subtone

File:(Portrait_of_Ben_Webster,_Famous_Door,_New_York,_N.Y.,_ca._Oct._1947)_(LOC)_(4843148497).jpg, one of the early popularizers of the technique.{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-2000433600|title=Subtone|website=Grove Music Online|year=2003|language=en|doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J433600|access-date=2020-04-06|last1=Kernfeld|first1=Barry|isbn=978-1-56159-263-0 }}]]

The subtone is used predominantly in jazz, where it has been characteristic of saxophone and clarinet playing since the Swing era with players like Ben Webster and Benny Goodman. Other early practitioners from the 1930s and 1940s include Lester Young, Harry Carney, Woody Herman, Johnny Hodges and Coleman Hawkins. More modern examples of the 1950s, 1960s and beyond include Stan Getz, Paul Desmond, Gerry Mulligan, and Grover Washington Jr. Its unique timbre and quiet temperament lends itself well to jazz ballads, where it has been historically utilized.{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-2000433600|title=Subtone|website=Grove Music Online|year=2003|language=en|doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J433600|access-date=2020-04-06|last1=Kernfeld|first1=Barry|isbn=978-1-56159-263-0 }} However, the subtone is regularly employed in virtually every genre of jazz, whether the tempo be fast or slow. The diversity of the below list demonstrates this, as there is an example from the Swing era of the 1930s and 1940s, from cool jazz of the late 1950s, and from jazz bossa nova of the mid-1960s, to name a few.

Some notable examples include:

• Coleman Hawkins' 1939 performance of "Body and Soul"{{Citation|title=78 Record: Coleman Hawkins - Body And Soul (1939)|url=http://www.45worlds.com/78rpm/record/b10523us|access-date=2020-04-06}}
• Ben Webster's 1940 performance of "Star Dust,"{{Cite web|title=Duke Ellington - At Fargo 1940 Live|url=https://www.discogs.com/Duke-Ellington-At-Fargo-1940-Live/release/4171258|website=Discogs|language=en|access-date=2020-05-08}} as well as other performances from Duke Ellington at Fargo, 1940 Live
• Woody Herman and his orchestra's 1949 performance of "Early Autumn"{{Citation|title=78 Record: Woody Herman - Early Autumn (1949)|url=http://www.45worlds.com/78rpm/record/c409|access-date=2020-04-06}}
• Paul Desmond's 1959 performance of "Take Five,"{{Citation|title=Vinyl Album: The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out (1959)|url=http://www.45worlds.com/vinyl/album/cl1397|access-date=2020-04-06}} as well as other performances from Time Out
• Ben Webster's 1959 performance of "Sunday,"{{Citation|title=Vinyl Album: Ben Webster / Oscar Peterson - Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson (2016)|url=http://www.45worlds.com/vinyl/album/mgv68349|access-date=2020-04-06}} as well as other performances from Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson
• Dexter Gordon's 1962 performance of "I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry"{{Citation|title=Vinyl Album: Dexter Gordon - Go (1962)|url=http://www.45worlds.com/vinyl/album/bst84112us|access-date=2020-04-06}}
• Stan Getz's 1963 performance of "Desafinado,"{{Citation|title=Vinyl Album: Stan Getz And Joao Gilberto Featuring Antonio Carlos Jobim - Getz / Gilberto (1964)|url=http://www.45worlds.com/vinyl/album/v68545|access-date=2020-04-06}} as well as other performances from Getz/Gilberto
• John Coltrane's 1963 performance of "Alabama"{{Cite web|title=Coltrane* - Live At Birdland|url=https://www.discogs.com/Coltrane-Live-At-Birdland/release/379351|website=Discogs|language=en|access-date=2020-04-06}}
• Stan Getz's 1964 performance of "Misty,"{{Cite web|title=Bob Brookmeyer - Bob Brookmeyer And Friends|url=https://www.discogs.com/Bob-Brookmeyer-Bob-Brookmeyer-And-Friends/release/2727819|website=Discogs|language=en|access-date=2020-04-06}} as well as other performances from Bob Brookmeyer and Friends

Category:Musical terminology