|
1814: Dinant Belgium, Antoine-Joseph Sax born the first
of eleven children to Charles Joseph Sax, maker of fine brass and woodwind instruments.
1842: Circa, Adolph Sax, looking to combine the qualties of a reed and brass instrument,
invents the Saxophone in Paris. Saxophone sightings have benn listed back as far as 1837.
1844: On Feb 3, Sax unveils
his Bass Saxophone (pitched in C) in public for the first time.
1846: Sax patents his family of saxophones on March
20th.
1846: Sax patents run out and competition forces him out of business
1860-70: The C.G. Conn Co. of Elkhart
Ind. makes the first American Saxophones.
1894: Adolphe Sax dies a pauper.
1900: Circa-The saxophone, by now
a mainstay in Military, Community and professional bands, finds and unusual champion in Elise Boyer Hall(1853-1924),an eccentric
Boston Bluesblood. She commissions 22 works, including Debussy's "Rhapsody".
1910's: The saxophone becomes entrenched
in vaudeville, circus bands and popular dance bands.
1917: The Detroit born Rudy Weidoeft (1898-1940) The first born
popularizer of the Saxophone and known for his lightening fast technique, begins his carrer. He records prolifically through
the 1920's.
1920: New Orleans born Sidney Bechet (1897-1953) takes up the soprano sax and becomes the first to translate
Jazz Improvisation and swing to the saxophone.
Mid-1920's: A saxophone fad hits it's peak. The C Melody sax becomes
especially popular, though it falls from use by 1930.
1924: Tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins (1904-69) joins the
Fletcher Henderson band. His heavy warm tone and rhapspdic improvisations define the Tenor in Jazz until the '40s.
1930s:
Three virtuosi--Sigurd Rascher (b.1907)in Germany, Marcel Mule and Cecil Leeson (1902-89) in America, begin to build a repertory
and tradition for the solo alto sax in classical music. Mule known for his creamy sound and refined vibrato, defines the french
school. Leeson is the first saxophonist to appear at town hall in New York. Rascher helps extend the range into the altissimo
register.
1936: Tenor saxophonist Lester Young (1909-59) Records "Lady be Good." Youngs lighter sound and concentrated
melodicism offer and alternative to Cole Hawkin's model.
1939: Coleman Hawkins records "Body and Soul," one of the
solos in Jazz History.
1945: Alto Saxophonist Charlie (Bird) Parker (1920-55) Codifies the modern Jazz Language--BeBop--with
"Ko Ko," a supersonic improvisation. Bird becomes one of the most influential musicians in Jazz.
1953: Larry Teal
joins the Unicersity of Michigan as the first full-time saxophone instructor at an American University.
1958: King
Curtis (1934-71) records the Tenor Sax solo on the Coasters No 1 hit "Yakety Yak."
1959-61: Tenor Saxophonist Sonny
Rollins (b.1930) takes a sabbatical from Jazz. His practice sessions on the Williamsburg Bridge in New York become legendary.
1960: John Coltrane (1926-67) records "My Favorite Things" on Saprano Sax.
1960s: A second Generation of classcial
Saxophonists comes of age, including Eugene Rousseau (b.1932) who teaches at Indiana University, and Frederick Hemke (b.1935)
who succeeds Cecil Lesson at Northwestern University. With Larry Teal's studio at U-M, the midwest becomes a hotbed for classical
saxophone studies. Teal is later succeeded at U-M by Donald Sinta in 1974.
1964: "Shotgun," recorded by Tenor Saxophonist
Junior Walker and the All Stars, reaches No. 1 on the R&B charts.
1969: The first World Saxophone Congress is
held in Chicago, Jump-Starting a period of more intense interest in the classical Saxophone.
1976-77: The first World
Saxophone Quartet is formed in New York and the Rova Saxophone Quartet in San Fransisco, launching a revival of the Saxophone
Quartet. The WSQ is rooted in the free Jazz but the sensitive to the entire history of black music. The RSQ explores a middle
ground between avantgarde jazz and classical.
1990: "The Simpsons" debuts as a weekly TV series, with Lisa Simpson
blowing the Baritone Sax.
1992: Bill Clinton becomes the first President of the United States to play the Saxophone.
|
