It’s over… After reincarnating my pre-illness Bassic Sax Jazz Ensemble into a brand new trio, and after weeks of prepping for what amounts to a mini Saxophobia, this is what my studio looks like…
Yup, it’s pretty much chaos in my studio ATM. I’ve still not cleaned it up. The only thing that looks different from when I took this photo on Saturday morning to now is that I have two less cases in the room. That’s because later that same morning Claudio Fantinato came to pick up the SeaWind saxophones that the company had loaned me for review, and for the Out For Lunch performance. I will really miss the bari… 😥 …. Although getting back to my minty Committee III will be nice too.
Given everything that could have gone wrong, the entire thing went off without a hitch. But I couldn’t have done this alone, and there are a lot of people who were an integral part of this show both in front of, and behind the scenes. Thanks to all you—you know who you are—who did everything from brainstorming ideas about content, to logistics, to security, to setting up my horns for me before the performance, to videotaping.
The event was a sell out, and Heritage Court Room #3 at the Vancouver Art Gallery was packed full of people who wanted to see and hear how the saxophone has evolved over its relatively brief history. To get an idea how the Bassic Sax Jazz Ensemble was set-up, and what horns I took, I offer up the following shot…
Yes, that is literally a judge’s bench that my horns are standing in front of. We do live in Hollywood North after all. The art gallery is in the old Vancouver court house, and has kept two of the old court rooms intact and rents them out as sets. This concert series books around movie and television series filming all the time.
Although I had planned on bringing 18 saxophones, a few weeks ago I realized that given the time constraints, that number was not feasible. I whittled down the number to 10, with 8 being played during the 50 minute concert. Since this was an educational session as well as a concert, the two that were not played were discussed, and one of these was passed around so that people could handle it.
In case you’d like to know what horns I did actually play, and/or check or your sax recognition skills, the order from front to rear in the photo are as follows:
- Mark VI soprano
- King Zephyr tenor
- Conn straight neck C melody
- Pan American curved soprano
- Conn 6M alto
- Soprano of unknown origins and vintage. Likely circa 1900. Has double octave keys, and no roller.* **
- SeaWind low A baritone
- Selmer Mark VI low Bb baritone
- Buffet, Evette & Schaeffer HP baritone*
- Buescher bass
*Denotes horns only on display.
**The saxophone that was circulated around the audience.
The acoustics in the room itself were very good. Even with our Panasonic GX1 on video mode, the HD audio turned out decently. I’ve uploaded a couple of examples to YouTube to give you an idea of what it was like.
This was part of Take 5 that we did as part of our sound check and warm-up before the audience came in….
If I was granted a do-over, I would warm up my bass. I don’t know what I was thinking, but when the concert’s host, Gene Ramsbottom, finished giving the opening five-minute talk about the history of Adolphe Sax and the saxophone, we started with the bass saxophone number. The problem is, I didn’t warm the horn up. Nor was I warmed up anymore at this point. This led to my only note issue in the show… Oh well shit happens… 
My studio during Bassic Sax Jazz Ensemble rehearsals
Before the show I moved things out of my studio to accommodate Jillana’s drum kit and Elias’ keyboard. True, moving a kit is a lot of work, but nothing compared to moving all the saxophones that I was playing. My horns were all lined up in front of my mannequins like this…
Here are some shots that were taken during the show. These are the order in which the horns were played during the performance. Oh, and yes, I know I puff my cheeks. It is in part what gives me the sound that I get. When I play legit music, with my Selmer C**m/p and a #4 reed, I don’t puff. 😉
There were lots of my horns that I would really have liked to have played, but time didn’t allow for it. Most notably, my Hohner Presidents and my Tonekings would really have added something special to the mix. As a matter of fact, the 6M alto was a last-minute substitution.
I was going to use my JK alto, but had an issue with my upper octave key just days before the show. I just didn’t have time to get it to my tech, so I opted for my primary alto, because I figured it was the one I could pick up the tuning and fingering nuances for the quickest, after having not played it in nearly a year. (No, I don’t play my small horns much at all.)
Given that the Bassic Sax Jazz Ensemble 2.0 really only had about 5 rehearsals before this show, I’m really pleased with how we did. Jillana, Elias, and I have really good chemistry. The crowd was not your usual either. They are very much into the music, and many come every week to hear the (mostly classical) performances. Most are season’s pass holders.
It was really a great experience to play for people who appreciate what you’re doing, and the amount of time and effort that goes into a performance. There were also a number of performers in the audience, as well as a professor from the UBC school of music’s saxophone performance department. She and I had a discussion before my show, and I’ll likely be doing something for the department in the coming months.
A few other people approached me as well about doing something for their schools. This is all very flattering, but the truth is though, this show took a lot out of me. It will take me a while yet before I’m back to what normal is for me now. 
