Sax Instrumental Covers
tagStarted 1956Peak 1962–1978Last big hit 1985
Located in 1 route
Sax instrumental covers turn songs into breathy, nightclub-adjacent mood pieces, usually with tenor or alto lead, soft rhythm section, organ or strings, and a slow, crooning attack. Compared with harder jazz saxophone, the tone is smoother, more vibrato-rich, and more obviously aimed at romance than at harmonic adventure.
History
Popular in Europe, Japan, and adult-nightlife markets as well as in U.S. lounges, the style was shaped by easy-listening and dance-band traditions rather than by bebop, and artists such as Fausto Papetti, Sam Taylor, Ace Cannon, and Boots Randolph made it a reliable format for covers of standards, movie themes, and sentimental pop songs.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Smithsonian Libraries, "Popular instrumental music"
- Joseph Lanza, *Elevator Music*
- Library of Congress, "Elevator Music." citeturn7search11turn7search21