Inspiration

In ninth grade, I saw a C melody saxophone in an antique store in Durham, NC.  I was facinated.  A saxophone in C?  It looks like a tenor.  Can I play it in band?  I remember telling my high school band director about it and was met with a response that crushed my aspirations: “Don’t waste your money!”

Later, while in high school and college, I worked as an instrument repair man at Marsh Woodwinds in Raleigh.  Occasionally, someone would come in with a C melody and ask us if it was worth “fixing up”.  Our reply was usually something along the lines of “you could make it into a nice lamp...”  Despite my access to some really nice instruments, like a gold plated Conn, I never found the curiosity to play any of them.

Fast forward to the present.  While reading Bix: The Definitive Biography of a Jazz Legend by Jean Pierre Lion, I came across a saxophonist that I had little knowledge of, Frank Trumbauer.  His main instrument was the C melody.  Intrigued by what I read, I decided to listen to some of his and Biederbieck’s music.  Consequently, I was amazed at the virtuosity exhibited on some of the tracks, particularly on “Trumbology”.  On some of Trumbauer’s solo breaks, he double-tongues some of the arpeggiated passages.  Not just one note, but each note in the arpeggio is articulated at a very rapid speed.  Furthermore, I read Being Prez by Dave Gelly and found that Lester Young cited Trumbauer as his main influence, particularly his tone.  If Lester Young respected this musician to such a degree, I figured Tram (as he was nicknamed) was someone I needed to check out.

Having listened to Trumbauer, my desire to own a C melody was renewed. Not only did I want to learn about him and his music, but also do it on the actual type of instrument he played.  Of course, I could play any of the solos on tenor since the two instruments are only a step apart, but I wanted to learn more.  As a student of the saxophone and jazz history, I decided to explore these neglected areas of my education by “wasting my money” and buying a C melody sax.