For my golden record contribution, I believe it would be very beneficial to demonstrate the vast versatility of musical instruments, particularly the saxophone. This would provide any extra-terrestrial life that happen upon the record a glimpse into the expressive ability of a musical instrument, as well as how much the playing style of a single instrument can vary throughout the globe. The following 3 selections show exactly that, even just a few seconds into each recording.
Joc de doi – Nicusor Tunea Band
This is an example of unique style of saxophone playing that is common in Romania. It consists mostly of extremely fast double-tongued notes, but the playing style remains very relaxed. This style is frequent at Romanian weddings and other large gatherings.
Charlie Parker’s Confirmation is a great example of the saxophone being used in the musical genre known as jazz. This particular example is of a style called “bebop”, which originated in the 1940s. Bebop is characterized by fast notes, improvisation, complex rhythms, and very interesting harmonic structure.
Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra – Henri Tomasi
Classical saxophone is a style of playing that relies on very precise rhythms, accurate pitch, and a beautiful, light sound. Technique is very important in classical as everything must be perfect as possible to match the written music as closely as possible.