The O'Zone | The Sopranos: Gabbagool!! The Saxes not the Gangstas
The soprano saxophone. It’s the straight one, toughest to play. You need to have a precise embouchure (mouth position) to pull it off. It’s a conical tube made of brass. A woodwind and the third smallest in the sax family. It’s a Bb axe an octave higher than the tenor and a fifth above the alto. It has a two-and-a-half octave range. You know...the high-pitched one that looks like a brass clarinet. Old Adolphe Sax himself invented it in 1846 initially to bridge the gap between woodwinds and brass with use intended for classical and military roles, but now it is a major instrument in jazz...that’s the horn.
Now let’s talk about the players.
The Grand Master: Sidney Bechet
The first notable player of soprano saxophone was Sidney Bechet (1897-1959). Hailing from a middle-class Creole family out of New Orleans, Bechet became one of the first great soloists of jazz, cited alongside Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton, who are foundational figures in the music.
Sidney was largely self-taught, beginning with the clarinet at the age of 6. By his teens, he was already a veteran with Bunk Johnson’s Eagle Band, The Olympia Band with King Oliver, and Freddie Keppard’s Brass Band. Bechet developed his broad vibrato during these times. In 1919, Bechet traveled to London with Will Marion Cook’s Southern Syncopated Orchestra and became acquainted with the so-called “Skinny Horn”.
His talent was widely recognized, and although there was a crowded field of clarinetists, Bechet developed on the soprano horn because he liked its capabilities more than anything else.
In 1923, he recorded “Wild Cat Blues” and “Kansas City Man Blues” with Clarence Williams’ Blue Five, almost a year before Louis Armstrong's first recordings. For years, Bechet held down the field of soprano saxophonists as the only man playing it in the jazz context. During this time, Sidney established the soprano as a solo instrument and thus influenced subsequent players. Notably, he taught Johnny Hodges how to play the soprano.
His vibrato was influenced by the great operatic tenor Enrico Caruso. Bechet was also among the first to move the music from the regimented style inherent in ragtime to the swing feel of jazz for decades to come. He was important for establishing the saxophone as a soloist's instrument, influencing all soprano players that followed in his large footprints, including:
Bob Wilbur: Sidney’s protege in the 1940s became a major proponent of his style, keeping a New Orleans vibe alive in subsequent years.
John Coltrane: Took up the instrument after studying Bechet, in particular his immaculate tone and phrasing.
Johnny Hodges: Developed his “Jungle Sound” while studying with Bechet and employed it in Duke Ellington’s orchestra.
Steve Lacy: The Modern Master
After Sidney Bechet, the next soprano influencer was Steve Lacy (born Steven Norman Lackritz on July 23, 1934 - June 4, 2004).
At age 16, Lacy spent the early years of his career focusing on traditional jazz, playing with “Red” Allen, Pee Wee Russell, Buck Clayton, and Dicky Wells. Afterwards, he became involved with the avant-garde performing on Cecil Taylor’s debut album Jazz Advance (1956), as well as appearing in The Cecil Taylor Quartet at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival. But Lacy became best known for his work with Thelonious Monk as a band member between 1960 and 1963 and as a progenitor of Monk’s compositions.
In later years, he worked at length in Europe and with his own sextet featuring his wife Irene Aebi on vocals & violin. During this time, he shifted significantly to the “Art Song”, using lyrics based on literary sources.
He used Tao Te Ching for his album The Way (1967) and a diverse range of authors, including Samuel Beckett, Robert Creeley, William Burroughs, and Jack Kerouac. He also often added lyrics interpreted by Aebi to Thelonious Monk tunes.
Spending the length of his career exclusively as a soprano saxophonist, Lacy took the instrument into deeper explorations, influencing the next generation of soprano players, including John Coltrane.
He received a MacArthur Fellowship in 1992 (known as the Genius Grant). After years of living and performing in Europe, he returned to the United States, where he began teaching at the New England Conservatory of Music. Lacy recorded well over 100 albums as a leader and countless others as a sideman, leaving an extended legacy of playing soprano sax that anyone picking up the instrument listens to for enjoyment, technique, and artistry.
John Coltrane: The Gifted One
In March 1960, while on tour in Europe, Miles Davis bought a soprano saxophone for John Coltrane from a music shop. It was a gift that essentially shifted Coltrane’s musical path and further popularized the soprano saxophone in modern jazz, also due in no small part to his own popularity.
It was in Paris, and the quintet was on its final leg of shows in Europe, that Miles handed the Selmer Mark VI soprano to Trane and said in his characteristic whisper, “Try this.”
Coltrane’s response was verbally understated, but his reaction was his immediate obsessive dedication to mastering the new horn. Miles later joked, “I gave that thing to Trane, man, and it’s probably still in his hands...He never did take that thing out of his mouth.”
Coltrane first saw Steve Lacy play the soprano in 1960 while he was performing with Jimmy Giuffre at the Five Spot in New York.
Lacy later recalled that Coltrane was “intrigued” by the instrument and queried him on technical aspects of the horn, like tonality and key.
Coltrane, for his part, explicitly credited Lacy with his “rediscovery” of the soprano saxophone, mentioning that Lacy’s playing inspired him to record the 1961 breakthrough album My Favorite Things.
Here are some notable tracks that feature Coltrane on soprano saxophone.
Wayne Shorter: Always Soloing and Never Soloing
Wayne Shorter was a pathfinding pioneer…as a solo artist, with Miles, and with Weather Report. His playing is unlike anyone else. His lengthy involvement with Miles Davis affected his use of space and dynamics.
An ongoing philosophy of “always soloing and never soloing” made for a completely original soprano concept. However, his tonality owes something to John Coltrane’s sound concepts. Shorter’s ability to play soft and fierce or lightning fast with stop-on-a-dime dynamic ideas was human voice-like. That’s something picked up from working with Milton Nascimento. Due to his work in jazz fusion settings, Shorter’s soprano could assume a guitar-like role.
His frequent work as a sideman for different popular artists has made countless new fans of soprano saxophone. Wayne Shorter was a standalone stand out. A strong influence on every soprano player who has heard him.
Branford Marsalis: The Spirit Lives On
Branford Marsalis, a highly lyrical soprano player, plays jazz, rock, and classical pieces on soprano saxophone. His playing is amazing when accompanying vocals. A hybrid player influenced by Sidney Bechet, John Coltrane, and Wayne Shorter. What Branford brings to the horn is pure New Orleans soul and funk with equal doses of classical music disciplines.
As of this writing, Marsalis is probably the most popular, prolific, and active soprano player on the scene. He benefits from being influenced by all the players previously mentioned in this piece.
More notable doublers and soprano saxophone players
- Jeff Coffin: Tenor, Alto, Baritone, Soprano on lead and solos
- Joe Farrell: Tenor, Flute, Soprano primary on some albums
- Gary Bartz: Alto, frequently plays Soprano
- Cannonball Adderley: Alto and was new to Soprano towards the end of his life
- Gerry Mulligan: Baritone and Tenor, Soprano secondary
- Keith Jarrett: Flutes, Soprano is his main horn
- Grover Washington Jr.: Tenor, Alto, Soprano played equally with Tenor
- Rahsaan Roland Kirk: Tenor, Stritch, Flute, and Manzello (a Bb soprano)
- Joe Ford: Alto, Tenor, Flute, and very frequently played Soprano
- Kenny Garrett: Alto, Flute, and frequently plays Soprano
- Dave Liebman: Tenor, Flute, Primarily plays Soprano
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