Army Brass

They're made of brass.
To achieve consistent accuracy
they require regular target practice.

Special training on the breechloaded action
is necessary to keep it clean
and prevent misfire.

They come in several caliber sizes
that mark different ranges.
With the proper ammunition
they can be very loud
so hearing protection is advised.

So it's no wonder that military bands
appreciate the saxophone.
Musical instrument or versatile weapon?
Why not both?

These four bandsmen are the saxophone section
of a United States army band.
From left to right are
baritone, tenor, alto, and soprano sax.
The soldiers' breeches and coats
are the military uniform style used prior to 1918,
but the canvas leggings date them a few years earlier
as this gear was changed to leg wraps or “puttees”
when the American Expeditionary Force went to France.

This postcard photo accompanied a letter
as there is no address or postage stamp
but on the back is a short message written in ink,
and above it is an annotation in pencil.

Fort Barranacas  Florida
8th Band, C.A.C.    XV

the four of us pay(sic) togeather for
dances and Beer parties and shure
have a good time  I wish I knew
Joe McClaries adress   I belive I would
send him and Bill. O. Williams one
see if Johnie cand find me on this

Fort Barrancas is a military base established in 1839 near Pensacola, Florida on the remains of a Spanish fort built in 1698. It is now a National Historic Landmark. Two decades before World War One, the Unites States Army formed the Coastal Artillery Corps, or C.A.C., to garrison a series of fortresses situated in strategic positions along the coastline of the United States. In the age before aerial bombing, rockets, and cruise missiles the greatest military threat to America came from foreign naval power in the form of the dreadnoughts, or battleships. The Coastal Artillery Corps was formed to defend potential invasion from the sea by operating batteries of heavy 12 inch guns capable of firing 1,000 lb. shells. However Fort Barracas was not equipped with this type of artillery but functioned as a post for the 8th company of the C.A.C.

* * *

This second quartet of U. S. army saxophones
are lined up the same way,
E♭ baritone sax, B♭ tenor, E♭ alto and B♭ soprano,
but the bandsmen are inside a room, perhaps the band's barracks.
The musicians wear an older style dress uniform
with dark blue jacket and trousers with a broad stripe.
This is an unidentified cabinet photo
which I believe dates between 1895 and 1905.

* * *

The saxophone is the newest instrument
added to the wind band ensemble.
Invented in about 1840 by Adolphe Sax,
a Belgian instrument maker who moved to Paris,
the saxophone was adopted
by French, Belgian, and British military bands.
Being made of metal it was more durable
than other woodwind instruments
like flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons.
Yet the single reed attached to the conical brass tube
creates a strong sonority that was then missing in brass bands.

By the 1890s most professional American bands
included at least a quartet of saxophones
but military bands, being military,
were more conservative
and slower to change.
Yet in mobilizing for war
the army brought out the big brass reeds.

This group of army saxsmen
begin with the alto saxophone and then the tenor.
Saxophone were designed in nine different sizes
to cover the full spectrum of musical pitches.
The top Sopranissimo and bottom Subcontrabass sizes
are more theoretical than practical and are rarely used.
The first is a frighteningly unstable musical weapon,
and the second is far too large for a marching military band.

But the bass saxophone is manageable in a band
and with a second tenor and a baritone
a quintet of saxophone with a bass makes a BIG wall of sound
that can drown out dozens of clarinets and flutes
and put trombones and tubas to the test too.

This quintet of U. S. army bandsmen
are also from the WW1 years
because they wear the A.E.F. overseas caps and puttees.
The American commander, General John J. Pershing
recognizing the importance of military band music
for maintaining good morale within his troops
and establishing American prestige with the international allied forces
brought dozens of army bands over to Europe.

This 5" x 7" photo has no markings
and the camera focus is too unclear to identify their unit.
It looks like a photo made in the U.S.
and was maybe one of several
produced for each section in the company's band.

* * *

If five saxophones are better than four,
then six must be better!

The E♭ baritone sax is on the right
with a single B♭ tenor and one E♭ alto to the left.

Continuing to the left are two more altos
and one B♭ soprano saxophone in the classic saxy shape
rather than the more common straight form.
Next to them is a redheaded band conductor dressed in all white.
What makes this an unusual photo is that it is in color.
Sort of.

Until the invention of color film,
most photographers offered a service
that added realistic color to sepia tone images.
But these hand painted photos are not common,
perhaps because the photo artistry cost extra.
I think this was produced by a military photographer
to commemorate a now forgotten occasion.
The painted pink foliage has a tropical look
but this band might be stationed
in the Philippines, Panama, Cuba, Hawaii, or even California.

The photo is unmarked
except for a note under the soprano player.

Grandpa ↑

I'm also not entirely convinced that this saxophone sextet
is from a U. S. army band.
The bandleader's white uniform and the two-tone canvas leggings
with leather on the instep, may indicate they are
musicians in a band of the United States Marine Corps.
However I still think the photo dates from pre-1918. 

I make fun of the saxophone because I really love the sound
and sometimes wish that in fourth grade
I had chosen an alto sax to learn

instead of the horn that I now play.
(I thought it looked too complicated.)

A consort of saxophones,
whether 4, or 5, or more
can make beautiful music
with a rich timbre the envy of any string quartet
and a fantastic dynamic range that rivals any brass ensemble.

To demonstrate that sound,
here is video of the saxophone quartet from
the U. S. Army Field Band
playing an arrangement
of J. S. Bach's "Little" Fugue in G Minor, BWV 578.
Each fugal entrance goes from
soprano to alto, tenor, and baritone sax.

Their uniforms are pretty sharp.

* * *

* * *

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday
where a rising tide lifts all boats.