COURTNEY
PINE’S REVIEW OF THE SELMER TRIBUTE TO CHARLIE PARKER ALTO SAXOPHONE.
"What we have is a new Selmer saxophone that out does the best
saxophone of all time the Selmer mark 6." - Courtney Pine.
Its 2005 and Selmer have done it again . A new horn that excels . Now most
of you seasoned pro’s dream of a brand new mark 6 horn unblemished ,
battered or fried by someone else! Here we have a unique saxophone that
actually feels better than that vintage golden horn of old.
”Impossible” I hear you scream, but the truth is here under my fingers . The
two horns under my close scrutiny are alto saxophones celebrating the
greatest alto saxophonist of them all Charlie ‘ Yardbird ‘ Parker . Why him?
Well not only did he change the face of music through his alterations of
harmony as a jazz soloist, he also created a new sound and approach to
playing this restrictive horn and ever since has been recognized as the most
influential saxophonist in the history of music. So it only seems right to
pay tribute to this giant on the 50th anniversary of his death by bringing
out a great horn in tribute .
The first horn I tried was the regular “Reference Alto Saxophone “, nothing
regular about this , carefully packaged in a rectangular leather case , zip
storage for music charts and metal label reminding us that this is a “ 2005
Reference Hummingbird America “ sax. On opening the case a nice little
package of matching neck strap , cork grease , the new super session Selmer
mouthpiece , pull through duster , 2 reeds and a couple of cards . The horn
is in a protective polythene bag, the neck is wrapped up nicely . let’s deal
with the neck first .
The neck is well crafted, on first look it appears to have a different shape
to it, slightly wider , the octave key is definitely different to my mk 6
and series 80 version 3 and the selmer “S” now sits on a red base . I put my
mouthpiece on and warmed up the neck , it responded to all my usual tricks
even making the chord ( yes, I split tones to play chords with just the
mouthpiece and neck! ) easier to appear . On piecing the neck to the
saxophone body, I noticed how tight they locked together (no leaks here) sub
toning until the horn warmed up.
The sax looks excellent a nice yellow lacquer that’s even all over , the
front F spatula key is now as on all reference horns a retro button key ,
and side high F key is not curved but straight just like a mark 6 ( which I
prefer ) , a metal thumb rest and everything else is the regular modern
Selmer manual/keyboard that works so well . How does it sound?
Tuning up using middle E to a tuner I found the sax played superbly in tune
and I did not have to compensate for the usual flat low register and sharper
high register this horn was in tune with itself! Now usually Selmer horns of
recent years have to be played in and adjusted to your playing needs, this
horn WORKED STRAIGHT OUT OF THE GATE! Yes I played the horn as if I was born
with it, this can’t be I said to myself . So I investigated inside the horn
. I found that Selmer have put in a new plastic resonater pad. It has a
slightly thicker or raised plastic center, this creates a better feel to my
fingers , it felt more responsive and also that dark mid register around
middle D up to G was now a thing of the past , all 5 zones ( I separate the
horn into 5 regular areas low Bb to F then F to C next C to G etc..) played
evenly and full . Next I immediately jumped to the upper register and found
this full rich and resonate , nothing gave way . Up to the harmonics –
everything sang beautifully , there was enough resistance to hold high B and
the rest all the way up to the F an octave above the normal one, what a
fantastic horn . I started to look for faults and could not find one Selmer
are back to the top of the saxophone charts without a doubt . But another
horn awaits testing surely they could not better this.
The “ Collectors edition “ came in a molded black Selmer leather flight case
with the same little metal badge stating what horn it is . On opening the
same packaging as before awaited me but the horn inside was different.
This horn is lacquered with that classic honey gold touch , class ( as we
would say! ) . I did the same as with the “Reference Humming Bird Alto Sax “
warmed up the neck, then the horn and once again found all the good things
in place , tight seal between neck and horn , metal thumb rest , warm and
responsive neck , superb new plastic booster pads but there was a few big
differences .
The engraving is a work of art and I am told that its all painstakingly done
by hand, this really enhances the look of the saxophone . And now the biggy………..IT
SOUNDS BETTER! What we have is a new Selmer saxophone that out does the best
saxophone of all time the Selmer mark 6. How it does this I really don’t
know what I do know is that it is a pleasure to play, to look at and to be
with .
Many saxophonist talk about what if Selmer made a better horn using the
solid sound and feel of the classic mark 6, with innovations that are of the
now. Well, they have and its here right now, if you play the Alto saxophone
you must try this new modern day classic. Oh, by the way it’s a limited
edition so don’t miss out .
Now when are they going to bring out the anniversary John Coltrane Soprano
Saxophone and the Coleman Hawkins Tenor Saxophone ? dream on , dream on .
Dr Courtney Pine O.B.E