Baritone Saxaphone

The baritone saxaphone, which is part of the saxaphone family, is a popular instrument and it is one of the lower pitched saxaphones. Its abbreviated name is the "bari sax", and should not be confused with the baritone horn, which is just referred to as a "baritone". Adolphe Sax was the creator of the baritone saxaphone, and he made it distinct from the other saxaphones by adding a loop near the mouthpiece. This loop is to help keep the instrument at an adequate height to play. It is actually quite similar to the loop in the bass sax, but the bass sax has a larger loop.

The baritone sax is not common in most bands; however, it plays an important role in military bands, jazz bands, concert bands, wind ensembles, and musical theater. Most classical saxophonists stay away from the baritone sax as it is uncommon in classical music, but a lot of jazz performers have been known to use the bari sax as their instrument of choice. The baritone saxaphone is the largest sax that is used in any ensemble, thus making it an important instrument. One famous person who was known for his performances on the bari sax was Harry Carney. He played both bass lines and fascinating solos in Duke Ellington's work.

Some of the bari saxaphonists who have became famous for their skill are Gerry Mulligan, Lars Gullin, Cecil Payne and Pepper Adams. One musician, Serge Chaloff, was actually the first player to become a famous bebop soloist. Nowadays, the baritone sax can be seen in different types of music; some of these include punk ska and third wave ska. This instrument is great for many bass lines; however, most bands steer clear of the bari saxaphone because of its size and cost.

Baritone Saxaphone

Carney was the longest lasting player in Duke Ellington's band. He was always there and on occasions when Ellington was missing he took over as conductor, particularly when Ellington wished to make a stage entrance after the band had begun playing the first piece of a performance. Ellington and Carney were close friends. The majority of their careers they rode together in Carney's car to concerts, allowing Ellington to come up with new ideas. Fictionalised accounts of these road trips are documented in Geoff Dyer's But Beautiful.

Ellington wrote a number of 'show-piece' features for Carney throughout their time together, such as "Frustration" (c1944-45). This was typical of Ellington's ability to exploit the voices of his most treasured soloists by creating works that were tailored specifically to the individual rather than being for a generic baritone saxophonist. In addition, Ellington would sometimes feature Carney's robust renditions of the melodies of such hits as "Sophisticated Lady" and "In a Mellow Tone." In 1973 Ellington built the Third Sacred Concert around Carney's soulful baritone saxophone.

It has to be said, however, that in later years Carney's voice was heard a little less as a soloist than it was in the 1930s.This is perhaps owing to the presence from late 1939 onwards of an additional tenor saxophonist (the most important of these being Ben Webster and later Paul Gonsalves), further increasing the pool of star soloists in the orchestra. It was also in the early 1940s, after this increase to five reed players in the Ellington orchestra, that Carney ceased using the alto saxophone and Johnny Hodges ceased playing the soprano saxophone. Carney's clarinet continued to be deployed in the well-known composition “Rockin' in Rhythm” for which he is also credited as a co-composer. This was one of the 'work-horses' of the Ellington orchestra that remained in the band books throughout its life on the road. After Ellington's 1974 death, Carney said: "This is the worst day of my life. Without Duke I have nothing to live for." Four months later, Carney also died.

Serge Chaloff (November 24, 1923–July 16, 1957) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist.

The son of noted Boston piano teachers, Margaret and Julius Chaloff, he was one of the few major jazz performers on his instrument. Until Chaloff the only prominent baritone player in jazz was Harry Carney of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Originally influenced by Charlie Parker, Chaloff became the first major bebop baritonist and opened the way for others to follow.^[1]

Chaloff first became well known as one of the "Four Brothers" reed section in Woody Herman's Second Herd. He also played with Boyd Raeburn, Georgie Auld, Jimmy Dorsey, and Count Basie, as well as recording as a leader.

Serge Chaloff's career was greatly limited by addiction to heroin. After succeeding in giving up drugs, he developed cancer of the spine which caused his early death.

Discography

• Boston 1950 - radio recordings
• The Fable of Mabel (1954)
• Boston Blow-up (1955) - produced by Stan Kenton
• Blue Serge (1956) - with Sonny Clark, Leroy Vinnegar and Philly Joe Jones