Customer Reviews

The Devil's Horn: The Story of the Saxophone, from Noisy Novelty to King of Cool

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Am about 80% done with this book. Great book shows history of the saxophone from Adolphe Sax's humble beginnings to the latest sax variation called the aulochrome (double-soprano sax welded together?). I liked the Personal Sound section of the book. Very informative and helpful. Buy it!

Michael Segell has written a book which is brimming over not just with the enthusiasm of a convert but also with some very solid scholarship. The reader can't help but be caught up in the world which has evolved around this much maligned but fascinating instrument. What the book needs is a bit of condescension to those not familiar with the saxophone's parts and some jazz terminology left me in the dark. A glossary and diagram of the instrument's parts would help.

How can one not be interested in a musical instrument banned by Nazis, Communists and the Catholic church and played by President Clinton. It's also just about the newest of the major musical instruments, dating from 1843 when Adolphe Sax built the first one.

This book is basically a love affair with the Sax. It's part history, part stories, part nostalgia for the greats of the past, part just plain good writing about a thing the author clear loves. The author is a professional journalist, an amateur musician and he has combined these two interests together in this book.

It's an easy and delightful read. It's kind of fun to have a book like this that is something other than how much one political party hates the other, the war, oil prices and all the other things that you see getting published today.

As an "old pro" who has played my Selmers next to lots of familiar names, I feel this book is MUST reading for anyone serious about the instrument (...even just as a listener). I had to laugh out loud at some of the 'holy' schemes hatched against Adolphe Sax and his legacy, and I loved the passionate quotes and reminiscences gathered from many of the top hornmen around Manhattan.
More surprising yet are sensously scientific details about how quickly the new brassy/windy sound caught on, forcing innumerable clarinetists and violinists everywhere to switch instruments, or quit. Reading the book out here in the middle of the Pacific, I suppose even my own album, "sax hawaiian style", proves the author's point that this sultry 'devilish' voice was destined to invade practically every musical style and culture worldwide. I can hardly wait until some saxophonist conquers a juicy stake in Rap, or in middle-eastern music, or in whatever genres someday arise!

All of us owe a debt to Michael Segell for his book on the saxophone. He has written an engaging, informative and oftentimes hilarious account of Adolphe Sax's incredible creation. Mr. Segell has spared no expense in tracing the history of the saxophone and has chronicled its years of development with easy-reading expertise. His interviews with many saxophonists are a particular joy to read and be a part of. Although it would be practically impossible to document every little piece of information about the saxophone and all of its major contributors over the past 160 years, Segell has done an exceedingly thorough and heartfelt job (one look at his bibliography will offer proof of that), and he deserves all the credit in the world for his efforts. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a saxophonist and who is interested in becoming a more learned student of the history of the great instrument.
I also hope this book will teach all of us as saxophone players not to be as divided in our thinking as we have been and that we will instead become more united and accepting of each other and of the many different styles and ways of thinking regarding our amazing instrument, the saxophone. At the very least, it's worth a try...

sax on everyone!

Fans of the saxophone must have Michael Segell's THE DEVIL'S HORN: THE STORY OF THE SAXOPHONE, FROM NOISY NOVELTY TO KING OF COOL: it tells how just ten years after Sax completed his first prototype in 1843 the horn had traveled across the country and throughout Europe to change the musical world. The sax was banned by Nazis and Communists, and religious leaders alike which deemed the instrument 'profane'. Its volatile history receives a charged, lively survey by Michael Segell, NY Daily News editor who is himself an amateur saxophone player.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I've read many of the dissertations and references he's used for research here, and this book is a much more enjoyable read than many of them. It's historically accurate and informative, yet pleasantly written in the style of a professional journalist rather than a PhD candidate. He's used many of the best names in the legit (and jazz) business as sources. If you want a one-source introduction on how the saxophone came to be, this would be my first choice.

Having rediscovered the saxophone after a 30 year hiatus, Segell's story really hits home for me. Not only does he do a very entertaining job of highlighting the history of the instrument, he also conveys the passion that saxophones can arouse in both players and listeners by telling the story of his personal affair with the Devil's horn. Segell's mix of straight history, interviews and personal experience sounds just the right note. He strikes a special chord for me as we have both bought horns from the same guy: Junkdude. A very fun read.

Michael Segell may be an amateur sax player, but he is a very gifted and talented writer. When I started the book I expected a history of the saxophone pure and simple - but the book is very much more. It has the contexts of where the sax came from originally and where it flourishes [and does not always] flourish today.

We learn of the original musicians and technicians connected with the evolution of the sax along with the business strategies and [sometimes] deceits of the instrument makers. There is also comments on the styles of well-known players and on the development of musical compositions suited to the horn. And if you every wondered why woodwind manufacturing seems to center in Indiana and why we have so many school music programs around the country, this book is the place to look.

There is also material about the technology of the instrument's assembly and key placement over time. Along the way we read of Segell's own love story with the sax, and it is done in a way that keeps all the many parts of the book moving.

This is a fantastic gift for anyone who owns a sax or who is interested in taking one up. As a professional writer and music researcher I would say that this is the best overall treatment of "the devil's horn" I have come across.

This was a very enjoyable book to read. It brought out, in a way I had not read before, the very human quality of voice of the saxophone. Now I can smile even more when I hear angels sing through the "Devil's Horn".