Now, all this talk in the last week about musicians and airline travel here on my blog, the 2 articles that Bret Pimentel wrote on his Woodwind Blog on July 8 and 11, and of course the now over-the top, famous Dave Carroll from Halifax with his horror story about how United Airlines trashed his Taylor guitar, all got me wondering: Just what happens to all those those instruments that get destroyed courtesy of the airlines? Well, I think I found the answer on Flickr. 😀
Here are 2 different pictures, by 2 different photographers, of a sculpture in the International Terminal of San Fransisco’s airport. Now I’m just assuming that these photos are of the same sculpture, and that there are not 2 of them, in 2 different airports… Although the tags on Flickr are a bit confusing, and you know what they say about assumptions. 😉 Someone please correct me if I’m wrong.
Sax Clef
Photography by Leo Laporte Source: Flickr
Sax a go-go
Aaaargh! The sax in the lower photo is definitely a “Noblet” (Beaugnier stencil) that was made in Paris, France during the late 1950s to early 1960s. It really doesn’t deserve to be hanging up there on the wall. Noblet saxophones have a centered, Selmer(ish) sound. So, what a stupid waste of a nice vintage saxophone that should ideally be in the hands of a dedicated player. I shudder to think what other treasures are hanging up on that wall. In fairness, at least one of the instruments appears to be a Selmer-Bundy, so that’s no great loss. However, some are tenors from the 1920s (have “clapper” bell-keys) so there could easily be gems like a Conn New Wonder Series II or a Martin Handicraft up there. Sacrilege…
Hi Mick. Welcome.
Oh, and let’s not forget the other French sax so obviously located in the upper right portion of the shot: a Buffet Dynaction or Super Dynaction. Yet another fine vintage horn sacrificed in the name of visual art. Yes, many a lovely saxophone have been forever silenced by being chosen by the artist to be part of this collection. It really is a shame.
Thanks for commenting on this post Mick. Your comment here reminded me that I had done some research on this sculpture, and was going to do a follow-up post about it.
Thanks for dropping in. I hope you do so again sometime…helen