catesta Posted December 21, 2004 Report Posted December 21, 2004 Man, this is fantastic. So much history in few pieces of metal. Yep. Thanks for posting this, Jim. Quote
brownie Posted December 22, 2004 Report Posted December 22, 2004 Very popular, actually. Conns were the horn of choice for many a fine player. In fact, one model is known today as the "Chu Berry model". I think Pres played that Conn as well according to various biographical materials on him. But it can be after this particular horn exposed here. In his biography of Coleman Hawkins 'Song of the Hawk', John Chilton recounts that Coleman Hawkins also played a Conn until his 1935 visit to the Selmer house in Paris where he was presented with a custom-built sax. The Hawk played Selmer saxophones exclusively from then on. And folks, please note its BEUSCHER not Buescher or whatever. Among other things, the French know how to build great saxophones. Selmer and Beuscher instruments are Made in France! Quote
Michael Fitzgerald Posted December 22, 2004 Report Posted December 22, 2004 That's the first I've heard of this "Beuscher" spelling - maybe you need to tell these folks: http://www.saxgourmet.com/history.html because it's very clear that the ads always spelled it Buescher. Or is there more to this than meets the eye? Mike Quote
brownie Posted December 22, 2004 Report Posted December 22, 2004 That's the first I've heard of this "Beuscher" spelling - maybe you need to tell these folks: http://www.saxgourmet.com/history.html because it's very clear that the ads always spelled it Buescher. Or is there more to this than meets the eye? Mike Oops Looks like I went at this too fast... Gus Buescher who was a foreman at Conn factory and the creator of the original Conn saxophone founded his company http://www.saxgourmet.com/conn__saxophones.htm So much for Paul Beuscher France. They don't manufacture saxophones: http://www.paul-beuscher.com/ Quote
AllenLowe Posted December 22, 2004 Report Posted December 22, 2004 It's a funny thing about musicians and their attachments to horns - many years ago I was working on a book project and wrangled an interview with Sonny Rollins - Sonny is a nice guy, but it's sometimes difficult to get him to open up. Somehow the talk came around to the subject of differnt kinds of saxophones, Selmers, Conns, Buescher, King, et al - and Sonny lit up - fascinating conversation, if completely un-related to the topic I came to speak with him about, and completely un-useable for my book - Quote
Dan Gould Posted December 22, 2004 Report Posted December 22, 2004 It's a funny thing about musicians and their attachments to horns . . . Dex certainly freely shared credit ... Quote
JSngry Posted December 22, 2004 Author Report Posted December 22, 2004 It's a funny thing about musicians and their attachments to horns - many years ago I was working on a book project and wrangled an interview with Sonny Rollins - Sonny is a nice guy, but it's sometimes difficult to get him to open up. Somehow the talk came around to the subject of differnt kinds of saxophones, Selmers, Conns, Buescher, King, et al - and Sonny lit up - fascinating conversation, if completely un-related to the topic I came to speak with him about, and completely un-useable for my book - Well, post it here! Or SOMETHING. I'd love to hear/read that. Quote
AllenLowe Posted December 22, 2004 Report Posted December 22, 2004 Good idea - but it's probably on a tape somewhere - I'm sorry to say I never transcribed it - DOH! Quote
John L Posted December 22, 2004 Report Posted December 22, 2004 I wonder if there is any DNA left on the horn that we could clone? Quote
king ubu Posted December 22, 2004 Report Posted December 22, 2004 It's a funny thing about musicians and their attachments to horns . . . Dex certainly freely shared credit ... In the hands of Dex this tenor looks like an alto! He was huuuuuuge, and he had that great deep voice to fit. I'd die to get a chance to see him live Quote
Jim Alfredson Posted December 22, 2004 Report Posted December 22, 2004 It's a funny thing about musicians and their attachments to horns . . . Dex certainly freely shared credit ... In the hands of Dex this tenor looks like an alto! He was huuuuuuge, and he had that great deep voice to fit. I'd die to get a chance to see him live You pretty much have to now.... Quote
king ubu Posted December 22, 2004 Report Posted December 22, 2004 Yup, my only chance! But hey, if Prez and Hawk and Trane and Monk and Mingus and Bird and Duke and Satchmo and all are there, jamming with each other, I'll die voluntarily Quote
mmilovan Posted December 22, 2004 Report Posted December 22, 2004 (edited) Last night I had weird dream! I dreamed about that horn you'd introduced here. One man showed me it's Pres' instrument. And, still in my dreams, I could not believe my eyes what I can see. Weird, folks, weird. A nightmare. And I'm serious. Edited December 22, 2004 by mmilovan Quote
John L Posted December 22, 2004 Report Posted December 22, 2004 Milan: I'm afraid that you need to spend less time at Organissimo right before going to sleep. Quote
mmilovan Posted December 22, 2004 Report Posted December 22, 2004 Milan: I'm afraid that you need to spend less time at Organissimo right before going to sleep. Don't know John... maybe I'm too obsessed with Pres music... but what can I do... the only person ever touched my mind in that particular music way... hard to explain Quote
cannonball-addict Posted December 23, 2004 Report Posted December 23, 2004 Excellent, thanks for posting this. Jim, how common/popular were Conn tenors with players in that era? My dad used to have a Conn "naked lady" alto and it seems like I remember him saying their altos were pretty widely played when he was young (late 50's), but I never heard him say anything about the tenors. Do a search for "Conn Naked Lady" on eBay and you'll see. They are pretty desirable, although tenor moreso than alto. My dream horn? A 1950s King Super 20 Silversonic. OH YEAH! That's what Cannonball played on. Quote
cannonball-addict Posted December 23, 2004 Report Posted December 23, 2004 I know for a fact that Chris Potter plays on a vintage silver Conn 10M. Such a money horn! Very few pros do play Conns today given the benefits these days of endorsing one of today's better brands - namely Keilwerth, Yamaha, Yanigisawa, or Selmer. Quote
John L Posted December 23, 2004 Report Posted December 23, 2004 Milan: I'm afraid that you need to spend less time at Organissimo right before going to sleep. Don't know John... maybe I'm too obsessed with Pres music... but what can I do... the only person ever touched my mind in that particular music way... hard to explain You know that I very much share your obsession. Quote
Jim Alfredson Posted December 23, 2004 Report Posted December 23, 2004 Excellent, thanks for posting this. Jim, how common/popular were Conn tenors with players in that era? My dad used to have a Conn "naked lady" alto and it seems like I remember him saying their altos were pretty widely played when he was young (late 50's), but I never heard him say anything about the tenors. Do a search for "Conn Naked Lady" on eBay and you'll see. They are pretty desirable, although tenor moreso than alto. My dream horn? A 1950s King Super 20 Silversonic. OH YEAH! That's what Cannonball played on. Yes, Cannonball played the alto and I think Stanley T played the tenor for awhile! Woot! Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted December 23, 2004 Report Posted December 23, 2004 The Kings were beautiful to hear and look at. They broke down all the time. All my friends with Kings spent their youth in the shop. Quote
bary01 Posted December 24, 2004 Report Posted December 24, 2004 (edited) coleman hawkins sax for sale !!! Edited December 24, 2004 by bary01 Quote
Jim Alfredson Posted December 24, 2004 Report Posted December 24, 2004 Only $100,000? Where do I send the check? Quote
danasgoodstuff Posted December 24, 2004 Report Posted December 24, 2004 As the proud owner of a 'pre-Chu' (early '20s) Conn C-melody I would have to agree that the key work is kinda clunky, but that otherwise it's a lovely horn (looks good too, silver with gold wash inside the bell). I also have a slightly later King C-melody with more modern keywork, but I play the Conn far more often. Now if I can just find a modern mouthpiece that plays in tune, the vintage one I play now is decidedly stuffy. (I have a metal tenor Berg Larsen for trade if anyone has a Selmer short shank tenor D....) I also don't understand why everyone didn't use the Conn micro-tuner once the patent ran out. Lester reputedly played plastic reeds in his later years, so I don't think he was exactly an equipment geek... Quote
mmilovan Posted December 24, 2004 Report Posted December 24, 2004 As the proud owner of a 'pre-Chu' (early '20s) Conn C-melody I would have to agree that the key work is kinda clunky, but that otherwise it's a lovely horn (looks good too, silver with gold wash inside the bell). I also have a slightly later King C-melody with more modern keywork, but I play the Conn far more often. Now if I can just find a modern mouthpiece that plays in tune, the vintage one I play now is decidedly stuffy. (I have a metal tenor Berg Larsen for trade if anyone has a Selmer short shank tenor D....) I also don't understand why everyone didn't use the Conn micro-tuner once the patent ran out. Lester reputedly played plastic reeds in his later years, so I don't think he was exactly an equipment geek... Not a geek, but great experimentor with all kinds of reeds (B. Holiday's rememberings while they were together in Basie band backstage) and he often used to change his mouthpieces from time to time. Quote
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