When I saw this photo by Sophie LE ROUX, I immediately thought of all those old school baritones that had the s#$! kicked out of them for years. (Any of you out there who played on your school’s baritone will know exactly what I mean.)
I don’t know where Jean Michel Lobe got his bari from, but unless his poor axe had an accident, I’m guessing someone beat the hell out of it before he bought it. I wonder what the rest of the horn looks like?
Battered Old Bari
Photography by sophiejazz2009 Source: Flickr
Sophie LE ROUX writes the following under this interesting photo of a well-worn baritone sax’s pigtail.
JEAN MICHEL LOBE
JEAN MICHEL LOBE SAX BARYTON
PORTRAIT DE MAIN
sax baryton, accompagne matthieu boré
concert live au new morning, jazz club, paris, france
le 27/04/2010
© Sophie LE ROUX
Actually this bari might not be all that old. Anyone know what make and model it might be?
I think many people get hung up on the aesthetics of an instrument. Is it pretty? Is it shiny? In the end, these things are not important. What is important, is sound.
What does a sax sound like? Is its intonation spot on? Will it vibrate in your hands? Does it have that certain something—that quintessential sound—that defines the voice for the type of sax it is? If a horn can do this, then its looks are not important.
The thing that’s “reinforcing” the pigtail looks like a key guard, rather than original equipment. Neck receiver’s and possibly neck is all screwed up, too (two neck clamps, for instance, and the receiver’s a different shade). Makes me wonder how many horns were sacrificed to make this bari work. Correction: makes me wonder if tho bari works :P.