Got Sax?

Adophe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone was born on Nov. 6, 1814. Even as a child, Sax was working on "improving" various wind instruments. He attended the Brussels Conservatory, where he studied clarinet and flute. In 1842, Sax took a metal reed instrument he called the saxophone to Paris, and won a silver medal in the Paris Exposition of 1844. He finally won a gold medal in 1849 at the Paris Industrial Exposition. While ridiculed by critics and other instrument makers, composers such as Berlioz and Rossini supported his innovations. Sax taught sax at the Paris Conservatory from 1858-1871. Sax died in 1894, and interest in the instrument declined until it was taken up by jazz bands. And the rest is history.