Though this is a bit of generalisation; anything French. The french wrote for the saxophone all through out the Romantic era, before jazz became associated with it. Also, french saxophonists often develop a smooth "classical" tone; North American ones tend to sound like jazz players even in classical works. As for players from the rest of europe, it varies.
A great saxophone chamber group is the Rascher quartet. I'll put a link to a sound sample of theirs.
godzilla

Here is a sound clip:

http://www.calarecords.com/sound%20f...CD77003_01.mp3

It's the only sound clip I could find of the Rascher's playing their well known Bach arrangement.

Amazing! Shows again that Bach can be played with nearly all instruments.

I remember the genious choice by Ravel to take the baritone (?) saxophone for the orchestration of the "Old castle" out of Mussorgsky's "Pictures of an exhibition".

aah i know this is an old thread but i have to respond.
I think jazz can be wonderful! i know some jazz is really tiring and boring but there are so many different kinds of jazz, improvised or not.
also, improvising takes a lot more skill than just playing random notes. to improvise a chorus of a song, and sound well, the player has to study and memorize the chord sequence and all the different scales that go along with each of the chords. Given, some improvisors are less talented than others. but i would definitely recommend that a classical musician studied some jazz improv. It really helps you develop your theory and gives you a better understanding of msuic in general. And improvising with an ensemble brings you a great feeling of freedom and accomplishment.

__________________
*LiSa*

"Music is not illusion, but revalation"
~Tchaikovsky

I know, I'm a dork.

What always cracks me up is how such a boring, innocuous genre of music is romanticized out of all proportion to its value by jazz "authorities." It's always being boomed up as being on the cutting edge of music, but, in reality, its harmonic and rhythmic "innovations," which have been done to death for decade after decade, were employed much earlier and more effectively by the likes of Debussy, Stravinsky, Ives, Beethoven, and the ragtime composers.

What the jazz aficionados always seem to gravitate to in their discussions is their idols' penchants for alcoholism and heroin addiction and the early deaths, prison sentences, and abject poverty that often resulted. They seem to be endlessly fascinated by that stuff.

I think I'm a pretty astute listener, certainly a highly experienced one. But I've tried and tried to bring jazz into my listening experience. I've sought out the highly recommended albums. It invariably leaves me cold and bored. Sorry.

But! Sarah Watts! Razzamajazz for kids!!!! Its excellent!!!!!!!

some saxophone pieces:
-Bolero (Ravel) has a tenor and a soprano sax in it
-Concerto in Eb major for alto sax and strings (Glazunov)
-Scaramouche (Milhaud)
-Fantasia for soprano sax, strings, and three horns (Villa-Lobos)
-Rhapsodie (Debussy)

Those are just a few =]
I'd be more than happy to let you know about some others.

Saxophone is my main instrument. I can switch between classical and jazz no problem, it's just I have to brush up on some of my jazz skills. I'd just like to say that I used to not care for jazz. The more I play it, the more it grows on me. It may not be that exciting to watch, but playing it is really exciting. You can make it up as you go. Pretty much, you play off a lead sheet, and then bam, everyone just coordinates with each other, and it can be amazing how it turns out. Improvising is so much fun too. You can to compose your own solo right there off the top of your head. You can't do anything wrong or play it incorrectly. To an amateur ear, it just sounds slightly off. The only problem is having to decide which notes to play with the chords listed. Some of them are pretty crazy, but it's still really fun.

Hello Saxoboe and welcome!

Thank you for the list, actually there are some!

Greetings,
Daniel.

I love jazz; yes there is a lot of jazz out there that I find repetitive, boring, monotonous, etc. Especially when soloists seem to be playing random notes (ie. Sam Rivers playing Catta on Bobby Hutcherson's "Dialogue"...no clue what he was thinking...)

I love it just because of the improvisation. It takes so much practice to first become a virtuoso of your instrument, then to become an improviser, one that can instantly build a connection from the brain to the instrument, as if you are singing through it. Yeah, theoretically wise it is dry and not new; the advent of use of modes was a cry for "freedom" but I think that they got bored of traditional major/minor tonality (although most modal jazz pieces I have encountered do not harmonically employ any large sense of modality...I could be wrong). And I just dislike "free jazz"

But I can never go wrong with some good swing.

I like some jazz. Mostly what amounts to 'swing'.

I've heard enough classical saxophone, and I don't see what you mean. It may be that you identify with a certain style of saxophone play. Most saxophone players of any camp develop expertise in both Legitimate and Jazz music. There are a number of American players who sound superbly appropriate.

I love most jazz. Especially free, chaotic jazz in the vein of Ornette Coleman, late-era John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Derek Bailey etc.

I love jazz, and played in quite a few ensembles in my younger days both trad and modern [as it used to be called LOL] I found it easier to perform than Classical and so enjoyed it immensely, So Jack if you can find any Cds of MJQ “The Modern Jazz Quartet” have a listen, it is jazz chamber music played by master musicians.

I'd say that jazz is one of my favorite music genre..its like my alternative to "rock" music....its just great to get away from the "strict" rules of classical music..and enter the "freedom" of jazz music. Its all about improv and how much "soul" the performer is willing to give...im going to try teach me either piano or trumpet in order to play some jazz music..though piano might be more versatile in switching between classical and jazz=)

Interesting thing about jazz music...have you heard of the american composer George Gershwin? Even so,his "Rhapsody in Blue for piano and orchestra"?I play the Bb clarinet...so I just love the glissando at the beginning! I think it should actually be put in the jazz category rather than the classical category. Well, hope I didn't offend anybody!
4/4player

__________________
" 'Penitence!'
'No!'
'Penitence!'
'No!'
'Penitence!'
'No!'
'Yes!'
'Nooooooooooo!' [Dragged down into Hell]
- Act two: Finale of Mozart's "Don Giovanni"

I absolutely agree with you 4 x 4, Gershwin is mainly musicals, and kind of pop, great tunes and many hits, and of course Porgy and Bess, An American in Paris but why he is listed as Classical still mystifies me.
But on our own NZ Classical Radio station we once had ‘The Beatles’ as Composer of the week, crazy