Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The title of the book makes it sound like a general reference book on the saxophone. Instead, it's more like a collection of idiosyncratic essays with a distinctly nationalistic point of view. If it was going to be a useful reference work, one thing it would need is a good index, with entries broken down better. ("Reeds," for example., gives a list of 20 page numbers without subheadings.) Loads of space is given to obscure English saxophonists and composers. Many of the articles need fleshing out, e.g. the part about mouthpieces doesn't say anything about the numerical system used to describe them. It's also topheavy with advanced stuff,e.g. a chart of altissimo fingerings and discussions of microtones, but no ordinary fingering charts or trill fingerings. Classical players had better not depend on this book as an introduction to jazz, since it doesn't discuss any of the jazz issues about tonguing or triplet feel.
Click Here to see more reviews about: The Cambridge Companion to the Saxophone (Cambridge Companions to Music)
This is the first comprehensive guide to the saxophone, its history, technical development and repertoire. Extensively researched and including much new information, the volume is written by some of the finest performers and experts on the instrument. The Cambridge Companion to the Saxophone incorporates detailed historical developments in the classical, jazz and rock fields, provides practical performance guides, and has a chapter on teaching the instrument.
