Most people over the age of 30 have seen some version of this musical. It was my mother’s favorite; she saw the movie in the theater when it came out, and she was seventeen. Her love for it rubbed off on me, and I first watched a TV version of it when I was about 13 years old.
As I started playing shows, people kept talking about how hard it was for the woodwind players. I finally got called for a production of it in 1991. (1/8)
Three Saxophones: Three vintage line-art baritone saxophones in a warm deep charcoal gray float on a sea of diamonds in rich verdigris patina--perfect for music lovers, sax players, and more. Available here in print and other forms: https://jon-woodhams.pixels.com/featured/three-saxophones-jon-woodhams.html
To get to the pit at Lucie Stern Theater, you go down some stairs, go into a room that’s directly under the stage called the Trap Room (because of the trap door to the stage), and then a little door up three stairs into the pit. In was really rainy in 1999, so everybody had coats and jackets. The theater company put up a hanging rack and heavy hangers in the Trap Room, and we all hung up our coats there. (1/8)
The conductor of the show, Mark Hanson, stuck around. He gave me a ride home. I found my spare key which I had hidden on my property, got into my house and retrieved my spare car key, and Mark took me back. I packed my car with my horns and went home. (4/8)
My friend Robert was playing the Reed IV book, and I was playing Reed V, which unusually, had some tenor sax in it. At one point we were both playing tenor together, and the blend was absolutely fantastic, despite the fact that we have radically different mouthpieces and approaches to playing the saxophone. (1/2)
Turns out we both have Selmer Mark VI tenors (the Strad of saxophones with a few less zeroes on their value). We looked, and realized that our serial numbers were less than 200 apart. These horns were made within weeks of each other. No wonder they sounded great together! (2/2)
So, the lazy arranger/copying wrote a line for saxophones littered with double-sharps. When we were doing the first run through, all five of us fell all over the line, somebody missing every single note. The conductor stopped us, and asked what was going on. The lead alto player stood up and showed his book to the conductor, who said, “WTF?” 5/
"Shabaka Hutchings is at the height of his powers as a saxophonist – but has given it up to play a Japanese flute that takes years to master. In London and Brazil, the multiple Mercury nominee explains why he has to resist the easy path, even if it puts his livelihood at risk."
I have a Selmer VI Bari sax from the 50s (78xxx series). Nothing else I have played sounds as good. However, ever since I got it in 1988, the middle A has been unstable. I just spent a boatload of money doing a light overhaul, but that damn A would still randomly overblow. Yesterday, I finally noticed that the socket where you put the neck was slightly warped and not truly round. Repairman fixed that today. Played great at the shop. Hope this was the problem! #saxophone#barisax#music