Are you a John Coltrane fan? Do you secretly covet owning a saxophone that the man played? If so, then this Yamaha alto, currently for sale on eBay is likely the answer to your dreams.
Source: RECORDMECCA
The horn is being sold by Recordmecca. The man behind the company, Jeff Gold, has been buying and selling high-end music collectibles for 40 years.
This is how this very experienced dealer, and collector, of high-end music memorabilia describes this interesting collectible:
We are extremely proud to offer John Coltrane’s personal alto saxophone, owned by the jazz giant and played during his 1966 tour of Japan. This prototype Yamaha saxophone was sold by the John Coltrane Foundation at the legendary Guernsey’s Jazz Auction in February 2005, and is extensively documented. The auction description reads, in part, “Yamaha Nippon Gakki Alto Saxophone, made in Japan, serial #015 with case. This alto saxophone was produced in 1966…and was gifted by the Yamaha Corporation (who) requested that John Coltrane inspect and evaluate it. This prototype saxophone became the model “YAS-1″ in 1967.”
While best known for playing tenor and soprano horns, Coltrane first began playing saxophone on the alto in 1940, at at age 14. He played alto intermittently until mid 1951, when he devoted himself almost exclusively to the tenor sax, though he did play alto on a 1958 Prestige recording as a member of the Gene Ammons All Stars. In 1966, Coltrane toured Japan with a band that included Pharoah Sanders, and he and Sanders were each given Yamaha prototype saxophones to promote the company’s new line of instruments.
Coltrane played this horn extensively during his two week tour, much to the delight of the Japanese audiences. He is heard playing it on various live albums recorded in Japan including “Second Night in Tokyo,” and pictured using it on the cover of the 4 CD set “Live in Japan.” Coltrane can also be heard playing the Yamaha alto on the album “Stellar Regions.” A number of photographs exist of Coltrane playing this horn, and photos from a 1969 issue of the Japanese jazz magazine Swing Journal picture it in Coltrane’s home studio in Dix Hills, New York.
This is one of only two Coltrane saxophones to be sold by his family to benefit The John Coltrane Foundation, and as such has impeccable provenance. With the original case, copies of the original Guernsey’s receipt and catalog pages, digital copies of photographs of Coltrane playing the horn, and our lifetime guarantee of authenticity. A truly museum quality collectible of the highest order. Scroll down for more photographs.
Here are just a few of the photos from the original eBay ad.
Source: RECORDMECCA
Source: RECORDMECCA
Source: RECORDMECCA
See all the rest of the photos on the auction page.
How much would you spend on a horn that belonged to John Coltrane? And Why?
How much would you be willing be to spend for a saxophone that once belonged to a player who you revered? Would you spend $20,000? How about $50,000? Would you go as high as $100,000? Well, you if want this John Coltrane horn, youll have to pony up $115,000. 😯
I will leave it to you to decide if you think this amount of money is :loco: or not, but I did find a very thought-provoking article about this on the music review site, tinymixedtapes.com.
In the article, Ryan Simpson offers up the following thoughts:
This got me thinking; what’s the point of owning memorabilia? …they only have as much value as an individual puts on them. Coltrane’s saxophone is valuable to the whole world, and here’s why: cloning.
He goes on to say that using the residual DNA in the horn, would allow for the creation of an army of John Coltranes who could, “conquer the world with jazz”.
I think Simpson’s concluding thoughts are brilliantly on the mark:
…the eventual owner of this massively important cultural artifact should get in touch; I may not have the resources (or knowhow) to clone a human, but with our combined intellects, I’m sure we could puzzle it out. Also, being able to touch a saxophone owned by Coltrane would be rad.
If you want to be the one to try to clone John Coltrane from the DNA left in any residual saliva, or you just want a unique, über expensive collectible, from one of the world’s most influential jazz players, you have until April 4, to get your $115,000 Buy It Now offer in to Recordmecca. (Unless someone beats you to it, of course.)
I’m curious to know what mouthpiece was with this horn. I know John played an Otto Link Tone Master from New York and possibly even a Florida Otto Link on tenor, he even played a Selmer Classic Metal on soprano.
Do you have any idea what mouthpiece was with his Yamaha alto?
It looks like a Meyer or even a Brilhart, but I can’t really tell
Hi Brian.
I don’t know what kind of piece was on the horn. I would have assumed that they sold it with the original Yamaha mouthpiece that would have come with the horn… but you know what they say about assumptions. 😉
That said, the mouthpiece doesn’t have the same outline as the current production crop of Yamaha pieces. I don’t know enough about Yamaha mouthpieces to know how the company changed designs over the years, but they certainly offer quite a few different models now. It’s quite possible that it’s a Yamaha m/p consistent with the year of the horn’s production. The Mouthpiece Museum (I’m currently having a problem connecting to the server, so can’t look it up) might be a place to start checking, if a person was really interested.
I see what you mean about the Myer or Brilhart outline though, but if I were selling it, I would want to keep the horn as original as possible. And let’s face it, a Myer or Brilhart m/p that belonged to Coltrane would fetch a lot of $, and would likely be sold separately. IMHO of course.
Update: This will likely not come as a shock to you, but this Yamaha that belonged to John Coltrane did not sell.
I was amused with the cloning comment. However, I don’t necessarily think that even if there were “an army” of Coltranes, that they’d be able to do much more than dominate the jazz scene. Which means that they’d be … maybe 1/10th as popular as the original Coltrane was. Or even less. Take a look at
http://www.statista.com/statistics/188910/us-music-album-sales-by-genre-2010. Jazz makes up less than 1/10th of all albums sold. It’s definitely not the jazz age anymore. I just don’t think that even if you are the best, most creative jazz musician of all time that you’re going to make that much of a dent in today’s music market. In other words, it’s more than just the talent that’s needed.
Hi all,
The only buyer who would make sense to me would be the Yamaha Corporation themselves, as a featured exhibit in their own saxophone museum. If only for promotional purposes, this would be a Beautiful Idea™. Not only did Coltrane play it publicly, but it is one of the earliest prototypes of a “serious” Yamaha saxophone.
I myself would be more tempted by his soprano, though, not because he played it, but rather for the qualities of some of those sopranos of that vintage. Although later versions of the Mark VI included some improvements in the bore and intonation, the brass alloy was also changed, and the earlier ones feel much more alive. It’s an ergonomic and psychological thing, not acoustical, yet it does have an influence on the way one responds to an instrument.
Peace,
paul
Insane. So Coltrane played on it. Who gives a d.mn? It’s not like a work of art. It’s not unique.
Are we now starting to believe that just because a top name player used a horn a couple of times, it’s worth silly numbers like this? It’s about as insane as the prices being asked by dealer thieves for old mouthpieces, but with the added twist of a big name association.
Pete Hales did some research about the 2005 auction. The links he provides are quite fascinating, and definitely worth checking out.
Did you know that Coltrane’s Mark VI soprano (one of his main horns towards the end of his career) was sold at that original 2005 auction as well? It sold for just under $71,000. Even allowing for inflation, that doesn’t come close to the price of this Yamaha. Food for thought.
I think this alto is indeed possibly worth $115,000 — to Yamaha. They made it specifically for Coltrane, and might want it back just on its uniqueness.
For anyone else, I would agree with you that a Mark VI soprano he he took to practically every gig is worth a lot more than an alto he played a few times because he was asked to.