Honkin' and blowin'

Written by Dermot Watson on Friday, 21 August 2009

"Me and my Mauriat 66R. This horn replaced Suzie - my old 1937 Conn Conqueror. I loved the idea of this old beauty, especially the fact it came from a workshop in gangster-era Chicago. Unfortunately - due to about 60 years of mistreatment - it was also chronically unreliable & sealed its fate at a gigging sax by falling apart minutes before going on stage with the Sandy Dillon Band at the Borderline a few years ago.
 
"I went out searching for a horn that sounded exactly the same but, well, worked reliably & wasn't going to embarrass me in front of my musical hero(ines). After much searching - my Mauriat, despite being a modern instrument, does a fantastic job of speaking in a pre-war Chicago accent. It can roar like a lion, scream like a banshee or purr like a pussycat. My personal technique isn't a particularly sophisticated thing but I do pride myself on a big, expressive tone - which this horn, together with a Berg Larsen mouthpiece, delivers in spades. This horn really does seem particularly well attuned to my flavour of maximum R&B and free jazz/punk freak-out.

"We've been through a lot together- a couple of tours of Ireland, the mud pits of Glastonbury 2007 & a lot of great gigs. It's never developed a name like Suzie did - not quite sure why...."