Just for grins

[Alex C]

A subcontrabass saxophone on youtube. It's, uh.... unique!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfyHYs1EudU

[Michael Bush]

Wow. That's extreme.

Robert Seaton, who is referenced in this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Wh ... _Orchestra" target="_blank, was my high school girlfriend's grandfather. I honked on his contrabass sax in his house in Louisville in the late seventies or early eighties. Quite a character, and it was an amazing instrument. It had better intonation than this sub-contra!

[Kevin Hendrick]

Oh, they *can* be played well! Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/user/saxtek#p/u/0/nwTorKNmED4

... and, "just for S&G", here's "Stardust" on an Eb contra Tubax:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cWyduYgEh4

Enjoy!

[imperialbari]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKHIVRdwxc4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxK_VZ0kVqs

[Bob Kolada]

I'm sorry, only I can (apparently) post links to contra horns of other families and (as a matter of course) get made fun of.

-More specifically, Randy has some cool stuff on youtube.

[Michael Bush]

There is a guy here in Santa Cruz who has a 1907 French Conn Eb contrabass sax who
plays in "The Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra" who can actually play.
These instruments in the hands of an expert are overwhelming.

Yes, that's the horn I'm talking about, it belonged to my HS girlfriend's grandfather. Your guy out there bought it from Mr. Seaton not long before he died. Never was a sax player myself. Cathy could play it. I honked on it a few times.

[imperialbari]

OK, I found one. no solos - nothing outstanding, but on time and IN TUNE !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Maqcz_4ZssU

I like Stars & Stripes as written by Sousa. But the harmonic richness provided by these just 6 players is very enjoyable. The two-part version of the piccolo solo is great fun.

Klaus

[Lingon]

...OK, I found one. no solos - nothing outstanding, but on time and IN TUNE !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Maqcz_4ZssU" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank...

Wow, what a great clip! Now, if someone would do some similar things with a family of saxhorns...

[Michael Bush]

I PMed goodgigs about this, but also want to ask the forum: anybody know what is up with the Nuclear Whales guy's contrabass sax? It seems maybe that group has disbanded, but there's also a question about whether the instrument's current owner may be taking it out on a tour? Anybody know?

[Donn]

Interesting. The Stainer contrabass sounds great in that little clip from Hans Kuijt (I believe that's the second youtube link of two in Klaus' post above.)

That would be an Eb contrabass, down to maybe the second D below the staff, like the Nuclear Whales contrabass. I know at least one guy who has a contrabass sax, I guess Chinese. Not for me because it's absurdly unwieldy and the sound doesn't appeal to me, but this Stainer instrument ... hmm. Take a nice vacation in Brazil while play testing a couple, then fly back with one ... oh wait, I don't have any money. Oh well.

Eppelsheim makes some interesting stuff, but in a way they're new instruments, very closely related to saxophones but with a much narrower bore that makes them practical in the contrabass range. Interesting sound, but you have to ask what it's good for.

I guess the J'Elle Stainer subcontrabass shown in the first post really is a subcontrabass, in Bb two octaves below the tenor, and whatever fault may lie with the player, I'm sure it's terribly difficult to play. It's hard to imagine what use it could be put to, where the Eb contrabass wouldn't serve better. May have been built largely as a promotional curiosity.

[toobagrowl]

For some reason the sound of note-attacks on lower saxes irritates me (THUD THUD THUD) 'Banana' sound.
I like the sound OK on alto and soprano saxes when played in the classical style.
But what is with these contrabass/sub-contrabass saxes and flutes? They don't sound good or blend with anything, imo.

Tubas, string basses, bass clarinets, contrabass clarinets, contrabassoons, etc, sound great and blend with many instruments when played well.

[Donn]

The bass saxophone had its day back in the early years of popular jazz, as an edgy and nimble alternative to the tuba that worked for some ensembles. Cf. Adrian Rollini, a couple other well known players. If there had been a compact Eb contrabass like the J'Elle Stainer design, it might have done well. Though not for someone like Rollini, where bass sax was as much a solo vehicle. Naturally there are still people playing bass saxophone in this style, but amplification and recording technology are such that both bass sax and tuba are kind of "period instruments."

[Bob Kolada]

Bass sax is THE dixieland bass horn (see Uptown Lowdown!!!), but for real world use I wouldn't want to haul around anything bigger than a bari. Tuba and bass trombone at the same time are bad enough, tuba and valved bass are going to suck,... like hell I need to haul a tuba, valved bass, and a bari sax on the bus for avant garde stuff.

At least they'd all be in Eb, thus simplifying sheet music!



Bring on the picture of (tuba Joe?) wearing a sousa in the subway!!

[Donn]

Well, Uptown Lowdown may be the first and last Dixieland band to regularly use two bass saxophones, but their tuba player plays the bass part. I'm sure the reed basses are out there, but it's not what you usually see.

Something for the double reed fans: Kontraforte