99% Invisible — “Sax Appeal”

Host: Roman Mars
Reporter: Jay Coburn
Guests: Dr. Stephen Cottrell, Paul Cohen, Lakecia Benjamin, Darius Jones
Original Air Date: December 16, 2025

Episode Overview

“Sax Appeal” explores the fascinating origins, design ingenuity, and cultural journey of the saxophone—an instrument born of 19th-century innovation, later beloved in American jazz, reviled by fascist regimes, and ultimately cemented as a versatile icon of modern music. Through lively narration, expert interviews, and memorable anecdotes, Roman Mars and Jay Coburn uncover how the saxophone’s appeal—and controversy—extends far beyond music, touching on issues of invention, identity, and power.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Birth of the Saxophone (01:01–07:16)

• Adolphe Sax – A Life of Danger and Innovation

  • Adolphe Sax, born Antoine-Joseph Sax in Dinant, Belgium (1814), survived a perilous childhood marked by numerous near-death accidents, earning his mother’s grim prophecy:
    • “He’s a child condemned to misfortune. He won’t live.” — Mother of Adolphe Sax (04:15)
  • Son of Charles-Joseph Sax, a musician/carpenter turned instrument maker; Adolphe followed into the craft (04:42).
  • Early efforts focused on improving the bass clarinet using scientific acoustic measurements for precise tone and harmony.
    • Dr. Stephen Cottrell on Sax’s approach:
      “He came up with the measurements. He decided to make this a much more scientific operation than previously in determining where the holes actually needed to be cut.” (06:21)

• Move to Paris and Inventions Galore

  • Seeking a bigger stage, Sax relocates to Paris—Europe’s musical hub—where he makes further improvements to existing brass instruments and invents a series of “saxhorns” and “saxatrombas.” (07:41–08:42)
    • Adolphe’s penchant: taking existing inventions, adding improvements, and always branding them with his name.

Chasing the French Military Contract (09:08–13:05)

• Winning Big: Military Ambitions

  • The French military, eager to compete with Austria and Prussia’s powerful brass bands, sought better instruments.
  • Sax’s big breakthrough: create a “hybrid” brass/woodwind—loud, portable, and harmonically rich—by blending the reed mouthpiece of a clarinet with elements of brass design (the failed ophiclide as inspiration). (10:04–12:44)
  • He patented an entire family of saxophones (eight types) in 1846, aiming for a "choir of human voices" in instrumental form.

• Trial by Fire: The “Battle of the Bands” (15:54–19:29)

  • The French Ministry of War sets up a musical showdown: Sax’s ensemble of saxhorns and saxophones vs. a traditional, woodwind-heavy military band.
  • Amid sabotage attempts (“seven of Sax’s musicians really didn’t show up... bribed to stay away”) Sax fills in himself. (17:13)
  • The public cheers louder for Sax’s group; his designs win the coveted military contract.
    • Newspaper, on the difference between Sax’s instruments and the old:
      “A Stradivarius violin compared with a violin from the village. A glass of generous Bordeaux next to an adulterated beverage...” (19:48)

Triumph, Downfall, and American Rebirth (20:14–22:54)

• Boom to Bust

  • With the military contract, Sax briefly prospers as military bands mandate his instruments.
  • But lawsuits, patent disputes, war (Franco-Prussian conflict), and debts lead him to bankruptcy—three times (20:53–21:53).
    • “He would have been collecting those instruments because they really represented what he wanted to know... although there was relatively little monetary value in them, emotionally, that would have hurt.” — Dr. Stephen Cottrell on Sax losing his collection (21:27)

• End of a Life, Start of a Legacy

  • Dies impoverished in 1894, but his invention soon finds unlikely new life in America.

The Saxophone Craze & Jazz Revolution (22:35–27:06)

• American Enthusiasm (22:35–24:06)

  • The early 20th century sees a “saxophone craze” in the US—saxophones as mass-market novelties, vaudeville props, and household entertainment (23:04).
    • Paul Cohen: “Play the saxophone and be more popular.” (23:28)
  • Depression slows sales, but jazz soon claims the instrument’s destiny.

• The Golden Age of Jazz and Black American Identity (24:19–27:32)

  • The saxophone becomes the signature of jazz and swing, vital to nightclubs and dance halls.
    • Lakecia Benjamin: “The instrument that they called on for that was a saxophone. There were even sax battles... and they would just completely try to murder each other... This saxophone playing was real raunchy.” (24:55)
    • Bebop transforms the sax from ensemble workhorse to virtuoso soloist (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie era).
    • “No one ever danced the jazz again.” — Lakecia Benjamin, on the shift to bebop (26:00)
  • By midcentury, the saxophone stands as a symbol of Black American music, culture, and political resistance.

Controversy, Censorship, and Global Transformation (27:32–32:07)

• Rebellion, Scandal, and Suppression

  • White purists decry “Jassing” as vulgar (28:01):
    • “God save us from the hideous catcalling that is so much in vogue at present termed Jassing... The Jassa should be subject to the same quarantine restrictions as if he had the foot and mouth disease.” — 1917 magazine column (28:01)
  • Persecution by authoritarian regimes: Nazis, Soviets, and even the Vatican ban the saxophone as “degenerate” (30:03–31:06).
    • Visual evidence: “A racist caricature of a black man holding a saxophone with a Star of David…” — on Nazi propaganda (30:37)
  • The sax goes from a banned symbol of rebellion to a widespread, mainstream instrument.

• Saxophone in Pop and Beyond

  • Hip hop samples, James Brown, and 1980s pop cement the saxophone’s place in varied modern genres (31:49–32:07).
    • Lakecia Benjamin describes the saxophone’s journey from sexy, rebellious icon to “just another instrument”—but maintains its versatility and expressive range (33:28).

The Saxophone’s Enduring “Appeal” (33:28–34:48)

• “When people think of love and they think of an instrument, they usually think of some saxophone player coming out and seducing somebody. When it’s time to really shred and rock out, you could really crank that thing up and take it all the way to Metallica land. So for me it’s just the most versatile way to be all your complete self.” — Lakecia Benjamin (33:28)
• Paul Cohen: “Feel that I’m playing something that is so connected to me internally and physically that it feels like it’s an extension of my inner soul.” (34:07)
• Jay Coburn: “The sound... might be air vibrating inside a mathematically appropriate metal tube, but how it makes you feel, that’s all about the human who’s blowing on that reed, pressing those keys and feeling the sax appeal.” (34:16)

Novelty Saxophones: Museum Tour with Paul Cohen (38:30–46:46)

• Paul Cohen’s Saxophone Museum (Englewood, NJ)

  • Over 250 saxophones, ranging from the tiny curved sopranino (41:23) to the massive subcontrabass (42:21) said to “shake your guts around.”
  • Notable oddities include:
    • Slide saxophone: “like a theremin... or the fanciest slide whistle you’ve ever heard” (40:30).
    • Triple saxophone contraption played by Billy True: “He was also known as the one man saxophone section.” (43:28)
    • Adolphe Sax’s legendary (possibly mythical) inventions: The Saxo-Cannon and the Saxo-Tonnerre (train-sized organ)—extravagant concepts possibly designed to impress the military (44:49–45:46).

• Roman Mars on Sax’s Legacy:
  “He just likes to take an invention and like, make it bigger, more ridiculous. Maybe add some valves and some scientific thinking to it and then just slap his name on the front of it.” (46:24)

Memorable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• On Adolphe Sax’s Scientific Acoustics:

  • Dr. Stephen Cottrell: "He decided to make this a much more scientific operation than previously in determining where the holes actually needed to be cut." (06:21)

• The Battle of the Bands:

  • Jay Coburn: “This was a big deal. The press was full of rumors about nefarious forces trying to interfere.” (16:52)
  • Roman Mars: “After four hours of performance...Adolphe Sax's sax band were louder, loud enough for him to be declared the winner...” (19:29)

• Jazz Transformation:

  • Lakecia Benjamin: “The instrument that they called on for that was a saxophone. There were even sax battles... This saxophone playing was real raunchy.” (24:55)
  • “No one ever danced the jazz again.” (26:00)

• On Censorship:

  • Jay Coburn (quoting 1917 column): "God save us from the hideous catcalling...termed Jassing... Really, the Jassa should be subject to the same quarantine restrictions as if he had the foot and mouth disease." (28:01)
  • “The Nazis banned what they called entartette music. Degenerate music... It was apparently much more popular than the one showcasing fine German art.” (30:09)

• On the Saxophone’s Power:

  • Paul Cohen: “Feel that I’m playing something that is so connected to me internally and physically that it feels like it’s an extension of my inner soul.” (34:07)
  • Lakecia Benjamin: “For me it’s just the most versatile way to be all your complete self.” (33:28)

Notable Segments and Timestamps

| Segment | Time | |---------------------------------------------|--------------| | Introduction & Adolphe Sax’s Origin Story | 01:01–07:16 | | Improving Instruments & Paris Relocation | 07:16–09:08 | | French Military Contract & Patent | 09:08–13:05 | | Battle of the Bands & Victory | 15:54–19:29 | | Downfall & Emigration of Appeal | 20:14–22:54 | | Saxophone Craze in America | 22:35–24:06 | | Jazz & Black American Identity | 24:19–27:32 | | Controversy and Censorship | 27:32–32:07 | | Modern Saxophone in Pop Culture | 32:07–34:48 | | Paul Cohen’s Novelty Saxophone Museum Tour | 38:30–46:46 |

Concluding Reflection

“Sax Appeal” peels back centuries of history, myth, and social change to reveal why the saxophone endures as both a marvel of design and a vessel for human expression. From Adolphe Sax’s near-fatal childhood and relentless inventiveness, through jazz-era rebellions and modern ubiquity, the episode celebrates the sax as much more than a mere instrument—it's an emblem of survival, defiance, and emotional connection.

The 99% Invisible Touch

With its rich blend of storytelling, expert voices, and sonic illustration—from the boom of the subcontrabass to the shriek of novelty saxes—this episode will leave you with a new appreciation for the science, struggle, and sheer sax appeal vibrating through every note.