HONKING the low notes...

[Razzy]

What's up with players absolutely HONKING in the low register? I'm talking D and below. Nobody seems to be able to play softly down there. I make it a point to play these notes motr softly than the rest of the range, because they sound louder to the listener (due to the sound coming more or less RIGHT from the bell; this effect increases with a mic), and even moreso when I go from the middle or high to the low register, at a dynamic that started soft. Not only should one work in the descension factor (unless the music calls for a crescendo in the descending line), but suddenly getting loud and rambunctious for one note is just distasteful.

Basically I notice a lot of players just honk when they go down there, and can't seem to do anything else with this register. Specific sources, which surprised me, were:

Joshua Redman
David Sanborn
John Coltrane

!!!

The worst was Redman... playing this wonderful ballad solo on Body and Soul, with a bit more lip bends than my appetite requires but still quite skillfully, then suddenly BAMMO the low Bb, completely out of place.

[colibri]

Because it sounds good to them. It's as simple as that.

[max]

Could just be a microphone thing, too - unless you back away from the mic, it gets it full blast (even if you back off the dynamic).

...can't seem to do anything else with this register.
Just because they're not playing softly on the recordings you're hearing, don't assume they can't...

[Randall]

Usually, it's because they are playing a reed that is so hard it won't allow them to play any other way in the low register.

[JL]

It may be a matter of individual preference and taste. I actually like that honking sound when those low notes are hit. Of course, in certain musical situations it may be more appropriate to take a softer approach. Certainly on some ballads, the low note might sound better if soft or even subtoned. But hitting it hard can result in a startling effect......maybe even wake the listener up a bit!