The soprano saxophone has a long history in Europe, from Sidney Bechet’s first visit to London in 1919 and Paris in 1925 to the many American expatriate soprano players like Lucky Thompson, Steve Lacy, and others who found greater acceptance among European audiences. Some of jazz’ greatest soprano practitioners have hailed from Europe in the ensuing years such as Jan Garbarek, Evan Parker, Olivier Franc and many more, and the trend continues as more excellent soprano players hit the scene every year.
Sidney Bechet at Rue Bechet & Rue Armstrong in Paris, 1957
I wanted to take a moment to highlight some contemporary players active in the European scene who are playing soprano in swing music and traditional jazz that I’m enjoying right now. This list is not comprehensive nor is it presented in any particular order.
Nanna Carling
Nanna Carling is an up and coming saxophonist and bandleader from Sweden who leads the Nanna Carling Swingband as well as the Carling Sisters with her sister Petronella and Linnea. Her approach is clearly indebted to Sidney Bechet, she can deploy a stunningly rapid vibrato that may even outpace that of Bechet’s, but other times she reminds me of the late Bob Wilber (1928 -2019). Obviously the curved soprano contributes to that association however the deep and full sound with which she delivers her uncluttered and lyrical lines draws me back so heavily to Wilber’s approach. In the above video she can be heard playing in an intimate restaurant setting with mainstays of the Paris swing scene Joë Santoni (trumpet), Jean Baptiste Franc (piano) and Romain Constant (guitar).
Check out her website for more info and her 2022 album That’s A Plenty.
Benjamin Dousteyssier
Benjamin Dousteyssier’s soprano playing is compelling to me in part because of its relation to various parts of the jazz saxophone tradition. The core of his tone clearly owes a debt to the early proponents of the soprano yet there is a clear echo of the high modernism of Steve Lacy in his more strident and modern playing in the trio videos. At times he even reminds me of Boyd Atkins who takes the soprano solo on Louis Armstrong’s Chicago Breakdown (check out the Collectif Paris Swing’ video of Yes, I’m In The Barrel). Dousteyssier is not afraid to utilize noise, such as multiphonics and growls, to create texture, drama, and heightened energy. I’m a big fan of the entire tradition of jazz saxophone and hearing such a gifted musician freely draw upon sonic inspiration from across jazz history in various styles is really inspiring. His brother Jean Dousteyssier plays some wonderful clarinet alongside him here and in many videos and recordings from the Collectif Paris Swing.
Check out the bands records here.
Daniel Duspiwa
Daniel Duspiwa is the leader of the Big Five in Berlin and mostly plays tenor these days but there are a number of videos from the early days of the band featuring his wonderful soprano sound. The vocabulary and time-feel Duspiwa employs allude to what a mainstream swing saxophonist might have sounded like in the ‘40s had the instrument had more champions in the period where swing was developing into bebop. Unfortunately there isn’t more out there of his soprano playing but the videos that do exist are well worth finding!
Check out the Big Five on YouTube and Bandcamp.
Ewan Bleach
Ewan Bleach is a miraculous multi-instrumentalist who sounds equally at home all of the saxophones from soprano to bass as well as clarinet and piano (sometimes at the same time!). While his soprano sound is deep in the Bechet tradition his patient and soulful blues playing harkens back to Johnny Hodges’ soprano playing in the 1930s. The sound of the reed section with one soprano, one alto, and one tenor is a seldom heard texture that was occasionally employed by Ellington, King Oliver, Don Redman, Mills Blue Rhythm Band, and others in the ‘20s and early ‘30s. Much like Daniel Duspiwa I only wish there were more videos out there of Ewan on soprano but the ones that are out there are really special.
Check out Ewan’s website for more info and further listening.
I hope you enjoyed this selections, let me know who you have been listening to and maybe I’ll share some more great artist like this again soon.
Until next time!