The best sax player in the world

Does anyone outhere know why the best sounding sax player in the World lives in a little village in Norfolk England and is relatively unknown . When he comes to my local pub the roof lifts off and my ears go into orbit.Can anyone guess what setup he is playing .

uh, well if you gave a name, and that name was cannonball adderley, we could all tell you, because cannonball was, is, and will always be the greatest sax player ever. But because he died a long time ago, he can't be the one showing up at your pub, so the person at your pub is not the best there is, was, and will be.

DearChuck Is Chuck a real name .Nobody is called that round here. It is all Allens Daves and Johns.Thankyou for your comments.I have never heard Cannonball but then I dont get out much .Thankyou though for the Education.My point is I bet he played what we now call a vintage sax .It is true I havenot heard very many Pros playing but it seems that very many choose vintage stuff.The sax player I talk of plays a 10m Conn.When I asked him why not a Selmer 6 . He said he had one once , but was not impressed and got rid of it . I find that strange considering the selmer has number 1 popularity .Why would the Conn possibly be some peoples first choice. Also why do modern saxes not even get a look in with so many Pros do you think .

There's a common misconception that the Mark VI is the best saxophone ever. The Mark VI is a very good horn, but for some people it is not the holy grail. I've seen some people play wonderfully on the older Conns and evn pretty well on intermediate and student horns. It isn't the axe, it's the person behind it who makes the horn play wonderfully. All the equipment does is help you play some notes better in tune, be easier to play on (key placement), and maybe give you a brighter or darker tone.

I can believe that the person you hear playing in Norfolk plays on a Conn. Many greats have and some still do.

~Matt

Hi sunlight,

I guess it was a 10M Ladyface with probably an Otto Link (or similair)metal mouthpiece.That gives a huge,fat sound (if you can play!!). Over the years I have heard some of that horns (by Pros)and they will impress me everytime again!!! Again a 'prove' that they knew how to make saxes at the Conn factory in that days!!! Nothing wrong with the MarkVI (except for the prices nowadays!!!)but I can imagine that someone never,ever will get rid of a good adjusted 10M Ladyface. I feel the same for my Martin Indiana tenor!! (maybe not as good as a Conn 10M Ladyface!) And...... make sure you will hear Cannonball someday!!!

Greetings from Holland,

Thanks Paul and Mathew for your views .The man in question was indeed playing a ladyface 10M tenor and also plays a Martin Alto .However ,I dont know whether you know of them,but the mouthpieces were Peter Ponsels .The alto one being a particularly wide opening.Truely unbeleivable sound .On songs like Mustang Sally and Luceille his growl and edge is stunning and on more lyrical stuff like Baker Street and Foreigners, know what love is, the alto sings out.Of course the guy has a pretty well suited sound system However it does make me wonder if being a good singer is necessary to have a great sound .What do you think regards.

No its not necessary to be a good singer, but it wouldn´t hurt. In fact the breathing and voicing technique on the sax is very similar to pro singing AFAIK not being a trained singer.

yeah, it's a real name. why else would I use it? That's what all my friends call me, even though my real name is Charles.

I played a Mark VI until I found a better horn. A better horn for me that is. It's a Conn 10M and it has much better intonation than most Mark VIs. If you want to work hard to play in tune and have plenty of acess to a good sax repairer then a mark VI is quite a good saxophone. But they do tend to go out of adjustment quite a lot due to the G# adjustment mechanism and the removable bell.

Pardon me for saying this Pete, but I think your comments are hogwash. I have owned, since 1963 a Mark VI alto. Regulatory problems have been required ONLY because of use...in other wards, because the instrument has made me thousands and thousands of dollars playing all kinds of gigs.

Working hard to play in tune could well have been because your Mark VI instrument was not well regulated.

The regulation of a fully articulated G# mechanism (which is integral on any modern saxophone) is no more nor no less a problem on any Selmer saxophone of the last 40 years than any other brand.

Removable bell? Mine has never been removed. I don't abuse my instrument. Of those Selmers I have worked on and have had to remove the bell and bottom bow, it was still NOT t a problem (I was thankful for the feature). Have gotten these instruments singing again.

Sounds like you've been hanging out with the wrong repairman for far too long and he's been pumping jive into your ears.

Every saxophone maker and the models produced by them have their idiosyncrasies. A good repairman figures this out.

Evan Parker