The group sound.

  A good group sound has always been more important to me than my own individual sound. As a musician I've worked hard on my own sound. Saxes, reeds, mouthpieces, countless hours of practice, guitars, picks, strings, tubes, amplifiers and countless hours of practice. All of that is necessary and good but for me means very little without a team.

  I've been really blessed with the current group I play with, Gospel of Mars. We've been at it four and a half years now. There's been times of such discouragement I just wanted to throw in the towel. Some days it feels like these 3 cows in this picture, licking salt with nowhere to go but this little pasture......But we're still at it and in the last 6 months I can say we've become a good band. We've found our sound and that feels better than anything else in this life. It takes that long. I've learned to not make fun of bands that I think are not good. If they stick to it in four years they may be quite good. I may not like the music but I can tell when someone is really committed to their process.

  And that's how it works. Or so I've been told. You show up, show up, show up and show up playing for 4 people, then 5, go through the worst thoughts of quitting, learn to not listen to that voice that constantly compares me to other music (make it more jazz! No one will like this honest stuff you are playing! Make it more rock, improvised music never made anyone a dollar blah blah blah blah bleah!) and then one day those tracks come through that are undeniably good, honest and worth taking care of. I've watched Aaron evolve as a drummer, new kit, different tones, keep honest to his own interest and abilities, and I've watched Bob evolve as a bassist, bigger tone, more adventurous exploration, and as a player myself, my sound has evolved to match the group. I'm the last sax player I would choose for a Bruce Springsteen type band, or for a jazz group. My sound is kind of messed up, but it fits with this group and that's what keeps me interested.

JB

The Hip Hop Kid

  Saturday I flew to Nashville to on a guitar shopping mission. Gruhn's Guitars, which is the Mecca of the vintage guitar world and Carter Vintage, Nashville's friendliest guitar shop. It was my first time in Nashville and hopefully I'll be back soon. There's a lot to love about that town. Hearing bluegrass at the Station Inn was one of the highlights of my musical life recently, Jim Lauderdale and his Bluegrass Millenials featuring a couple songs by the great Roland White. Yes indeed. Masters of rhythm, masters of stagecraft. My musical soul needs to be in the presence of the masters every now and then.

  But this little story is about later that evening. I went out to see Broadway cause I heard it was the happening nightlife strip. I envisioned some good honkytonks and maybe some good roots joints around there. As I was walking along things got to be more typical America. Boom cars with cheesy bros rolling around with auto tuned hip hop blaring and all that. As I turned the corner I saw 2 young brothers exchanging some money with some chunky loud white dudes in what my highly trained American "Cops" or name any other popular culture TV land jive, had to be a drug deal. Whatever. None of my business. Enjoy your night fellows!

  But on that corner? Maybe it was something else.... Too busy for an open air drug bit. You'd have to be really dumb to sell on that corner.

  But I quickly forgot that scene and made my way to Broadway.

  Broadway is anywhere USA it turns out. Fucking gross. Legions of the sad desperate, overweight, high and drunk. Swarms of 20 somethings trying to mate through being inebriated, lines around the corner 3 people deep trying to get in to nightclubs with bands blaring out the latest pop or country hits, and some classic rock. I didn't see anything that appeared to be original. Myself , overwhelmed and tired of stepping over chunder realized there's nothing wrong with this place, I'm just in the wrong place. There's a reason I never moved to Austin, Vegas or Nashville and got into all that. I love my New York.

  So I made my way back to the hotel and saw the 2 brothers with the little money transaction on the corner. "Hey you like music?" one of the guys asked me. "Yes, I do." "I'm out here trying to sell my mix cds, it's my music a mixture of hip hop, r&b and country..."

  That's a weird ass mix. I had to give up five bucks for that. So we got to talking. He tells me he's from some small town in Tennessee and his parents are Jamaican, and he asked if I'm from Nashville.
"Nope, New York, just down here for the day to buy guitars". All you need to say is New York and you are a king to a young musician. His whole face shined. "So you're a musician?" "Yeah, guitar bass and saxophone, been playing a long time"....

  The next question is the whole reason I went on this adventure in the first place. "So when did things start getting real for you in music?" "From the first day...." I said.
"I mean, REAL?" He asked. "Oh, you mean when did I get popular and all that? Well, I'm not popular but I can say all those things come and go in waves and the popular part isn't why I do this, I do this cause that's what I'm supposed to do and it's what I love the most in this world."

  "Oh man, that's beautiful" he said. "I'll never stop making music, no matter what" I say to him. "That's just what I needed to hear" he said with a huge smile.

  We talked a bit about the trap of trying to prove yourself and the choice to just be yourself and not get caught up in all that noise out there. Do your thing and be you and have a good time.

  We shook hands and parted ways. It was nice to touch someone like that and nice to be touched as well. I learned a lot from him in those few minutes. And that made the whole trip to Broadway worth it. I hope he does well in this world, there was a genuine sweetness to his being. I haven't listened to his mix yet but intend to today after my ears pop and I can hear again. One small victory for being too tired to have my guard up! One small victory for letting someone in for a few minutes. Good day for praise and thanks....

 JB

1936 Conn 10M, 1936 Buescher Aristocrat tenor sax. Tale of 2 terrible looking horns!

Notice I didn't put "vs" in the title. There's no competition here. I love both of my tenors. They each help me express myself for different moods and different playing situations. These are my 2 favorite tenors.

I'm writing this little blurb for those who are curious about these and maybe want to buy one.

I personally enjoy playing the Buescher more. There is something quite personal about this era of Aristocrat for me. It's my favorite engraving as well, and looks matter. I've owned a few of these and a Big B 155. I really liked the Big B, but these early ones for me just have something magic about them.

Tone? Really, really rich. More complex than the 10M by far, which has a more clear voice to it. It's no less powerful than the 10M which surprised me. The first time I ever played a deco Aristocrat I put it down after a few minutes. The tone seemed "small" to me. I was coming from my 30M and I had a Chu at the time. It wasn't until much later when I was at a friends house in Portland Oregon where I got to hear what one of these could really do. My friend has a house full of horns. He had this really roasted Aristocrat, on it's 3rd re-lacquer and had remnants of gold spray paint on it. We played that horn along with my Chu, a '48 10M I owned, his Mk6 and an SML. The Aristocrat with it's small looking bell looked like it shouldn't put out the amount of sound the other horns did. Both of us agreed it had the most likable tone and kept right up, in fact I found it louder then the SML or 10M. The Mk6 had a bit more presence but not that much better.

I bought that horn. It cut a lot of tracks with me. I took a lesson in Los Angeles with a cat named Bobby Brown. He looked it over and said "Mmmm. Now this is one terrible looking horn. But you cannot beat this sound!"

The one I'm playing today is recent to me. It's pretty awful looking too. Those snap pads have been long removed and it has plastic resonators, which are my favorite. I was a metal resonator fellow for years but found that I struggled with my horns getting too bright for my liking when I push them. Could be psychological but, I find with plastic my sound doesn't fall apart on me.

The neck on this Aristocrat is from a later model, probably early to mid 40's. It's not as long as a 156 neck. I like it cause it was silver plated at one point and the octave key is gold plated. I find mixed metals to be attractive, especially on a really worn sax.

On a side note, my main horn for years was an ugly 1928 Chu Berry in bare brass. I had the neck nickel plated, sonic experiment. Jury is out whether it worked. At first I swore it gave me more focus and darkened things up but after months I realized I was struggling with the same frustrations and that a change of reed brands made a dramatic difference. Not to mention, help from teachers and a lot of practice! But it sure improved the look of my horn!

On another side note, if you look at both horns notice the big ass Meridian Winds neck screws I have on them. They are advertised as "ergonomic". I agree. I really like the way they look and like the fact I don't need to pinch them when I tighten them. Plus, they are quite nice looking. Sound? Same as the nickel neck thing, at first i swore I heard a dampening of the high frequencies, less "buzz". I like that. The "Buzzkill". After a few months I tried out my old screws and, heard no difference, felt no difference. What was different was I wasn't trying fora different sound this time, though I once agai heard what I wanted to hear.... For $35 though, it's like a ring or a bracelet. I like pretty things!

I'm currently using 2 mouthpieces. An Early Babbit Otto Link Super Tonemaster 7, and a Brilhart Hard rubber opened up by Sakshama to .100. It likes both pieces and I can get pretty much whatever I want out of both. In fact, I'm lucky enough that both my horns like these pieces. Usually, you buy a new horn, you need to mate a piece to it. The kind of stuff that drives one mad! The Link is quite clear and warm, the Brilhart is more spread, dark and lush, a bit more intimate though I can get what I need out of either with some intent.

Funny. I would say my Aristocrat is more spread than the 10M. I expected the opposite. But that's why I like the Aristocrat for smaller more intimate settings. No shortage of power though.

Now my 10M. This one is recent to me as well. Knocked me out of my "king" phase.

The man who taught me how to play was a 10M player. He was a killer in every way. Sharp dresser, handsome, back in the day a middleweight prize fighter. Tough as they make em' and kind too.

The first 10M I ever held was one a bartender friend bought from a patrons father. I looked it over and was immediately hooked by that little naked lady in the pentagon. Who is she? The horn just says "I'm smooth, now fix me a high ball..."

2 weeks later I went to my teachers house and that's what he had sitting on his sofa. I coveted that horn for years. When he passed away his grand daughter gave it to me. I played it for 2 weeks and gave it back only cause I know he wanted to keep it in the family. I was happy cause it felt like spending a couple more weeks with someone I really loved very much.

Now, I've played many 10Ms, even owned a 30M. They can be stiff in my experience. Not like my Aristocrat or a good Selmer, which is a flexible beast. But Mr. Cages 10M? That was just a great one. He knew it and half of the sax players in Portland tried buying it off him.

I told myself if I ever found one that played as good as his, I would buy it.

This one came in from my friend with the house full of horns in Portland. He sent it to me to sell here in New York. After it arrived I played it a few times and knew I'd be stupid to let it go. It's ugly, on it's 2nd re-lacquer. One of the rolls on a tonehole is gone and it needs a re-pad but.....damn. It's just a joy to play.

Sound wise it's not as rich or complex as the Buescher. It is a rounder tone, like a big ball of love. I prefer the Buescher, it inspires me more but, with my band this is the winner. Playing loud, this is where everything starts to shine. It cuts like no other with the Otto Link. And I get such a good sense of the note I'm playing that I find it easy to stay on pitch. Key work is just plain stupid fast. I feel no hindrance on this horn, everything fits right under my fingers.

And contrary to what a lot of folks say, I like the high end on this horn a bit better. The Aristocrat is so complex upstairs that sometimes I just crave that clear sound. The 10M has it. It doesn't get weak upstairs for me at all. Both horns stay big throughout the whole range. The low end on the 10M is what you expect. Big and ballsy, but so is the low end on the Aristocrat.

No resonators on the pads right now. I shudder to think what will happen when I get this one re-padded.

Out of the 2, I like the way the 10M records the best. I don't find the need to EQ it much at all. It just cuts right through the mix. While I like my Aristocrat better overall, this is reason enough to keep the 10M. When you find that piece of equipment that helps you solve a problem then it's worth it. For instance, my Otto Link. I've had many. Some old, some recent, some good clones. There is this region in between middle F and high Bb that I simply hate my tone on. It can get too 'big' there for me, just this boring, flabby ambiguous tone. I struggled with reeds, practiced for years and got better but that area still bugged me. Then I tried this piece out. Instant change for the better. Haven't had that problem since. I paid way too much for it but like that Master Card commercial says: "Priceless".

So there you have 2 horns from Elkhart Indiana made during the Great Depression. We really knew how to build things then. Both these horns turned 80 this year and they will both keep going with proper care for another 80!

Hope someone finds this useful! JB