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Is the sax shunned by prog bands?
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Lamneth View Drop Down
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    Posted: June 11 2018 at 07:50
I play in a "prog light" cover band, and we just got a member who plays the saxophone very well.  So we got to thinking about it yesterday, and it seems that it's used only sporadically by prog bands - VDGG is one standout who used sax(es) frequently, but they're not a band that we want to play.  We're probably going to do the few Supertramp, Pink Floyd, and Alan Parson's songs that have sax on them.
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Colosseum featured lots of sax but that may also be a band you don't want to play. 
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How about early Roxy Music?
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Just based on having listened to Gavin Harrison's Cheating the Polygraph, where Harrison puts jazz instrumentation to PT songs--and pretty genuine jazz arrangements (perhaps more Big Band) from the sample I've heard--it might be interesting to take parts not written for sax and sax them up. 

If you're playing progressive music--don't let the traditional arrangements limit you, if you really want to use the saxophonist. I'd hate to just limit it to Supertramp--however much I like their pre-Breakfast music.

However, if you're looking for sax, you might try Maxophone, a pretty under-rated band for their era. 
-John
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Points: 86 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lamneth Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 11 2018 at 08:12
oh yeah - I was quite surprised to find that over the span of the Genesis discography, they don't have a single song featuring sax on it.  They did play around with horns a bit though on Abacab though, and Phil Collins had sax on a little of his solo stuff. 
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Try:

Diversion Voice, "Underwater" (Russia): http://www.diversionvoice.com/en/
Dasputnik, "Cyclokosmia" or "Parapsykosis" (Finland): https://dasputnik.bandcamp.com/

Both bands have a fairly substantial sax presence.
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You'll find Rob Townsend playing sax on many of Steve Hackett's later releases.
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Some people think the first Prog LP was ITCOTCK.
That first track certainly highlighted the sax.
I guess it's been downhill ever since for the benighted instrument.
Pity.
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Kraan is a good example of great sax in prog but I guess it's more the fusion-side of prog like Wheather Report

But also King Crimson, Camel (Raindances), IQ (on lots of songs), Moonrise (Polish, I highly recommend this one), Queensryche (Geoff Tate is a saxophonist, true story), of course Pink Floyd (maybe they influenced IQ in using saxophone).
 
Now when I think of it, most bands that are influenced by the Pink Floyd-side of neoprog have saxophone. Others are directly jazzrock/fusion.

I love the saxophone in lots of Al Stewart-songs, wich is more MOR/radiofriendly softrock.
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Points: 13481 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Manuel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 11 2018 at 08:51
The current Steve Hackett band features Rob Townsend on sax, flute, and other woodwind instruments, and they add sax to some of the Genesis classics that originally did not have it. To me, progressiveness in music is not only limited to long instrumental pieces, with odd time signatures and changes in tempo, but also inventiveness in musical exploration, orchestration, instrumentation, etc, which includes all kinds of instruments. It's an approach to writing music that enhances both the artist and the music itself, making it more delightful and pleasant.
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Supertramp got plenty of saxophone, so does King Crimson, Gentle Giant among favourits and ofcourse VDGG
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No mention of Pink Floyd? Dick Parry should have been an official member by the time DSotM came out.
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^I mentioned Pink Floyd, I even gave them credit for the whole sax-thing in the neoprog movement.

Other bands with sax:
- Gentle Giant (2 saxophonists even!)
- The Flower Kings (Ulf Wallander as guest)
- Unitopia
- United Progressive Fraternity
- Damanek
- The Tangent
- Caravan (Jimmy Hastings as guest)
- Soft Machine
- Hawkwind (who could forget Hawkwind)
- Tangerine Dream (couple albums with Steve Jolliffe)
- Jethro Tull (Ian Anderson having a go with the saxophone on Warchild)


Plenty of bands (even famous ones) having sax in their music. Even in every different style, so no need to worry.
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Island - Pictures
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The answer is clearly 'No, sax is far from shunned by prog'.

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Points: 7381 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cstack3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 11 2018 at 12:02
Good Lord!!  King Crimson!!  

I just saw them with Mel Collins recently, it was amazing.  

How about Gong?  Play "Master Builder!"  

I presume he may also double on flute, which would give you a whole new universe of music to explore.  
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I forgot about nineties Marillion:

Berlin, This Strange Engine and Deserve.
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Originally posted by miamiscot miamiscot wrote:

Some people think the first Prog LP was ITCOTCK.
That first track certainly highlighted the sax.
I guess it's been downhill ever since for the benighted instrument.
Pity.

Can't agree that's its been downhill from there. Ok so the basic progrock-instrumentation is probably a rock trio-or quartet (guitar, bass drums) + keys of some sort - but sax is probably the fifth most frequently used "proginstrument". The gentler, more pastoral progbands that leaned more towards folk or classical music went for the flute instead I suppose (which was wise of them).

Anyway, quite a few bands has been mentioned already and is there any Canterbury band that doesn't feature a sax player (Egg and Caravan come to think of it, but the latter had contributions for Jimmy Hastings)?... Gong, Hatfield, Soft Machine, Moving Gelatine Plates mm... all with prominent saxplayers - and virtually all progressive-jazzfusion.

Audience is an excellent band that managed to make "sax-riffs" similar to VDGG and KC + Kraan, Out of Focus... 
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Originally posted by Tapfret Tapfret wrote:


Koenjihyakkei 
Univers Zero
Thinking Plague

The answer is clearly 'No, sax is far from shunned by prog'.

I like the way you're thinking, I would have mentioned all of those though I somehow don't think they are the first bands that come to mind for a prog "light" cover band (it would be epic though)


Edited by Nogbad_The_Bad - June 11 2018 at 13:00
Ian

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Solution!!

Fantastic band with lots of sax.
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Originally posted by Kingsnake Kingsnake wrote:

^I mentioned Pink Floyd, I even gave them credit for the whole sax-thing in the neoprog movement.

Other bands with sax:
- Gentle Giant (2 saxophonists even!)
- The Flower Kings (Ulf Wallander as guest)
- Unitopia
- United Progressive Fraternity
- Damanek
- The Tangent
- Caravan (Jimmy Hastings as guest)
- Soft Machine
- Hawkwind (who could forget Hawkwind)
- Tangerine Dream (couple albums with Steve Jolliffe)
- Jethro Tull (Ian Anderson having a go with the saxophone on Warchild)


Plenty of bands (even famous ones) having sax in their music. Even in every different style, so no need to worry.
Good man. Saves me from reading all these posts to see if anyone mentioned Floyd. ;)
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