Sax facts
So, taxis on rank outside pub; one sounding horn (11)
​
(Guardian cryptic crossword 29618 - answer near bottom of page)
Funfact #1. The saxophone was invented by a Belgian
Antoine-Joseph Sax was born in Dinant in 1814. As a child, he had several close brushes with death, including falling onto his head from a height of three stories. His parents were instrument makers and the young Adolphe (as he was always known) was given the opportunity to experiment with new designs.
Image: public domain (Wikimedia)
The saxophone was not Adolphe Sax's first major innovation. In 1845 he patented a family of seven saxhorns, brass instruments with conical bore and piston valves. These were aimed at the market to re-equip military, town and village bands that were often playing on antiquated instruments. Brass bands continue to use saxhorns such as the flugel, tenor and baritone horns.
British saxophonist Dave O'Higgins
Funfact #2. There are nine different sizes of saxophones, from soprillo to sub-contrabass
Following the success of the saxhorn, Adolphe Sax came up with something truly new, the saxophone, patented in 1846. It marries a conical brass body to a single-reed mouthpiece a little like a clarinet's. Originally there were seven in the family but others have been added. The only ones you will see in our band are the soprano, alto, tenor and baritone. But at the bottom of this page you can see David Horniblow playing the rare bass sax.
Funfact #3.
Sax wanted to see his invention used in classical orchestras as well as bands.
Originally there were actually two complete series of saxophones, with different tunings. Our saxes are technically a family of E-flat and B-flat instruments. The other series, pitched in C and F, were intended for orchestral use. The Paris Conservatoire taught the instrument, Debussy wrote a rhapsody for sax and orchestra, and Ravel used it in his Bolero. The most famous classical concerto for saxophone is probably that by the Russian composer Glasunov.
Funfact #4. Adolphe Sax went bankrupt three times, in 1852, 1873 and 1877
The saxhorn family were hugely successful with band musicians, but aroused the enmity of established French instrument makers. They alleged that Sax's "new" valves were actually copies of theirs and infringed their patents. He spent much of his life fighting legal actions and was three times driven into bankruptcy.
Greg Abate (alto) and Alan Barnes (bari)
Funfact #5. Although the sax is made from metal, it is classed as a 'woodwind'
By the early 1900s, interest in the sax was waning and it might have joined the ophicleide, the theorbo, the dodo and the serpent on the extinct list (hint: only three of those are musical instruments). However, from marching bands it passed to dancebands and from there to the nascent idiom of jazz. Sidney Bechet was one of the first sax soloists, while Coleman Hawkins is often credited with bringing the tenor to the fore as a jazz instrument.
Derek Nash, another top British player
Funfact #6. For many, the definitive jazz sax is the Selmer Mark VI series (built 1954-1981)
Naturally, it was Adolphe Sax's own company that built the first instruments. But production was soon taken up by others including Buffet-Crampon of Paris. In the 20th century, US makes such as King and Conn came to the fore, improving the mechanism. In Europe, Selmer of Paris became the front-runner, acquiring Adolphe Sax & Co in 1929. Their Mark VI was played by many jazz giants and is still the 'reference' instrument for many today.
Funfact #7. Charlie Parker's plastic Grafton alto sold at auction for £93,500 in 1994
In the inter-war years, sax greats like Johnny Hodges, Lester Young and Ben Webster were stars of the big bands. In the 1940s, Bebop jazz took music in a whole new direction. Charlie Parker's extraordinary virtuoso playing tore up the rulebook, but his life was doomed by alcohol and heroin. He pawned his instruments and in Toronto in 1953 played on a borrowed plastic-bodied Grafton (a not very successful experiment by a London manufacturer).
Funfact #8. 'Take Five' was written to be a drum feature for Joe Morello
From jazz, the sax passed into R&B and pop music, thanks to artists such as King Curtis and Bobby Keys. The opening riff in George Michael's "Careless Whisper" has a claim to be the most annoying busker-friendly tune ever written. But for many the defining melody fo the alto sax is Paul Desmond's "Take Five", written for the Dave Brubeck quartet in 1959. And yet it was supposed to be a showcase for drummer Joe Morello, rather than for the sax!
Somethng just a little different... The bass sax!
Still haven't cracked that crossword clue? The answer is:
saxophonist
Dave writes: Way back in 1994, many of the pupils who came to me for saxophone lessons, were what I often refer to as late beginners. Keen, enthusiastic adults who needed no encouragement to practice, out to make up for a misspent musical youth, and who had little or no experience of making music collectively. So it was that a group of about 6 of us with ages ranging from 13 to 70, gathered in the basement of Clevedon Music Shop one Saturday morning to play through some simple saxophone quartet arrangements. So Cadbury Saxschool came about (named after the road I live in). Some years, and many musicians later, as the nature of the band changed and more and more players joined, we became The Cadbury Saxophone Band.