By the 1930s many of France's leading composers were jazz besotted, and Ibert was no exception. His saxophone concertino not only appropriates jazz's most characteristic instrument, but employs plenty of syncopation and, in the slow section, some bluesy material. Still, this is not crossover music, but a classical piece inspired by a few specific pop trends of the day. The brief work begins with an Allegro con moto entering with a raucous blast from the small ensemble of strings and winds. The soloist quickly bursts in with a percolating tune that eventually makes way for a second subject that croons in the saxophone's high register. The Larghetto is a lonely, bluesy solo that sends the saxophone gliding oh-so-gradually up and down its entire range, with the strings entering at length to provide simple support for the sax's ballad-like material.