Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Saxophone

Saxophone

Bogost, Ian
Schaberg, Christopher
Hawkins, Mollie

Paperback

Series: Object Lessons

PhilosophyLiterary CriticismMusic Instruction: Wodwinds

Publisher Price: $14.95

ISBN13: 9798765114773
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Published: Feb 20 2025
Pages: 144
Weight: 0.17
Height: 0.55 Width: 4.57 Depth: 6.46
Language: English

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.

The saxophone is a contradictory instrument that has rooted itself in the soil of pop culture. It's the devil's horn, it's the voice of jazz - an extension of the player's soul - it is a character trait of U.S. Presidents, YouTube sensations, and cartoon characters. It has both enhanced and ruined songs, it is sensuous yet abrasive, and it is the only instrument widely excluded from symphonies and orchestras, never quite being taken seriously. As an object that is symbolic of living on the margins of society, the saxophone has never been kind to its players.

Blending research, cultural criticism, and personal narrative about her saxophonist father, who lived on the margins until his unexpected death, Mollie Hawkins explores more than just the history of this expressive instrument. She illuminates the dark paths that our passions can lead us down. Saxophone turns the lens around to ask us all: what does it mean to devote your life to such an object - even if it kills you? Can music hold such power over us?

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