Bret Pimentel and Professor Ray Smith, School of Music
Because the saxophone is a relatively young instrument (invented in the 1840’s), sound recording technology has been available to document much of its history. The saxophone’s importance in jazz music has promoted extensive recording of hundreds of saxophonists since the 1920’s. Increased interest in the saxophone in conservatories and university music departments in the past several decades has fueled the recording of contemporary concert soloists, as well as renewing interest in recordings of the early virtuosos. The saxophone’s adaptability to popular styles has also produced a windfall of recordings. Many of the finest of these recordings are currently available in compact disc format.
Some of the earliest important recordings were those by three seminal concert soloists, Marcel Mule of France, Sigurd Rascher of Germany, and American Cecil Leeson, as well as more poporiented recordings by American Rudy Wiedoft.
Clarinet Classics, a record label specializing in historical recordings of single-reed instruments, has released two CD volumes of Mule’s recordings. These document his definitive recorded performances of some essential concert literature, including works written for him by Eugene Bozza and Alexander Glazounov. Mule’s legendary saxophone quartet is also represented in this outstanding collection. Clarinet Classics is also responsible for a compilation of recordings by Rudy Wiedoft, featuring many of his own compositions and arrangements.
It is unfortunate that there are currently no compact discs in print of the recordings of Sigurd Rascher and Cecil Leeson. Perhaps interest generated by the newfound availability of Mule’s and Wiedoft’s recordings will convince record companies to open their vaults.
The saxophone in jazz often creates an opposite problem for the collector or music librarian. Recordings of many important jazz saxophonists have been re-released in so many forms that the inexperienced buyer may be overwhelmed by the choices. Additionally, well-meaning record labels have released “complete” collections of artists’ works, including even incomplete and rejected takes, providing material of interest to jazz scholars and the most devoted fans but of little interest to most listeners.
Because the saxophone is such a central voice in jazz music, compilations of quintessential jazz recordings usually provide a reasonably comprehensive overview of jazz saxophone. The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, a 5-disc set, is an excellent source with recordings of virtually all of jazz’s most prominent saxophonists. Columbia/Legacy’s Ken Burns Jazz: The Story of America’s Music, five discs of music featured in the television miniseries, is a similar collection. Columbia/Legacy has also released a Ken Burns series of single discs featuring individual artists, including saxophonists Sidney Bechet, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Sonny Rollins. These collections boast material originally recorded on many different labels, giving the buyer the option of purchasing a selection of career highlights on a single disc. This is especially useful for collecting recordings by earlier jazz artists like Bechet or Hawkins, much of whose work was originally released as singles.
Recordings by jazz artists since the advent of the “45” record format are more likely to be found intact on compact disc, often with the benefits of digital remastering. Buyers may do best to purchase two or three complete albums, rather than a “best of” collection that only includes recordings made under a specific recording contract.
Saxophonists in popular music are readily available on compact disc; many recordings are recent enough to have been released initially on CD. Some of the saxophonists from the earlier days of rock and roll and R&B are now available in compilation format, as controls on their work have been relaxed by record labels.
Any list purporting to contain “essential” recordings is subject to widespread and likely heated argument among critics, academics, and music fans. I have compiled a list, attempting to select the artists, repertoire, and recordings that are most influential, historically significant, and popular, and currently available on compact disc.
At the time of this writing, the most recent version of my annotated list of essential recordings may be found at https://home.byu.net/~brp27/saxrec.html