Today, the saxophone is an emblem of "cool" and the instrument most
closely associated with jazz. Yet not long ago it was derided as
the "Siren of Satan," and it was largely ignored in the United
States for well over half a century after its invention. When it
was first widely heard, it was often viewed as a novelty
noisemaker, not a real musical instrument. In only a few short
years, however, saxophones appeared in music shops across America
and became one of the most important instrumental voices. How did
the saxophone get from comic to cool?
Bandleader Tom Brown claimed that it was his saxophone sextet, the
Six Brown Brothers, who inaugurated the craze. While this boast was
perhaps more myth than reality, the group was indisputably one of
the most famous musical acts on stage in the early twentieth
century. Starting in traveling circuses, small-time vaudeville, and
minstrel shows, the group trekked across the United States and
Europe, bringing this new sound to the American public. Through
their live performances and groundbreaking recordings--the first
discs of a saxophone ensemble in general circulation--the Six Brown
Brothers played a crucial role in making this new instrument
familiar to and loved by a wide audience.
In That Moaning Saxophone, author and cornet player Bruce Vermazen
sifts fact from legend in this craze and tells the remarkable story
of these six musical brothers--William, Tom, Alec, Percy, Vern, and
Fred. Vermazen traces the brothers' path through minstrelsy, the
circus, burlesque, vaudeville, and Broadway musical comedy.
Cleverly weaving together biographical details and the context of
the burgeoning entertainment business, the author draws fascinating
portraits of the pre-jazz world of American popular music, the
theatrical climate of the period, and the long, slow death of
vaudeville.
Delving into the career of one of the key popularizers of the
saxophone, That Moaning Saxophone not only illuminates the history
of this novel instrument, but also offers a witty and vivid
portrayal of these forgotten musical worlds.
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