[robbieg]

Well, exactly! Many of us who "play 'em all" own a bari so we can take calls to play bari. And often, we'll take a call to play bari, hoping we'll do well enough to be asked back on alto or tenor. (Hey, just being honest here!)

Funny, I think I end up taking calls playing alto or tenor secretly hoping they will call me back to play bari.

 

[lostcircuits]

I just finished the rebuild of an old Lamberson bari piece that had half of its tip missing and trying it out I fell in love again with my 12m (not that it ever fell out of love but hernia sometimes throws its magic monkey wrench)
Gonna play my first gig on it tomorrow. It'll be a a hoot, that combo can pull the tide the other way.

 

[dos1and2]

All the time i see on this forum cats who play tenor primarily, strongly double alto (sometimes those two are switched) and then tertiary-ily (I made that word up) soprano and bari.
When I started playing I came from bass clarinet as a young concert band kid into my first year of jazz playing bari. That was logically probably not a great move but I clawed my ass up through an incredibly busted horn AND never even playing a saxophone before, to beating out the upperclassman in a chair test in a couple of months.
I’ve enjoyed every single second of playing the big horn and even at my lowest moments where I feel not good about myself I know I’m improving quite well in the grand scheme of things.
I have no want to play anything else. Even in my bass clarinet playing I just don’t really want to anymore. The biggest thing about playing multiple instruments for me is that you have to split up your time, and I hate that. I guess I feel very hyper fixated and laser focused. Is that okay? I know I’ll miss out on a lot of paying gigs when I’m older because I only offer one very specific saxophonic (I made that word up too) service, but does that make me a bad reedman? Is it supposed to be an integral part of the sax experience to play all the saxes, and even many other woodwinds?
Thanks for reading another essay, I love the barebones truth and community this website offers! : D

I played tenor for some fifty years, and then switched to baritone, which I now play exclusively. I think it's important to stick with the horn you like. All the great saxophone players played one type of horn almost exclusively. Think of Hawk, Bud Freeman, Charlie Parker, Lester Young etc. In fact both Hawk and Freeman are quoted as saying that if you want to be any good, you have to concentrate on one horn.

 

[turf3]

I played tenor for some fifty years, and then switched to baritone, which I now play exclusively. I think it's important to stick with the horn you like. All the great saxophone players played one type of horn almost exclusively. Think of Hawk, Bud Freeman, Charlie Parker, Lester Young etc. In fact both Hawk and Freeman are quoted as saying that if you want to be any good, you have to concentrate on one horn.

Well, not ALL.

Phil Woods was a very fine clarinetist. Lew Tabackin is a fine flutist. Sonny Stitt played both tenor and alto at the very highest level, and with somewhat different concepts. Benny Carter played both alto and trumpet. Sidney Bechet played soprano and clarinet. John Handy - tenor and alto. Coltrane - tenor and soprano. Dolphy - Alto, bass clarinet, flute. Harry Carney - baritone, alto, clarinet, bass clarinet. James Moody - alto, tenor, flute. Yusef Lateef - flute, oboe, tenor. Rahsaan Roland Kirk - flute, soprano, alto, tenor. Tom Scott plays pretty much all the woodwinds. Paquito D'Rivera - alto and clarinet.

There are advantages to picking one and sticking with it, but there are advantages to doing it the other way too.

 

[melvyng]

All the time i see on this forum cats who play tenor primarily, strongly double alto (sometimes those two are switched) and then tertiary-ily (I made that word up) soprano and bari.
When I started playing I came from bass clarinet as a young concert band kid into my first year of jazz playing bari. That was logically probably not a great move but I clawed my ass up through an incredibly busted horn AND never even playing a saxophone before, to beating out the upperclassman in a chair test in a couple of months.
I’ve enjoyed every single second of playing the big horn and even at my lowest moments where I feel not good about myself I know I’m improving quite well in the grand scheme of things.
I have no want to play anything else. Even in my bass clarinet playing I just don’t really want to anymore. The biggest thing about playing multiple instruments for me is that you have to split up your time, and I hate that. I guess I feel very hyper fixated and laser focused. Is that okay? I know I’ll miss out on a lot of paying gigs when I’m older because I only offer one very specific saxophonic (I made that word up too) service, but does that make me a bad reedman? Is it supposed to be an integral part of the sax experience to play all the saxes, and even many other woodwinds?
Thanks for reading another essay, I love the barebones truth and community this website offers! : D

Hey man, do what you love, it'll come out in your sound and that's the main thing. I used to go back and forth between alto and tenor for 20 years.....then....I heard Ronnie Cuber and thought "Holy ****, I didn't know a bari could sound like that!" so I only play bari now

 

[Urdaddoobie]

Well, not ALL.

Phil Woods was a very fine clarinetist. Lew Tabackin is a fine flutist. Sonny Stitt played both tenor and alto at the very highest level, and with somewhat different concepts. Benny Carter played both alto and trumpet. Sidney Bechet played soprano and clarinet. John Handy - tenor and alto. Coltrane - tenor and soprano. Dolphy - Alto, bass clarinet, flute. Harry Carney - baritone, alto, clarinet, bass clarinet. James Moody - alto, tenor, flute. Yusef Lateef - flute, oboe, tenor. Rahsaan Roland Kirk - flute, soprano, alto, tenor. Tom Scott plays pretty much all the woodwinds. Paquito D'Rivera - alto and clarinet.

There are advantages to picking one and sticking with it, but there are advantages to doing it the other way too.

And ornette Coleman, who I believe played alto, tenor and trumpet, right?