Contrabass saxophone

[Shrdlu]

I've gotten used to playing C-melody - if I finger 'C' and hear B-flat i'm all disoriented. Besides, a C bass would be more manageable size/weight wise.

As one of millions of Bb tenor players (not to mention the soprano and the regular clarinet) I can't understand why it disorients you. It is not easy to find C tenors these days - I've certainly never seen one live. To me, the tenor is a piece of metal that I blow into and it makes a sound. I used to play alto and that's in a really weird key, namely Eb of course, so to play a concert A, say, you have to play an F#.

The C soprano that I saw in the clip I mentioned sounded great, but not really any different from the Bb.

The Bb bass sax goes only a fourth lower than the baritone, less if the baritone has a low A. So a C bass sax has little to offer, being a mere minor third lower than the baritone, and only a tone lower than the low A baritone.

[EKE BBB]

Scott Robinson recently released a recording of Thad Jones tunes, and he plays the whole range of saxophones, including the contrabass. Very well, too. If you get a chance to check out samples, listen to the last cut "Greetings and Salutations".

He's also done some other recordings using the big horns.

On his "Thinking Big" disc for Arbors (1997) he plays clarinet and bass clarinet; C-melody, alto, tenor, baritone, soprano, bass and contrabass saxophones; theremin; and contrabass sarrusophone. Wonderful disc, BTW.

And he is also a master playing valve trombone and trumpet!

[Shrdlu]

I imagine the C bass sax only exists in theory, lol.

The Bb one is so similar that surely it would do.

I saw a video of a guy playing a C soprano, but, again, the Bb does the job.

From this article about the history of the saxophone:

"1841 - Adolphe Sax first showed his creation (a C bass saxophone) to the composer Hector Berlioz. The great composer was impressed by the uniqueness and versatility of the instrument."

Don't know if there were ever (m)any C basses commercially produced. The whole Key of C/Key of F family of saxes never really caught on (except for the C melody, of course) but there are some collectors who have F altos and F baritones.

I had heard about Adolphe making a C bass but I meant that, today, the C bass probably only exists in theory.

I used to have a book by a guy called Anthony Baines about woodwind instruments, and he said that some opera houses actually had an A bass clarinet. Now that's an oddity!

Getting back to the C and F saxes, Baines had a picture of an F alto, which he referred to as a mezzo-soprano.

[DukeCity]

Getting back to the C and F saxes, Baines had a picture of an F alto, which he referred to as a mezzo-soprano.

Last weekend I was talking with saxophonist Dave Pietro. He's primarily an alto player, but has recorded recently on C melody. He told me that he got an F alto and has been playing with that a little.

[Shrdlu]

That would be a lot of fun. It's always great to try new instruments.

After I heard Eric Dolphy on bass clarinet, back in the 60s, I wanted one so bad that I could taste it. A friend lent me his Selmer, which had the extension down to low C (concert Bb). But he also had an Eb clarinet, and got me to have a blow on that. It was fantastic to be able to try a relatively rare horn. I even got it up to its top C at the first attempt, which startled him a little, lol. You can hear this wonderful instrument in the score of the great movie "Young Sherlock Holmes" - Johnny Williams, I think.