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Saxophone in current pop music

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10K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  ufosax 
#1 ·
Hello all,

I tried searching for any threads on this, but didn't find any, so I am making my own. I know some of you have lamented in the past about the saxophone being lacking or not relevant in current popular/pop music. This seems to be changing since 2014. Here are a few current Top 40 artists that have recent hit singles featuring saxophone:

Ariana Grande - Problem (featuring Iggy Azalea)

The tenor sax riff is played by Leon Silva.

===

Meghan Trainor is influenced by doo-*** music, and you can tell by the "'50s/'60s progressions" in her songs, as well as the use of saxophones.

"All About That Bass"

Bari Sax played by David Baron.

"Lips Are Moving"

"Dear Future Husband"

Tenor and Bari Sax played by Jim Hoke.

==

Taylor Swift - Shake It Off

This song has a Bari Sax loop as the bass line, played by Jonas Thander.

Also, here are a couple articles on the subject:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/naomizeichner/why-is-saxobeat-a-thing#.lk0ggb0vab

http://www.mtv.com/news/1915090/saxophone-pop/

I know some of you may not like pop music, but at least hearing saxophones back in popular, catchy songs may give others hope of the saxophone being "cool" again. :)

Have any examples not listed here? Feel free to share your thoughts.
 
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#2 ·
So while this thread is 6 years old, it seems like a decent place to bring up a couple things.

First, it was posted months before the release of Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp a Butterfly." Kamasi Washington is all over the album and (as far as I can tell) has become a mainstream star himself.

And as I was running a month or two ago, Spotify brought up Dua Lipa's "Can They Hear Us."



I have to confess that I have a soft spot for Dua Lipa. Her "Levitating" is basically the perfect pop song (and I'm not a big fan of pop music). And she may be the breakout star of the pandemic. So it was really cool to hear a sax on one of her songs.

My kids (especially my middle daughter) are huge fans of popular music; anyone have any other current pop music featuring the sax?
 
#3 ·
So while this thread is 6 years old, it seems like a decent place to bring up a couple things.

And as I was running a month or two ago, Spotify brought up Dua Lipa's "Can They Hear Us."



I have to confess that I have a soft spot for Dua Lipa. Her "Levitating" is basically the perfect pop song (and I'm not a big fan of pop music). And she may be the breakout star of the pandemic. So it was really cool to hear a sax on one of her songs.

My kids (especially my middle daughter) are huge fans of popular music; anyone have any other current pop music featuring the sax?
This isn't an old thread, it's just been that long since anyone has heard a sax in current pop music. That's a great song! Hopefully, Dua Lipa is setting a trend to add a sax to the bandstand.
 
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#4 ·
Here are a few that you may or may not like. Some from other countries;

#13 ( BULGARIA) DALINDA—ALEX MICA
BASASTEANU COSMIN - ALTO

#1 (US BILLBOARD TOP 100) (#1 through #12 in 28 countries)
THRIFT SHOP—MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS
? TENOR SAX LOOPS

#24 (BEL) PUNGA—KLINGANDE
SNAKE DAVIS - ALTO

“Hy, nice to meet you... so I’m the sax player live for Klingande. The sound of Jubel and Punga come about a sample pack at the beginning and the saxophonist on the pack is Snake Davis. This is a pseudo but I think you can find the real name on the web.
Have a nice day”
Arnold Pol
12/16/14

#24 (US HOT DANCE) (#1 through #36 in 23 countries)
JUBEL—KLINGANDE
SNAKE DAVIS - TENOR

“Hy, nice to meet you... so I’m the sax player live for Klingande. The sound of Jubel and Punga come about a sample pack at the beginning and the saxophonist on the pack is Snake Davis. This is a pseudo but I think you can find the real name on the web.
Have a nice day”
Arnold Pol
12/16/14

#17 (US DANCE CLUB) (#1 through #26 in 24 countries)
TALK DIRTY—JASON DERULO
ORI KAPLAN - SAX SECTION

#5 (#7 through #130 in 9 countries)
MY TYPE—SAINT MOTEL
? ALTO or SAMPLE

#1 (AUST) (#18 FIN) (#2 GR) (#31 HUN) (#3 NZ) (#3 S. KOREA)
NEW THANG—REDFOO
SERGIO FLORES a/k/a SEXY SAX MAN (STAGE NAME) - ALTO

#6 (AUST) TALK IS CHEAP—CHET FAKER
? TENOR


#2 (BEL) TARIDA—HENRI PFR with STONE VAN BROOKEN
? ALTO

#12 (US HOT 100) (#1 through #32 in 28 countries)
WORTH IT—FIFTH HARMONY
ORI KAPLAN - ALTO (SAMPLE)

#9 (US ALTER) (#3 BEL) (#3 CAN) (#14 IT) (#20 SCOT) (#34 UK SINGLES)
MY TYPE—SAINT MOTEL
MIKE MURPHY - TENOR

#1 (US DANCE CLUB) (#6 through #22 in 4 countries)
MEDICINE—JENNIFER LOPEZ
? ALTO (SAMPLE/LOOP)

#5 (US HOT ROCK) (#14 UK) (#18 SCOT) (#13 IRE)
IF YOU’RE TOO SHY (LET ME KNOW)—THE 1975
JOHN WAUGH - TENOR

#17 (US HOT 100) (#1 through #38 in 37 countries)
IN YOUR EYES—THE WEEKND
WOJTEK
GORAL - ALTO
 
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