Awesome Saxophone

Musician Michael Wilbur of the band Moon Hooch shows off some of the fantastically fuzzy bass notes you can make by stuffing a tall traffic cone into the bell of a saxophone. And that’s not the only way that you can make funky saxocone music.

The Daryl Hall & John Oates track I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do) is a true classic. KOSMusic teamed up with saxophone player Kevin Bene to perform this instrumental cover that nailed the 1980s synth sounds of the original so well that we kept expecting the vocals to kick in.

Musicians John Oates and Saxsquatch teamed up to perform this totally different arrangement of the Hall & Oates classic Maneater. Our favorite sax-playing sasquatch brings a fresh new sound to the 1982 track, along with way more body hair than Daryl Hall ever had.

You know what every song could use whether it has one already or not? A good saxophone solo. Fortunately, Evan Jacobsen is here to fulfill that request, injecting an unexpected bit of soul into songs like The Notorious B.I.G.’s Big Poppa, Estelle’s American Boy, and Britney Spears’ Toxic, and Lauryn Hill’s I Need You Baby.

Sax player Kevin Miller reminisces about his youth with this medley of tracks, looking back at each year’s favorite tune while exploring his evolving musical tastes. There are some serious guilty pleasures on the list, from the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers theme to Tubthumping and Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It.

Searching for Bigfoot? Perhaps he’s moved to Australia. At least that’s what we gleaned from this cover version of Men at Work’s 1981 unofficial national anthem Down Under, performed by Saxsquatch. The video also made us wonder if Bigfoots like Vegemite sandwiches, or if they can even fit in a fried-out Kombi.

AKAI Pro’s standalone digital wind instrument can be played like a flute, oboe, or saxophone. It has 200 built-in acoustic and synthesized sounds, and can be listened to via its built-in speaker, a 1/4″ audio output, or headphones. It also works as a USB-MIDI controller.

One of the perils of living in the big city is being awakened in the middle of the night to the sound of an annoying car alarm that just won’t shut up. Back in 2018, the group Too Many Zooz invited musicians to create something more entertaining with the repetitive noise, and Pittsburgh band Big Blitz rose to the challenge.

Given all of the horrible news and doomscrolling these days, it’s our pleasure to bring you something a little more cheerful here on The Awesomer, like this guy who sits in the forest dressed like sasquatch, and plays cover songs on the saxophone. We’ve assembled a video playlist of a few of our favorite tunes.

Musician Armin Küpper has figured out that the large piece of pipe he found at a nearby construction site makes for a great echo chamber. Until it’s buried in the ground, he’s using it to augment his various saxophones and guitar with a great bit of acoustic reverb.

Saxophone 4tet The Side Project and vocalist Akie Bermiss teamed up for a truly special arrangement of Shania Twain’s 1997 hit You’re Still the One that transforms the pop ballad into beautifully soulful R&B track with a twist. Enjoy more wonderful sax + vocal covers here.

Tenor saxophone player Derek Brown shows off the reason why nothing beats the acoustic properties of the real world, rather than electronically-produced echoes, as he plays a little Bach in an abandoned warehouse.