The man who provided the sound for a generation of saxophone players, passed away last week.
Bobby Dukoff was born October 11, 1918. He was first and foremost a phenomenal saxophone player. After he bought his first horn at the age of 14, for $45, with money he earned working at a delicatessen, he went on to become a member of some of the most famous Big Bands in history.
After his Big Band days—with notables such as Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and Jimmy Dorsey, were over—Dukoff went on to have a very successful solo career. He was known for his lush tenor sound, which became a defining feature of his brand.
According to the Dukoff website, this is how Bobby Dukoff’s mouthpiece business started:
Bobby has always been fascinated with the mechanics of mouthpieces as he realized that “the sound started there.” While playing top shows in California he started experimenting in his garage and soon all his friends from the Big Band days were coming around to have Bobby just “touch up” their mouthpieces. This naturally led to his own mouthpiece business and today those early California models are collectors’ items.
In 1956, Dukoff moved from California to a suburb of Miami, and set up his own recording studio, Dukoff Recording. He ran that studio until the early 1970s.
However, as saxophone players, we likely know Bobby Dukoff’s passion for mouthpieces, more than his work as a recording engineer.
After he relocated to Florida, Dukoff continued to develop his mouthpieces, and introduced many innovations which were appreciated by players everywhere. It would not be overstating it to say, that Bobby Dukoff literally changed the sound of saxophone players the world over.
I have been playing on Dukoff mouthpieces for over 15 years now. Their lush, rich, yet bright, projecting, overtone-full, edgy sound, has come to define my tenor sound.
I will always be grateful for the work of Bobby Dukoff. He put an end to my search for the perfect mouthpiece.
News of Bobby Dukoff’s death broke on May 4, on saxophone websites, as well as Kenny G’s and Bobby Dukoff’s Facebook pages. So far there has been nothing posted on the Dukoff website, or noted online in newspapers.
The saxophone world did indeed lose another giant with the passing of Bobby Dukoff. His life’s work will live on however, not only through his plentiful recordings, but through all of those players who use Dukoff mouthpieces the world over. There really can be no better legacy than that, for a man who sought to build the best mouthpieces he could, for working musicians.
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While working at WCVA in Culpeper, VA back in the ’60s, I remember playing songs from an album by Mr. Dukoff titled “Sax In Silk” and thought it was fantastic! May he rest in peace.
Hello Robert.
Welcome to my site. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to reply to you. This explains why.
Bobby Dukoff was what I think of as one of the “quiet giants” of the saxophone world. That’s a bit of an oxymoron since his mouthpieces are anything but quiet. However, Bobby Dukoff wasn’t heard from very often, and he let his mouthpieces speak for him. His music went back decades, but no one seemed to talk about that anymore. His mouthpieces became the focus of the attention, to the point that the man faded quietly into the background.
Thanks for the visit Robert. Hope you drop in again.
Regards,
Helen
Hi Helen,
I haven’t visited this site for a long time (obviously!) but wanted to thank you for replying to my earlier posting re: Bobby Dukoff. He was my favorite sax player.
Bob Corder
The Miami Herald published an obit on the 9th.
Bobby Dukoff, recorded bands, revolutionized sax mouthpiece, dies
Hi Paul.
I’m sorry it’s taken so long to write and say “thank you” for posting this link to Bobby Dukoff’s obit. It was a fitting tribute to an a man who played an important role in shaping the sound of 20th century music—especially the sax sounds in 20th century music.
Cross-posted on the WF. Hey, post there, Helen, so we can thank you for posting this. It was pretty difficult to find out more info other than what you have.