[Dixielandjazz] Fish Horn

[LARRY'S Signs and Large Format Printing]

I prefer Lawn Dart to fish horn.
I really didn't want to get into a discussion about the merits of Kenny G. whom I really don't care for but those you mentioned are appreciated by a fairly small audience.  Someone said in a posting awhile back that only about 3% of the people are jazz listeners. (even fewer are traditional jazz listeners)  If you've ever ridden an elevator or turned on the radio you know who Kenny G. is.  

How many times have I said that playing out of the side of your face is wrong to one of my students only to have them timidly mumble something about Kenny G.  Weather anyone wants to admit it Kenny G. is a popular and I emphasize popular sax player who plays the Soprano Sax.  

I hate to tell a musician or a student he or she isn't ready for it only to see them go out and buy a cheap piece of crap made in India or some other third world country because they think Kenny G is cool.  They don't believe me and do it anyway.  Their soprano will end up in the attic to be pulled out by some unsuspecting kid 50 years from now.  It will be kind of like a musical time bomb and some other teacher, yet unborn, will tear their hair out.

There is a reason why publishers in band music don't include a soprano sax part in full band arrangements.  The last publication that I can remember that did is the old Bennett Band Books.  That reason is that the instrument is not an instrument that should be attempted except by players who have very good playing habits and have trained their ears.  In other words the expert, advanced player.  Anything less is a torture.

The real trick of playing the soprano is knowing what is going to come out and knowing what to do about it BEFORE the note is sounded.

No matter how much you or I like those musicians you mentioned they are not "Visible" today.  They have no music videos and not only that they don't dance or sing only are horn players therefore not worth the time of day to most people.  But Kenny G does have videos and C.D's out so he is the one that gets the attention.

Who will be remembered 100 years from now?  I don't think it will be Kenny G. but he is here and now and people for whatever reason like him.  He also plays Soprano sax, hence the popularity of the instrument.

I read in the preface to a sax method book one time that "saxophone is the easiest instrument to play ... badly".  It's so true and the bad rap that the soprano sax gets really isn't deserved.  It's the player.