Saxophone
By: Jaclyn Breeze
The saxophone is a woodwind instrument. The instrument is made of metal, but is classified as a woodwind because of the mouthpiece. It uses a wooden reed that vibrates against plastic to create sound when a player blows into it. It is one of the most recently invented instruments, developed in the 1840s. The pitch is controlled by opening and closing tone holes along the body of the instrument. It never became a standard orchestral instrument, but found its home as a popular instrument in vaudeville and ragtime bands in the early 1900s.
Sonny Rollins was born in New York City in 1930. There were many saxophonists for Sonny to look up to and emulate in the city, and he was playing with some of the biggest names before he turned 20. He was innovative and creative, both in his solo playing and his compositions. Eventually, he took a few years off from playing because he had gotten so famous and was feeling pressure to do things a certain way. During this time off, he revisited the parts of playing that he loved and rediscovered why he wanted to play music. When he came back, he prioritized making sure he was happy with what he was doing – working with people and topics that he wanted, and playing when he felt ready. Sonny has played with an astounding number of people, won many major awards, and been an inspiration to many other musicians.
Learn more about him on his website: https://sonnyrollins.com/
Listen to some of his work here:
Book: Sonny’s Bridge by Barry Wittenstein
Find it at these Monroe County Public Libraries, or have it delivered to a library near you! (Hold/delivery fee is $0.25 per book)
Central, Gates, Lyell, Monroe, Sully, Wheatley
