The most common instruments played in a band or by artists are guitar, drums, and piano. But to produce a unique sound, they use other instruments, such as chimes, tambourines and wind instruments like a wide range of saxophones. There are a lot of famous saxophone players in the music industry, such as Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and Kenneth Brice Gorelick, or more famously known as Kenny G, among others. They are solo sax players, and they created a name for themselves by making amazing songs using their saxophones primarily. Many musical genres incorporate saxophones into their sound, and these instruments make songs and anthems a lot more sophisticated-sounding.
Jazz
This is the most popular genre where you can mostly find saxophones used in songs. In fact, you can listen to jazz songs, and you can listen to solo sax playing in these songs. If you are looking for jazz music with killer sax playing, then you can listen to Kenny G and be awed by his playing prowess and incredible breathing control. The instrument is perfect for this musical genre.
Pop
Ever heard Careless Whisper by George Michael? The intro to the song is a beautiful and pleasing saxophone piece that you can slow dance to. The 80s song Who Can It Be Now by Men at Work made sure listeners got a good dose of sax solos throughout the song. More modern songs and pop artists such as Lady Gaga’s Edge of Glory gives us a glimpse of a sax solo of Clarence Clemons.
Rock
The saxophone conveys a soft emotion, thanks to its breathy sound, but who says rock bands can’t use it for their ripping and far from emotional-sounding songs? No matter how heavy rock songs are, they can always get a little help from a saxophone to liven up the sound a lot more. Here are some rock songs that have killer sax solos:
- Pink Floyd’s Shine on You Crazy Diamond. Several Pink Floyd songs feature sax parts, and this particular song takes the cake. This song has nine parts, and the fifth part features a sax solo by Dick Parry.
- Dire Straits’ Your Latest Trick. In this song, there is a sax intro and solo, played by Michael Brecker.
- Aerosmith’s Same Old Song and Dance. Michael Brecker and Stan Bronstein lent their sax playing powers to this Aerosmith song. Besides the saxophone, it also features a trombone and a trumpet.
- The Rolling Stones’ Brown Sugar. This song is one of the greatest guitar-heavy songs of all time, but it also features some sax beats by Bobby Keys, who also collaborated with other rock music legends Lynyrd Skynyrd, George Harrison, Joe Cocker,and Eric Clapton.
You can also make a name for yourself just like these famous sax players, and what do you know, you may hit it big in music if you just put your heart and soul into playing this instrument. You can either play it solo or join a band and contribute your talent to making great music.
