The Story

Provenance is everything. Many Fender Stratocasters built before 1970 could have been played by Jimmy Hendrix but very few were. The one he played at the Woodstock festival – was bought at auction by Microsoft’s Paul Allen in 1993 for $1.3m.
I acquired this alto recently from a seller who was told me it came via an estate sale in New York and was once owned by Hank Mobley. Intriguingly he had no idea that Hank was one of the finest jazz saxophonists that ever lived and certainly didn’t inflate the price because of the connection. I have no way of telling one way or the other. On the positive side:

• It was built in the 1920s,
• Comes in an expensive Selmer USA case with
• Extra room for a flute (Hank didn’t play clarinet according to his 1973 interview with John Litweiler in Downbeat) and
• Paper reed covers from three New York music shops – West Manor Music Inc. (1590 Westchester Av.), Reed Instrument Center (1188 Sixth Av. NY 19) and half of one ?..Long (?..8th St, ?… Circle 5-4898).

Counting agaist the attribution is the fact that it when I received it the octave mechanism had been bent to one side to stop it from being played – something I’ve found occasionally on saxes imported into the UK (perhaps to avoid tax on working instruments). There’d be no reason to do this if it was sold in a NY estate sale.
Hank was known as a tenor player of course, but he started on alto (according to the same interview).

The Instrument

It’s a New Wonder 2 alto (6M and Low Pitched), a year or so younger than my Soprano. It is a gold-plated ‘standard’ model according to an excellent article by SaxPix. It has a ‘nail file’ G# key and a ‘cigar cutter’ octave mechanism with a pearl button underneath. It has rolled tone holes (referred to in the ‘PATD DEC 1914 1119954’ stamp) and a micro-tuner neck. I managed to straighten the bent octave rod in a couple of minutes – the only thing awry with the sax when it arrived. It came with a Brilhart Ebolin mouthpiece and a Micro Pro Sling saxophone strap (N0. 6500 with a $1.15 price tag).

The Player

It’s easy to blow, creating a rich, wide sound in both registers and has no leaks or sticky keys – a pure delight. So far I’ve only used the Brilhart mouthpiece it came with, but will move up to one of my wider, more modern metal mouthpieces soon.
I’ve played this sax at gigs at least three times since acquiring it and have recorded in a studio on some songs I’ve been working on with my brother Tom. Can’t wait to play it some more… and all my non-saxophone playing musician friends now know a little it aout Hank.
Reading this you may be able to help me prove whether or not it was Hank’s horn. For now, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Let me know what you think.

Saxifications

• Make – Conn
• Model – New Wonder 2
• Serial Number – M166167
• Date of Manufacture – 1926
• Place of Manufacture – Elkhart, Indiana, USA
• Finish – Gold laquer
• Weight – 1.9 kg
• Sound – Rich, wide
• Ease of Blowing – Easy, loud, precise

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: 6M, Alto, Conn, Saximus Maximus |