Think the Alto Sax isn't good for Rock/Blues? Have a look at this…

[Michael]

Hey guys,
One of the things I really appreciate in Killer Blues is how Johnny shows that the Alto is great to use in Blues/Rock. At least here locally, there are many who think that the Alto isn’t “as good” of a Saxophone as the Tenor. When I was out west in NM, one guy at the shop I went to with my nephews asked why I would “waste $” on an expensive Trevor James Alto when you can get a Pro-Model Tenor and “sound so much better?” He Then went on to say that all of the best rock/blues Saxophone players are on Tenor Sax.

I’m not sure why the Alto Saxophone doesn’t seem to get as much respect from people as the Tenor does…at least with musicians I’ve talked to. Check out this video below I found on a channel from Guitarist TV of the band playing the Blues at a Casino in South Africa. Notice how behind the Sax player is the Tenor sitting on its stand…of course he played with it but here he chose to Improvise with the Alto. Very nice, simple Improvising going on here!

[Anonymous]

quite right the ratio of tenors to altos in a band is higher.

the only 2 reasons i can think of are –

probably being sexist – ladies find a deeper voice more attractive – so the Tenor wins

if two guys stand on a stage and
one guy takes out a tiny sax (alto) and another guy takes out
a whopping big sax (tenor) – who do you think will be noticed the
most?

perhaps the tenor blends in better with the base player for back ground fill, then for spotlighting
the tenor can draw attention to itself in the intervals by screaming altissimo?

Where as the alto being mid range – is stuck for playing higher up?

[Author]

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