Jazzwax List: 5 Beatles Saxes

Though not a single jazz musician is pictured on the cover of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, in collusion with producer George Martin, made strong use of the saxophone and British jazz players in their later works. Used mostly for texture or novelty effect, saxes in Beatles' works were typically masked slightly by overdubbed effects or arranged to sound like plastic instruments.

Here are five of my favorite sax passages on Fab Four albums:

All You Need Is Love--This horn-heavy anthem featured Rex Morris and Don Honeywill on tenor saxes, with the pair playing the scored unison tag of In the Mood toward the end.

Savoy Truffle--Baritone saxophonist Harry Klein (he played with Stan Kenton in Europe in the mid-1950s) anchored a six-man section that featured Art Ellefson, Danny Moss and Derek Collins on tenor saxes with Ronnie Ross and Bernard George on baritone saxes.

Honey Pie--A jazz-age jape, this tune featured saxophonists Harry Klein, Dennis Walton, Ronald Chamberlain, Jim Chest and Rex Morris arranged to mimic a 1920s English sweet band.

Good Morning, Good Morning--Yes, there's actually a spirited saxophone sextet stitched into this track from Sgt. Pepper's. The wax-papery sax orchestration was handled by producer George Martin.

Got to Get You Into My Life--Tenor saxophonists Peter Coe and Alan Branscombe were used on this classic from Revolver. The sax parts were orchestrated by George Martin.