1985 BBC doc on the bass saxophone

As mentioned a few weeks ago, I have now began the rather large undertaking of totally revamping the Bass Saxophone section of Bassic Sax. Just poking around on the various subpages of the the section will reveal a few of the new areas/pages already.

As I was deeply submerged in the minutia of the historical recordings of bands from the 1920s-40s that used bass saxophones, and their players, I happened across an oddity for any decade: A documentary done by the BBC in 1985, which explored the history and (then) current state of the strange instrument that so many of us play. It traces the bass saxophone’s rise in popularity in the 1920s, to its decline just a decade later. 

The BBC doc also explores some of the instrument’s greatest players, and how they shaped the world’s view of this rather imposing piece of brass that adds a certain air of mystery and anticipation to any band stage. Then-current players were filmed as they assembled for a bass saxophonists gathering in a local pub in Britain. It’s a who’s who of the 1980s UK bass saxophone world.

To me, what’s most remarkable about this documentary, is that at the time bass saxophones were still relatively uncommon. Cheap, Asian horns from Jinyin and Jinbao hadn’t yet flooded the market under an ever-growing list of stencil names that literally ranged from A to Z. The bass saxophone renaissance that occurred circa 2000 and onwards, was still nearly two decades away. Thus the horns in this video were either all vintage American horns, long-wrap basses like JK, Orsi, et al, or short-wrap basses like Selmers. 

As a matter of fact, what struck me as extremely odd, was that when they were discussing makers of new basses, the only name they dropped was Selmer. Keilwerth was making bass saxophones at the time. I have one that was made under the Couf name in 1983. So clearly these blokes either didn’t like Keilwerth saxophones, or were Selmer endorsers. 😉   

Seriously though, with all these bass saxophonists in attendance, wasn’t there at least one JK bass? That’s kind of odd.

What also was odd was the number of Selmer bass saxophones they say that were being produced per month. That just seems wrong. But given that they had Selmer factory footage, I am guessing they did their research, which likely explains why there are so many Selmer horns vs. Keilwerth ones. JK produces circa 2 bass saxophones per year, while Selmer produces 2 per month. Wonder if Selmer still makes that many monthly?

Lack of any mention of Keilwerth bass saxophones notwithstanding, this documentary is a fabulous trip down memory lane for some, and a fantastic intro into the world of the instrument so many of us play today. 

So grab some popcorn, a beverage of your choosing, settle into a comfy chair, sit back and enjoy!

BTW, if you are interested what some of the UK-based saxophonists are saying about this, check out the Cafe thread on this video.