Sax on the Web Forum banner

Big Band Bass Sax

11K views 47 replies 16 participants last post by  wesbrow 
#1 ·
So, I took the new bass sax to my rehearsal band last night. I played it on some of the slower moving ballads instead of baritone.

The bass sax really has a "presence" that the bari doesn't - and I was playing the same notes. I don't think it's just about loudness either, as this is apparent even at low dynamic levels. And while I've been playing primarily baritone for 30 years, I've been playing bass sax for 6 weeks now, and I don't think I've got the setup nailed yet, and I'm still working on tone and control. So it seems like the "bass-ness" of the bass sax overcomes some of my current deficiencies in being able to play it.

I had theorized for years that the bass role that the baritone often plays in the sax section, might be better served by using an actual bass instrument rather than the bari sax. On this extremely limited experience I may have been right.

Of course, I now have a "low A" (actually a low concert C, low D on the big boy). I did not run into any cases where the line wanted to go on down to "G" (concert Bb) but I am looking forward to being able to play those kinds of lines along with the bass trombone, rather than having to break the line at low A or low Bb (concert C or Db).

Has anyone else used bass sax to play baritone sax parts and what was your experience?
 
See less See more
#32 ·
I recognize this is a digression from what big band means today, and how bass sax is played today. But it does show the instrument's possibilities. Considering the ensemble is much smaller than today's, there shouldn't be any excuse for calling it too heavy in tone or texture.

2 recordings by Bert Lown from 1933:
With bass sax and tuba:
With 2 bass saxes (Rollini, solo):
 
#34 ·
Glad you enjoyed them. This music in between the jazz age and swing era is so irrelevant to either period (let alone today!!) that it's hard to relate to, but very enjoyable if you listen to it for itself.
 
#38 ·
Thanks for the heads-up on the Bob Florence arrangements from the Bud Shank album with Bob Cooper, John Lowe, etc.

Would you believe the Bass sax was my first introduction to playing sax.
My "mellophone" teacher in 4th grade (really a sax player) and he had an old bass on a stand in his basement studio in a very old house in Sacramento. The horn and original l coffin case had the right smell for those of you that know about old instrument patina and aroma.
I took a toot on it and started on Tenor not long after. I would really enjoy playing the Bud Shank/Bob Florence music.
(unfortunately probably all the players are gone from that unique session).
 
#40 ·
In about 1942, I played tuba in the Moorhead High School Band in Moorhead, MN as a sophomore, right off the farm. They also had a group called the "Modern Symphonic Orchestra" as well as a traditional symphony orchestra and choral groups. The Modern Symphonic Orchestra had about 20 persons in it, including a Buescher bass saxophone that the school owned. It was prominent in "Pavanne" by Morton Gould and I loved the sound of it, as played by a girl student, as well as the muted trombones. I also played a little on that instrument and they may still have it at that school. With 120 students, most students were performing in some group.
 
#42 ·
Wonderful! That was mostly where one would encounter a bass sax after 1930 or so - in school bands.

There was a brief fashion for the horn in Broadway pits in the 50s and 60s, I think because schools were getting rid of them. That in turn happened because arrangers were no longer writing parts. Still, a bass sax does wonders transposing bass clef, doubling tubas.
 
#41 ·
As most of the comments have already said, baritone saxophone blends better with a modern sax section, and adds "edge" when playing with the trombones. Baritone is a more versatile instrument in a big band.

Yet bass sax is often used as an extension of the range of a big band. In Stan Kenton's band, it was used, very effectively, to make the band sound bigger, even though the range of bass sax is only a major third lower than a low A baritone.

I think bass saxophone is better suited to adding depth in ensembles that play in a quieter environment. When things get loud, a powerful baritone player is more effective. When woodwinds are in the forefront, bass saxophone can add an incredible depth, which is why I usually use a conservative, darker mouthpiece on bass, to bring out the bottom, not because it is loud, but because it is deep.

"Pavanne" was mentioned in an earlier post. Check out my recording of this piece. I played all of the sax parts.
 
#43 ·
Regarding bass sax in B'way shows I am aware of only Music Man, West Side Story and the Boy Friend all of which I had the pleasure to play for in the past. Also some of the older cartoon sound tracks sometimes had bass sax solos - anybody know the name of any of these that featured bass sax?
 
#45 ·
Regarding bass sax in B'way shows I am aware of only Music Man, West Side Story and the Boy Friend all of which I had the pleasure to play for in the past.
It was a brief trend in the 50s & 60s, probably confined to 1 or 2 arrangers. It might have been made possible by schools selling off unwanted bass saxes.
 
#48 ·
There was a bass sax part to another broadway show, but I have sort of forgotten the name, maybe "42nd Street"? I was hired to play a book that had bass clarinet, clarinet, piccolo, tenor, and bass sax for a recording of it in West LA. I carried most of the horns in and looked at the part. There was only one half a page of bass sax so I left the bass in the car trunk. The piccolo was for "Stars and Stripes". It took all day to record that show and no one noticed that there was no bass sax. They played the show recording many times in that theatre but we only got paid once.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top