The legendary John Coltrane’s music can do no wrong in our book. We say the same of the great Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. And we’re down with saxophone-led genres—or at least ones where the instrument is featured prominently—of many stripes, from old-school ska to merengue. But something of monstrous fromage proportions happens when the beloved horn shacks up with rock and roll. Man, it’s astounding how an OK tune can turn to dreck in an instant under these circumstances.
Sure there are great examples of the contrary out there—the solo in Galaxie 500’s “Blue Thunder” is a a thing of dark beauty; the late, great Morphine, of course, did the sax/bass/drums trio thing like no one in rock and roll before or since—but some of the lamest musical crimes in rock and roll have been perpetrated by adding some sax to the mix. Sorry Bruce, but for the most part, The Big Man should stick to hand-held percussion and singing backup.
