"when exactly did the saxophone fall out of favor in popular music?"
been rocking to some 80s gems recently and being hit with the sax was like reuniting with an old friend. made me realize how long it's been since I've heard it on anything not classifed as Jazz.
what happened? it seems like saxophones went from pop staple to nonexistent quick fast. yeah, trends change, but I don't remember a gradual fade; *ish was abrupt. I'm basing this on the limited scope of my listening habits, but I feel it's more than just anecdotal. am I missing something?
1. "I think the issue is that live instruments aren't used as much in pop " In response to Reply # 0
music, and that's because these days most pop music is done by a producer sitting with a laptop and VSTs.
Horns (and ESPECIALLY saxophone) are pretty difficult to accurately duplicate with synths and VSTs, so unless a producer is sampling a record with a sax you're not going to see it as much. Cat's like Bruno and Justin Timberlake use them, but even if someone wants to bring in a sax player it takes a certain level of skill to record and mix properly, and you don't have nearly as many pop records being made in studios with professional engineers handling the work.
2. "The MC replaced the instrumental solo in R&B music." In response to Reply # 0
I'll always remember Branford Marsalis' sax solo on Shanice's "I Love Your Smile". In fact a lot of New Jack Swing stuff kept the band element of instrumental solos.
7. "haha, you're absolutely right" In response to Reply # 2 Wed Jun-09-21 06:55 PM by Options
I listened to Thriller a couple days ago and had to stop to really appreciate the solo on Beat It. on subsequent records, that space was occupied by Heavy D and Biggie (and... whoever the heck that was on Black or White).
Dj Joey Joe Member since Sep 01st 2007 13770 posts
Thu Jun-10-21 12:39 AM
10. "I Miss The Sax Solos In Late 70's To 80's Rock/Pop Music" In response to Reply # 0
Other than a few ska bands, and groups E-Street Band & Dave Matthews Band, others don't have saxophonists in their groups or doing solos on songs, it kind of became passe as they say.
Once hard rock & heavy metal took off, it was no need for sax solos, now kats have two & three guitarists (one on lead, one on rhythm, & one on bass) even most synth/keyboardists aren't present in bands anymore.
I loved it when Pete Rock "kind of" brought back the sax sound on his echoing horns in his beats but even that got old to some when others started to copy that gimmick.
--------- "We in here talking about later career Prince records & your fool ass is cruising around in a time machine trying to collect props for a couple of sociopathic degenerates" - s.blak
12. "Sax hasn't been a mainstay of guitar-driven music since the early '60s" In response to Reply # 0
think of all those 80s songs with the sax solos... none of them are really "guitar songs," you know?
At the same time that was happening, the guitar-driven styles (harder rock, hair metal, punk, college rock or 80s 'alternative') didn't have sax solos in large measure.
In RnB, the move away from live instrumentation certainly didn't help the sax's prioritization.
13. "now that you mention it" In response to Reply # 12
from a purely practical standpoint, the sax (or any brass, really) isn't the easiest instrument to learn. finding space to practice without annoying everyone around you is more of a challenge. and compared with the 'rock star' vibe the guitar has baked in, it's not hard to see the scales tipping in a particular direction. but I suppose this is slightly separate from the issue I brought up in the original post.
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