Alto saxophone
The most common saxophone, central to jazz and classical music.
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Pitched in the key of E♭, it is smaller than the B♭ tenor but larger than the B♭ soprano, and is the most common saxophone, used in popular music, concert bands, chamber music, solo repertoire, military bands, marching bands, pep bands, carnatic music, and jazz.
Quick Facts
- Field
- Woodwind instrument
- Inventor
- Adolphe Sax
- Invention period
- 1840s
- Common uses
- Jazz
- concert bands
- classical
- carnatic music
Facts from the source article.
Background
The alto saxophone had a prominent role in the development of jazz. Influential jazz musicians include Don Redman, Jimmy Dorsey, Johnny Hodges, Benny Carter, Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Lee Konitz, Jackie McLean, Phil Woods, Art Pepper, Paul Desmond, and Cannonball Adderley. Notable classical alto saxophonists include Marcel Mule, Sigurd Raschèr, Jean-Marie Londeix, Eugene Rousseau, and Frederick L. Hemke. Kadri Gopalnath pioneered Carnatic music for the instrument, and Rudresh Mahanthappa combines jazz and Carnatic elements.
Did You Know?
- Its written range is B♭3 to F♯6, with the altissimo register starting at G6.
- A few rare alto saxophones, like some Selmer Mark VI models, have been keyed to reach a low A.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Alto saxophone (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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