City of Angels Saxophone Quartet

In the heyday of Marion Davies’la city sax silent film stardom, a somewhat obscure instrument with a promiscuous reputation and uncertain future exploded in popularity. The saxophone, formerly relegated to military marches and dance bands, soon cemented itself in popular American culture as a sensitive, speaking instrument for small ensembles. Aided by Thomas Edison’s search for content, saxophone groups were featured on wax cylinder recordings and became the newest craze. The centerpiece of the evening will pay tribute to this forgotten history by combining vintage images of saxophone groups from the 20s accompanied by performances of their music. In addition, we’ll turn the dial on our musical time machine to the past, present and future to showcase the varied sounds and emotional contours of saxophony in the past 100 years.