Publishers Weekly
★ 02/06/2023
A young visionary introduces a new musical sound to the world in an underdog story pulled from lesser-known music history. In early 19th-century Belgium, often bored Joseph-Antoine Adolphe Sax (1814–1894) works at his father’s instrument shop, playing “nearly every instrument you can imagine,” and inventing new ones, including the sax trombone and the flugelhorn. “Daydreaming of a new sound” and assembling “one crazy contraption after the next,” Sax finally finds a unique sound between a trumpet and clarinet: the saxophon. Sax’s instrument causes an uproar, admired by classical music icon Hector Berlioz, rejected by Parisian traditionalists, and labeled by others as a “devil’s horn.” Only after Sax’s death did American musicians such as Sidney Bechet, Charlie Parker, and Dexter Gordon elevate Sax’s controversial invention into an essential part of jazz expression. Cline-Ransome invites readers’ empathy through clearly established stakes as Sax triumphs over critics, while Ransome’s initially muted cityscapes give way to vibrant celebrations of band music, and end-paper portraits celebrate a diverse array of saxophonists. Ages 6–9. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
★ "The well-established author-illustrator team achieves a strong, unified vision."—School Library Journal, Starred Review
★ "A now-essential piece of reading for music lovers. . . Ransome's detailed, relaxed line captures historical periods with precision and vibrancy, and his illustrations of the jazz musicians who made the instrument famous are especially striking. It's a biography whose warm, mellow tone matches that of the instrument itself."—Shelf Awareness, Starred Review
★ "Cline-Ransome invites readers' empathy through clearly established stakes as Sax triumphs over critics, while Ransome's initially muted cityscapes give way to vibrant celebrations of band music, and end-paper portraits celebrate a diverse array of saxophonists."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Richly detailed, wonderfully expressive illustrations complement the text perfectly. . . . A satisfying story of a persistent, creative genius. Readers will almost be able to hear soft saxophone music playing in the background."—Booklist
"Engagingly links the jazz saxophone with its European roots."—Kirkus Reviews
"Ransome's illustrations shine with careful detail. . . ."—The Horn Book
Kirkus Reviews
2022-12-14
This collaboration spotlights the saxophone’s European birth and wide adoption by American jazz musicians.
Adolphe Sax, a 19th-century Belgian instrument maker’s son, both plays and invents instruments. Searching for a new sound—softer than a trumpet, louder than a clarinet—Adolphe tinkers and reassembles until his masterpiece is ready. Belgium’s arbiters reject the new instrument, and Adolphe moves to Paris. While French tastemakers initially pan it, the composer Hector Berlioz champions “le saxophon,” opining, “It cries, sighs, and dreams.” After hard-won integration into French military bands, other European nations adopt it, too. Napoleon III loses France’s war in Mexico accompanied by the instrument’s wails. Florencio Ramos, a musician in a Mexican cavalry band, obtains a sax and settles in New Orleans in 1884. The signature sound of the rechristened “saxophone” spreads there and beyond, inseparable from jazz’s early permutations. (Cline-Ransome avers that after Sidney Bechet picks up the sax, he forsakes his clarinet.) A final spread summarizes jazz’s singular predisposition to musical contagion: “Coleman Hawkins heard Sidney play. / And Lester Young heard Coleman play. / And Charlie Parker heard Lester play.” While the anecdotal narrative adroitly portrays Sax’s perseverance as an innovator, the segue to American jazz gets shorter shrift. Cline-Ransome admirably amends this: Endpapers, a jacket poster, and spot illustrations celebrate over 20 diverse saxophone greats. Rich, sepia-toned spreads showcase the saxophone’s shining complexity.
Engagingly links the jazz saxophone with its European roots. (Informational picture book. 4-8)
