Picture it: It’s a beautiful spring morning. The birds are singing. The sun is shining. The neighbour’s saxophone is braying? 
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll likely have noticed that I have been collecting newspaper articles about our instrument during the early part of the 20th century. These articles seem to have a common theme: people had a love/hate relationship with the newly invented instrument.
The following article from the November 30, 1933 edition of the Harold-Journal, is no exception to this love/hate rule. In it, the Belgian ambassador to the United States, Mr. Paul May, discusses the saxophone in the larger context of Belgian music.
According to Mr. May, few people knew that Adolphe Sax was Belgian. (Something that I suspect is still the case, if you were to poll the non sax-playing public.) However, the ambassador stopped short of praising the instrument. He said:
…that he leaves it to individual taste to decide whether it is a “blessing or a curse.” As for its use in jazz he admits that it may be “better than it sounds.”
Wow, talk about a left-handed compliment.
However, that is very complimentary, compared to what the paper went on to say:
In spite of all adverse criticism of the saxophone it remains one of the most popular of all instruments. Its tones may vex the ears of the cultured musician but he is not sole judge of its merits. If a vote were taken, who would say that the saxophone would not rank near the top, perhaps at the very top of the list of favored instruments. The crowing of a cock, the barking of a dog, the braying of an ass, may be objectionable to many persons. To others they are pleasing, and those who like the braying of an ass should be quite partial to the notes of the saxophone.
I don’t think that there’s a saxophone player alive who wouldn’t admit to sucking when they first started. (Although I think that could be said for any instrument.)
Can you imagine every third or fourth house having a C mel, and everyone playing—badly—all at once. It would be enough to make the nonplayers on the street want to stage a revolt. And let’s face it, regardless of how good the player was, that 1920s vibrato was pretty awful… At least it was IMHO.
Perhaps if I was inundated with that wide vibrato saxophone sound ad nauseam, I’d not be very gracious about the sax either. Perhaps I too would be comparing the instrument to a variety of barnyard animals. Perhaps I might even want to do this to it….
…those who like the braying of an ass should be quite partial to the notes of the saxophone.
These little trips down memory lane are a good way to remind ourselves how far we’ve come over the past century. The saxophone is still among the most popular of instruments. Much like fashion, vibrato styles change, and luckily we haven’t seen that wide vibrato come back into fashion—and I suspect it’s a safe bet that the way popular music is going, it never will.
BTW, If I didn’t already have a really well known title for my blog, I’d rename it to The Braying Saxophone. Actually, I’m claiming the title right here and now. I already have a couple of ideas of what I might use the name for.
