broadcast and new media coverage of
music. The 19 winners and their respective
publishers were honored at a special
invitation-only ceremony and reception on
Nov. 15 at ASCAP’s New York offices.
History Remembered: Music historian
and producer Frank Driggs died Sept. 20 at
the age of 81. The Grammy award-winning
producer of Robert Johnson: The Complete
Recordings co-published the Black Beauty,
White Heat pictorial history of jazz and
collected more than 100,000 jazz-related
images throughout his life.
Swing Kids: Author Kay James McCrimon
released Good Night Li’L Darlin, a children’s
book that teaches kids aged preschool to
grade six about the roots of bebop and
swing. The book, which was released in
July, includes a rendition of the similarly
named Count Basie hit performed by Chicago
vocalist Joan Collaso.
Musical Blog: Bret Primack, founder of
the first major jazz website, Jazz Central
Station, has launched the jazz video blog
Day By Day With Bret Primack. Following
in the footstops of Primack’ regular jazz
webcasts, it will include reviews, interviews,
on-site reporting and viewer feedback.
Save The Date: Several music festivals
have announced the dates for the 2012
season: Winter Red Sea Jazz Festival,
Jan. 19–21 in the seaside resort town of
Eilat, Israel; Newport Jazz Festival, Aug.
3–5 in Newport, R.I.; and Cape Town Jazz
Festival on March 30–31 in Cape Town,
South Africa.
Michael Jackson
The Insider | By andrew hadro
Anything You Can Do
We Can Do Better
On The Baritone Saxophone
Andrew Hadro
After years of being a professional baritone
saxophonist, I still can’t shake people’s persistent
assumption that the baritone saxophone
is a lesser instrument.
This myth has understandable—if unfortunate—roots
in popular perception. The only
place most people see a baritone saxophone
is in a rock horn section or anchoring a big
band. Perhaps more perniciously, it’s believed
that the horn is somehow less agile than its
smaller counterparts. It’s unclear which came
first, the baritone sax’s underrepresentation in
small groups, or the assumption of its sluggishness.
But it’s all hogwash.
Historically, there was no baritone champion
among the coterie of musicians that popularized
jazz. The trumpet has Miles Davis, the
alto has Charlie Parker, and the tenor has John
Coltrane. Sure, there were baritone saxophonists
around, but none transcended to the level
of this sanctified group. Many of the greatest
baritone players have had love-hate relationships
with big bands. Harry Carney, often
considered the father of the baritone sax, will
always be associated with the Duke Ellington
Orchestra. Ellington knew how to write for the
baritone and utilized the rumbling brilliance of
Carney’s low end and the luxurious tone of his
upper register. But Carney was reportedly not
fond of improvising, took few solos and recorded
very few times as a leader. He never struck
out to make his own name, and until his death,
he never left his station anchoring the Ellington
Orchestra.
Pepper Adams played for years with the
Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and eventually
struck out on his own. The most vaunted
of the jazz baritone saxophonists, Gerry Mulligan,
was around and performing at the same
time as many of the jazz giants. No one can
really say Mulligan was underappreciated, but
even he did not climb his way to the pantheon
of untouchable jazz greats. He was another
poor baritone saxophonist doomed to play
section parts.
Ah, section parts—here truly we explore
the hate portion of this relationship. In Western
music, the lower registers are generally used
for bass notes and tonics for slower-moving
purposes. Lower instruments rarely tend to
have as much movement as the higher-pitched
ones. So despite its brilliant key system, the
baritone is left with a lot of whole notes.
Given this trend, band directors tend to
put baritone saxes in the hands of less-focused
(read: less-talented) students, thinking
the parts may be more appropriate to
their level. These students are handed beatup,
barely functioning horns, making this unfair
assumption ultimately self-fulfilling.
The physical properties of the instrument
cannot be denied. As I write this, I’m seated
on an airplane headed for the next gig after
pleading shamelessly to allow my instrument
on board. Of course it takes more air, but any
saxophonist with the proper diaphragm control,
air support, embouchure and setup can
play the baritone without taxing their air
supply. The mechanisms, keys and levers are
not significantly harder to activate than those of
the other saxophones.
Finding the right equipment is also an uphill
battle. Players who prefer vintage horns have a
hard time finding a bari sax in good condition,
and players who like newer horns are even
worse off. Manufacturers rarely pay as much
attention to their baritone lines, assuming
they even make one. Mouthpieces and reeds
brands are finally including baritone models.
While it irks me to no end, there is far less
money to be made on baritones and thus less
reason for investment.
The truth is, depending on a player’s
dedication and talent, the baritone sax can do
what the other horns can do. But the harsher
truth is that the misconceptions will persist.
The harder I work and the better I sound, the
easier it will be for people to overcome these
notions. But for now, to all of you subway riders,
fellow air-travellers and street-gawkers:
No, this is not a cello, and it’s going to melt
your face off.
14 DOWNBEAT DECEMBER 2011