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The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use — the bass, contrabass and subcontrabass saxophones are relatively uncommon. Like all saxophones, it is a single-reed instrument. It is commonly used in , chamber music, , , and . It can also be found in other ensembles such as Rock music and . Modern baritone saxophones are pitched in E.
All saxophones were originally keyed to low B, but a low B mechanism was patented in 1887 and by 1910 this was standard for most saxophones including baritones. This low B is a concert D on baritone saxophone, and players began creating 'low A pipes' to insert into the bell to extend the range to the very useful concert C just below that (low A on the baritone sax). This modification made the low B inaccessible and low B out of tune. This method is still used today by some players. From the 1930s through the 1950s, manufacturers experimented with extending the bell to add a low A key to the instrument. The simplest way was to add a cylindrical section between the bell and bow to provide the extra length and tone hole, and some makers produced and sold instruments built this way, but these horns generally suffer from intonation problems in the lowest few notes and players often consider their tone poor as well. Selmer Paris began producing low A versions of the Mark VI baritone saxophone in the late 1950s which had a bell that had been designed separately from the low B version (such a bell may have been a custom-order option before this time), and these instruments do not generally suffer from the same intonation problems. In the 1970s, Yamaha's YBS-61 was keyed to low A with no low B option, and by the 1980s most baritones were being manufactured with a low A bell. The low A model is now considered standard and only a few manufacturers still produce low B instruments.
In its original form, the baritone saxophone's highest keyed note was high E, but instruments keyed to high F became standard during the 1920s. High F became a rare option starting in the 1950s and slowly became more common, but as with other modern saxophones, most baritones are now manufactured with a high F key.
Baritone saxophones are typically found in two versions with one ranging to low A and the other to low B. Despite the ubiquity of the low A horn, some players still prefer to use B horns because of the added weight of a low A bell or because of personal preference for a particular vintage instrument. Some also believe low A horns sound inferior in the low range; however, this is the subject of debate among players.
A baritone saxophone weighs , depending on the material and design, making it substantially heavier than a tenor saxophone. Some players use a harness in place of a neck strap to distribute the weight more comfortably. Some modern instruments have a mount for a floor peg, similar to those on , to reduce weight on the player's neck when seated.
As with all saxophones, its music is written in treble clef. By coincidence, it is possible to use a trick known as clef substitution to read music written in bass clef at concert pitch (for example most tuba or bassoon parts), by reading as if it were a transposing part in treble clef and pretending there were three more sharps (or three fewer flats) in the key signature. A similar trick allows instruments in B like the tenor saxophone to read concert pitch tenor clef.
It has also been occasionally called for in music for orchestra. Examples include Richard Strauss' Sinfonia Domestica, which calls for a baritone saxophone in F; Béla Bartók's The Wooden Prince ballet music; Charles Ives' Symphony No. 4, composed in 1910–1916; and George Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue (Grofé's orchestration) and An American in Paris. In his opera The Devils of Loudun (Die Teufel von Loudun), Krzysztof Penderecki calls for two baritone saxes. Karlheinz Stockhausen includes a baritone saxophone in Gruppen and Stravinsky calls for one in his Ebony Concerto.
It has a comparatively small solo repertoire although an increasing number of concertos have appeared, one of these being " Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra" by American composer Philip Glass. This is a piece that can be played with or without an orchestra that features the baritone sax in the second movement. The American composer Mark Watters' Rhapsody for Baritone Saxophone has been scored for piano, wind ensemble, and orchestra. This single-movement solo for the baritone sax includes a virtuosic cadenza.
Baritone saxophone soloists Gerry Mulligan, Cecil Payne, Sahib Shihab, Pepper Adams, Serge Chaloff, and Leo Parker achieved fame in the jazz world. Peter Brötzmann is a notable free jazz player.
A noted Scottish performer was Joe Temperley, who appeared with Humphrey Lyttelton as well as with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.
More recent notable performers include Hamiet Bluiett (who has also led a group of baritone saxophone players), John Surman, Scott Robinson, James Carter, Stephen "Doc" Kupka of the band Tower of Power, Nick Brignola, Gary Smulyan, Brian Landrus, and Ronnie Cuber. In the avant-garde scene, Tim Berne has doubled on bari. Jazz/funk player Leo Pellegrino of Lucky Chops and Too Many Zooz has become popular with younger listeners for his aggressive playing style and energetic performances.
Prominent baritone saxophonists in contemporary American popular music include Stephen Kupka of Tower of Power, Dana Colley of Morphine, LeRoi Moore of the Dave Matthews Band, John Linnell of They Might Be Giants and Martin Perna of Antibalas, the Dap-Kings and TV on the Radio.
Nigerian Afrobeat singer, musician, and bandleader Fela Kuti typically featured two baritone saxophone players in his band.
A few modern non-jazz artists have recently begun to incorporate saxophones into their instrumentation. The Los Angeles Indie rock band Fitz and the Tantrums featured both an alto and a baritone saxophone in their music—most recently their 2016 song "Handclap" from an album of the same name. Both were played by band member James King. The "Brass house" (experimental jazz/funk) group Too Many Zooz is another group that has popularized the baritone saxophone. Originally a New York City subway band, the trio has released three albums and been featured on a TEDx@Budapest segment.
Haruka Ogasawara from the anime Sound! Euphonium plays the baritone sax.
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