The saxophone's history is short. Its comparatively recent arrival (1846) was greeted with a spectrum of derogatory remarks from the musical establishment. There were accusations that it brayed and bellowed, snorted and shrieked, howled and hollered - and those were some of the more polite comments. But it was this very diversity of vulgar sound that gave the sax its greatest quality: the ability to capture and express a wide range of human feeling with the kind of earthy honesty and emotive intensity that others could only aspire to. Its tonal flexibility gives it the capacity for flute-like softness, string-like richness and metallic stridency. So it provides more ways to express more feeling with more intensity. Hear it for yourself. Pure sax means pure emotion.