If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission. Deciding to learn how to play the saxophone is one thing.

Invented in the early 1840s, the saxophone was a relative latecomer to music—and to jazz. But starting in the mid-1920s, with the rise of the big bands, the instrument slowly but steadily evolved from ...

The alto saxophone suggestively whispered my name as I walked past it inside the AmeriPawn store. I turned around to see if it was just playing with my head. I haven’t played a sax since my teenage ...