I'm just returning from a short tour of the western US, playing with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. Seven saxophonists made the gig, five with the band, and two guest feature players. Ken Peplowski brought his tenor, although he was featured on clarinet, and his horn appeared to be Yamaha. The other six saxophones were Selmer. Three mk6's, including my gold alto, two sba's, including Scott Hamilton's tenor and Eddie Pazant's alto, and the bari player was on a fairly new serie ll.
I've been earning my living with my horn for almost 40 years now, and most of the players I've worked with over the years have played mk6. When I started in business in the early '70s, the 6 was about the only top of the line horn you could buy new. Conn had shifted production from Elkhart to the Texmex area. King had left Superior Ave for parts unknown. Buescher and Martin were missing in action. Yamaha had made two altos, one for Trane and the other for Pharoah Sanders. Other than that, they were still known for motorcycles. Some players were taking a chance on the H Couf. But Selmer pretty much had the party to themselves back in '72.
You had to look at durability back then. Steady employment as a musician meant that you worked six nights a week, four to five hours a night. I remember working the old eight day week in the jazz clubs. That meant you worked Tuesday through Sunday with a matinee show on Saturday and Sunday. Hours were 10-2 Tuesday till Thursday night, 10-3 (or 9-3) on Friday and Saturday, and 8-12 on Sunday night. Many places had blue laws on Sunday, so you got off early.
Your horn had to be well built to hold up under that kind of strain, so the demands on a horn were a lot higher than they are today. And you worked recording sessions during the day if you were lucky.
Regarding the mk6 intonation issue. I bought two mk6 altos and a bari new during their production run. The mk6 you buy today is not necessarily the same horn you bought back then. These horns have been through a lot since 1957, or 1965, or 1973, or whatever. Hours and hours of hard playing on the bandstand. Abuse, damage, many horns were dropped and repaired more than once, relacquers, questionable overhaul and repair work. Many of these horns have odometers that have turned over ten times or more, so we have to take that into account when we evaluate them here in 2010.
So, I'm still seeing lots of Selmers in NYC. I see some of the younger players playing the Taiwan made brands, mostly endorsement deals. Same with the Yamaha brand, they make horns available at reduced prices with free maintenence to some up and coming players. But it's still mainly mk6, sba, and ba in the circles I work in. Just telling you what I see.
Julian
I've been earning my living with my horn for almost 40 years now, and most of the players I've worked with over the years have played mk6. When I started in business in the early '70s, the 6 was about the only top of the line horn you could buy new. Conn had shifted production from Elkhart to the Texmex area. King had left Superior Ave for parts unknown. Buescher and Martin were missing in action. Yamaha had made two altos, one for Trane and the other for Pharoah Sanders. Other than that, they were still known for motorcycles. Some players were taking a chance on the H Couf. But Selmer pretty much had the party to themselves back in '72.
You had to look at durability back then. Steady employment as a musician meant that you worked six nights a week, four to five hours a night. I remember working the old eight day week in the jazz clubs. That meant you worked Tuesday through Sunday with a matinee show on Saturday and Sunday. Hours were 10-2 Tuesday till Thursday night, 10-3 (or 9-3) on Friday and Saturday, and 8-12 on Sunday night. Many places had blue laws on Sunday, so you got off early.
Your horn had to be well built to hold up under that kind of strain, so the demands on a horn were a lot higher than they are today. And you worked recording sessions during the day if you were lucky.
Regarding the mk6 intonation issue. I bought two mk6 altos and a bari new during their production run. The mk6 you buy today is not necessarily the same horn you bought back then. These horns have been through a lot since 1957, or 1965, or 1973, or whatever. Hours and hours of hard playing on the bandstand. Abuse, damage, many horns were dropped and repaired more than once, relacquers, questionable overhaul and repair work. Many of these horns have odometers that have turned over ten times or more, so we have to take that into account when we evaluate them here in 2010.
So, I'm still seeing lots of Selmers in NYC. I see some of the younger players playing the Taiwan made brands, mostly endorsement deals. Same with the Yamaha brand, they make horns available at reduced prices with free maintenence to some up and coming players. But it's still mainly mk6, sba, and ba in the circles I work in. Just telling you what I see.
Julian