The 80s Were… Weird…. About the Saxophone
The ’80s took the saxophone to a… weird… place. How did Careless Whisper become a meme? And how did the instrument that once defined cool become a punchline? A look back and the history of the saxophone, the “sax man”, and this classic jazz instrument.
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0:00 Intro
1:14 Saxophone Origins
3:56 The 80s
7:32 Smooth Jazz
9:21 And Beyond
@lusarmientomusic
September 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm
Loved hosting this episode on my favorite instrument. Thanks for watching! š«¶š½ š·
-Lucia
@Zlornick444
September 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm
It's John Coltrane's 100th birthday, right, so let's release a video about the saxophone and instead of celebrating one of the instrument's greatest player's and one of the most important musicians in American music history, we'll talk about how the instrument is a joke. Oh and we'll just throw in a dig about how his music is too complex for normal people. Yall ain't serious.
@aedved2
September 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm
What about ska?!
@Jessica-vl7dr
September 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm
I LOVE the sax. More sax, please!
@BartSchuller
September 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm
The 90s weren't all bad for the Sax. Morphine created their own genre using sax, bass and drums.
@TheowanneMouthpieces
September 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm
Great video! So informative and entertaining!
@fmphotooffice5513
September 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm
PLAY LOUD:
https://youtu.be/8LYTh0T8_Eg?si=GfGejCF2O-XTrwbd
@richardr.7668
September 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm
How can you not click on this video with this title and thumbnail.
@nataliebeach6148
September 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm
Did you really just ignore ska and reggae?
@2nd3rd1st
September 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm
10:24 There's a breathing technique that apparently allows one to play this sax sample continuously, very innovative https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKf9lCkE2Zg
@2nd3rd1st
September 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm
"when I toured with Pitbull in 2021" really hits home how Americans experienced the pandemic very differently from everyone else
@ddogg9255
September 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm
It's great in noisier avant garde rock, too. Black midi (and Geordie Greep solo) features one often. Nothing else has the dynamics to cut through the baseline intensity, and be so responsive to genre bending.
@Beryllahawk
September 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm
What a fascinating history! I absolutely missed the meme-phase, outside of a single reference to a single clip of some sort. Then again I also barely registered anything about Clinton's campaign days.
I feel like sax is also in some way more accessible to musicians – the one time I attempted to look for beginner instruments for my kid, the saxophones were among the least expensive options. So maybe it helps a lot that more folks can really get familiar with the instrument in the sense of direct experiences. But it's such a wonderful sound honestly. I'd never considered its similarities to vocals but that has to be one of the reasons I enjoy it a lot, I can rather literally hum along with at least some of what I'm hearing. Most other brass and "classic" wind instrumentation doesn't lend itself well to that – whether that's because my personal experiences have all been with larger works or because professional brass and wind players have magical breathing powers I don't know š
@1_or_11
September 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm
LOL I got clickbaited by Hanoi Rocks in the thumbnail
@lijenamacka
September 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm
Nice and informative video! š·
@michelhv
September 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm
Whereās Epic Sax Guy when we need him?
@Petch85
September 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm
10:00
Don't drop a not… Just add one more sax player. š
@maryjo5512
September 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm
FBAs in New Orleans popularized the sax. It had absolutely nothing to do with āAfrican Rhythmsā Please stop.