Contrabass saxophone

The contrabass saxophone is the second-lowest-pitched extant member of the saxophone family proper. It is pitched in E♭, one octave below the baritone saxophone, which requires twice the length of tubing and bore width. This renders a very large and heavy instrument, standing approximately 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) tall and weighing around 20 kilograms (44 lb). Despite this, it was used in marching bands in the early 20th century.

The contrabass saxophone was part of the original saxophone family as conceived by Adolphe Sax, and is included in his saxophone patent of 1846, as well as in Kastner's concurrently published Méthode for saxophone. By 1849, Sax was displaying contrabass through sopranino saxophones at exhibitions. Patrick Gilmore's famous American band roster included a contrabass saxophone in 1892, and at least two dozen of these instruments were built by the Evette & Schaeffer company for US military bands in the early 20th century which, despite their size, were able to be played while marching using a strap. Saxophone ensembles were also popular at this time, and the contrabass saxophone was an eye-catching novelty for the groups that were able to obtain one. By the onset of the Great Depression, the saxophone craze had ended, and the contrabass, already rare, almost disappeared from public view.

In the early 2000s, the bass and contrabass saxophones experienced a renewed interest, particularly in large saxophone ensembles and community-based musical traditions. In Brazil, ethnomusicologists and museum scholars have documented the sustained use of low-register saxophones—including contrabass and subcontrabass saxophones—within large church orchestras associated with Pentecostal denominations such as the Christian Congregation in Brazil. These instruments are employed as functional bass voices, frequently reinforcing baritone or bass parts at lower octaves in order to support large congregational ensembles.

The practical demand created by these ensembles has contributed to the continued construction of extended-range instruments in Brazil, including subcontrabass saxophones, which extend below the traditional contrabass register. While rare in most classical and popular music settings, such instruments have found regular application within Brazilian religious orchestras, where their slow-vibrating fundamental tones function similarly to pedal registers in pipe organs.

The saxophones in Sax's 1846 patent are only folded a maximum of three times, which necessarily requires the lower saxophones (from the baritone downwards) to be progressively taller. The contrabass saxophone follows this pattern, bending upwards at the mouthpiece neck, then bending 180° at the top, and 180° again at the base of the instrument in order to orient the bell upwards and outwards. With a tubing length of nearly 4.9 metres (16 ft), the contrabass is approximately 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) tall. The tubax, developed by German instrument maker Benedikt Eppelsheim in the late 1990s, is a modern solution to this unwieldiness which adds a fourth bend, similar to the layout of a contrabass sarrusophone. This allows the E♭ tubax to cover the same range as the contrabass saxophone, yet stand only 114 centimetres (3 ft 9 in) high, comparable to the baritone saxophone. Brazilian saxophone makers have also designed compact contrabasses for use in churches, such as J'Élle Stainer's Stainerfone.

Although still rare and expensive, at least two manufacturers still produce contrabass saxophones: the German Benedikt Eppelsheim and Brazilian J’Élle Stainer.

Due to its large body and wide bore, the sound of the contrabass saxophone has great acoustical presence and a very rich tone. It can be smooth and mellow, or harsh and buzzy depending on the player, and on the mouthpiece and reed combination used. Its middle and upper registers are warm, full, and expressive. Because its deepest tones vibrate so slowly (as with the contrabassoon or pedal notes on a pipe organ) it can be difficult for listeners to perceive individual pitches at the bottom of its range; instead of hearing a clearly delineated melody, listeners may instead hear a series of rattling tones with little pitch definition. However, when these tones are reinforced by another instrument playing at the octave or fifteenth, they sound clearly defined and have tremendous resonance and presence. In some contemporary jazz/classical ensembles the contrabass saxophone doubles the baritone saxophone either at the same pitch or an octave below, depending on the register of the music.

While there are few orchestral works that call specifically for the contrabass saxophone, the growing number of contrabass saxophonists has led to the creation of an increasing body of solo and chamber music literature. It is particularly effective as a foundation for large ensembles of saxophones. As an example, the eminent saxophonist Sigurd Raschèr (1907-2001) played the instrument in his Raschèr Saxophone Ensemble, and it is featured on most of the albums by the Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra. Spanish composer Luis De Pablo wrote Une Couleur in 1988 for a single performer playing six saxophones, including contrabass and sopranino. The Scottish composer Alistair Hinton has included parts for soprano, alto, baritone and contrabass saxophones in his Concerto for 22 Instruments, completed in 2005.