Alto, Tenor and Baritone Saxophones

Musicians
Viviane CAULLIREAU	Louis CHARVET QUEMIN	Lison DARTOIS
Romain COURTAUD	Raphaëlle PHARABOT	Mélissa MANCHON
Stéphanie GUAY	Suzanne POUILLON	Quentin ZIMMER
Florent RATEL	Frédéric VITE	Serge DURANDO
Marcel GUIRAO	Jean Paul SUDUL	Odile DURANDO JANIN
Guy QUEZEL AMBRUNAZ	Sylvain DEGEORGES	Georges POUZOL
marie Thérèse MORAT	Antoine ROBERT	Mado VIAUD
Anne Marie POITOU	Philippe MUDRY	Claude ARNAUD
Pascale BERGER	Xavier DILLET	Serge VASLON
Bernard FLORET	Frédéric GAMAIN

Although made of metal, the saxophone belongs to the woodwind family (and not the brass family, as is commonly misunderstood) because it uses a wooden reed. As with the clarinet, it is the vibration of the reed on the plastic mouthpiece that creates the sound. In addition, it tends to be closer to the sound of the strings, making it the missing link that bridges the woodwinds and brass instruments in a symphonic band. The most common saxophones are the soprano, alto, tenor and baritone, which make up the quartet of saxophones.

The instrument was a late invention (in 1841) by the Belgian inventor Adolphe SAX, who wanted to create an instrument that would both be the loudest of the woodwinds and the most versatile of the brass. Although the saxophone has a relatively marginal place in classical music, it is undoubtedly the king of jazz instruments.