The Devil's Horn: The Story of the Saxophone, from Noisy Novelty to King of Cool

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Macmillan, Aug 22, 2006 - Music - 324 pages

The 160-year history of the saxophone comes to brilliant life in Michael Segell's wonderfully researched, beautifully told The Devil's Horn. Beginning with "a sound never heard before," Segell's portrait follows the iconographic instrument as it is lauded for its sensuality, then outlawed for its influence, and finally credited with changing the face of popular culture. A deeply personal story of one man's love for music-making, a universal story of artistic and political revolution, and a trenchant critique of the global forces that stand in art's way, The Devil's Horn is music writing at its very finest.

 

Contents

THE GHOST CHILD
11
ANARCHISTE DE DROITE
29
A PARISIAN IN AMERICA
44
A VIRTUOSO ON HORSEBACK
63
THE COLLECTORS
77
ITS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS
102
THAT SOUL THING
136
THE NAKED LADY
160
PROVOCATEUR
218
LEGIT
236
INSTRUMENT OF THE FUTURE
254
BODY AND SOUL
268
GABRIELS HORN
278
BIBLIOGRAPHY
297
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
301
INDEX
303

DIABOLIQUE
180
PERSONAL SOUND
196

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About the author (2006)

Michael Segell is an amateur percussionist and saxophone player and a professional music lover. He is the author of Standup Guy, and his writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated, and Esquire, where he wrote the popular column "The Male Mind." He has received two National Magazine Award nominations for his work. He lives with his wife and children in New York City and Long Eddy, New York.

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