Saxophone set

Manufactured in the 1930s by Frank Holton & Company of Elkhorn, Wisconsin, this alto saxophone appeared at the tail end of the saxophone craze of the 1920s. Invented in the 1840s by Belgian instrument-maker Adolphe Sax, the instrument was originally intended to bridge the disparity between bright, loud brass instruments and the mellow sounds of the woodwinds. Sax cleverly combined the two instruments, attaching a clarinet mouthpiece to the flared tubing characteristic of brass instruments. Originally intended for military bands, the saxophone gradually earned the respect of classical musicians. Praised by French composer Hector Berlioz for its "splendid, one might say priestly calm, like the mysterious vibrations of a bell long after it has rung," the saxophone also was hailed by American composer Percy Grainger as "the most expressive of all wind instruments, the one closest to the human voice." In spite of its growing respectability, the instrument attracted popular attention through jazz. The upbeat rhythms of '20s dance musi,c, together with the soaring virtuosity of such early jazzmen such as Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, awakened young Americans to a brand-new sound, contributing to the saxophone's status as the most popular instrument in America.