Is the sax shunned by prog bands? - Progressive Rock Music Forum

I play in a "prog light" cover band, and we just got a member who plays the saxophone very well. So we got to thinking about it yesterday, and it seems that it's used only sporadically by prog bands - VDGG is one standout who used sax(es) frequently, but they're not a band that we want to play. We're probably going to do the few Supertramp, Pink Floyd, and Alan Parson's songs that have sax on them.

How about early Roxy Music?

oh yeah - I was quite surprised to find that over the span of the Genesis discography, they don't have a single song featuring sax on it. They did play around with horns a bit though on Abacab though, and Phil Collins had sax on a little of his solo stuff.

You'll find Rob Townsend playing sax on many of Steve Hackett's later releases.

Welcome to the middle of the film.

Kraan is a good example of great sax in prog but I guess it's more the fusion-side of prog like Wheather Report

But also King Crimson, Camel (Raindances), IQ (on lots of songs), Moonrise (Polish, I highly recommend this one), Queensryche (Geoff Tate is a saxophonist, true story), of course Pink Floyd (maybe they influenced IQ in using saxophone).

Now when I think of it, most bands that are influenced by the Pink Floyd-side of neoprog have saxophone. Others are directly jazzrock/fusion.

I love the saxophone in lots of Al Stewart-songs, wich is more MOR/radiofriendly softrock.

Supertramp got plenty of saxophone, so does King Crimson, Gentle Giant among favourits and ofcourse VDGG

^I mentioned Pink Floyd, I even gave them credit for the whole sax-thing in the neoprog movement.

Other bands with sax:
- Gentle Giant (2 saxophonists even!)

- The Flower Kings (Ulf Wallander as guest)

- Unitopia

- United Progressive Fraternity

- Damanek

- The Tangent

- Caravan (Jimmy Hastings as guest)

- Soft Machine

- Hawkwind (who could forget Hawkwind)

- Tangerine Dream (couple albums with Steve Jolliffe)

- Jethro Tull (Ian Anderson having a go with the saxophone on Warchild)

Plenty of bands (even famous ones) having sax in their music. Even in every different style, so no need to worry.

Good Lord!! King Crimson!!

I just saw them with Mel Collins recently, it was amazing.

How about Gong? Play "Master Builder!"

I presume he may also double on flute, which would give you a whole new universe of music to explore.

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miamiscot wrote:

Some people think the first Prog LP was ITCOTCK.

That first track certainly highlighted the sax.

I guess it's been downhill ever since for the benighted instrument.

Pity.

Can't agree that's its been downhill from there. Ok so the basic progrock-instrumentation is probably a rock trio-or quartet (guitar, bass drums) + keys of some sort - but sax is probably the fifth most frequently used "proginstrument". The gentler, more pastoral progbands that leaned more towards folk or classical music went for the flute instead I suppose (which was wise of them).

Anyway, quite a few bands has been mentioned already and is there any Canterbury band that doesn't feature a sax player (Egg and Caravan come to think of it, but the latter had contributions for Jimmy Hastings)?... Gong, Hatfield, Soft Machine, Moving Gelatine Plates mm... all with prominent saxplayers - and virtually all progressive-jazzfusion.

Audience is an excellent band that managed to make "sax-riffs" similar to VDGG and KC + Kraan, Out of Focus...

Solution!!

Fantastic band with lots of sax.

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