SML Memories

[greene]

Its fascinating to me to read about what became of the saxophone that was so much a part of my childhood. My dad, Jack Loeb, was the original importer and dealer and many of the SML musicians were household names and much more to me like Carmen Leggio who wrote my reference letter for music school and Norman Rosner who I remember visiting at his Yonkers music store, and Toots Mondello who holds a special place for me because I still have a recording of a concert my dad put together to promote the SML horn and its the only way I can still get to hear what my dad sounded like. I remember meeting Mr Strasser in France and my dad's tireless efforts to get the horn off the ground in the US which was no easy task considering he was facing stiff compettion from the big guys like Selmer .. but he loved the horn, the French company, the musicians and if only he were alive today to see how much his early groundwork accomplished he would be thrilled ...
Steve Loeb

[chubarry]

Well all of us SMLunatics owe your Dad a deep, deep debt of gratitude. It could not have been easy for him going head to head with Selmer back then.

I'd love to hear more about the players you remember and why they stuck with their SML. I spoke to Saul Fromkin about 5 years ago and he was telling me how he kept trying to get Sam Rivers to switch to a Selmer and he always resisted the pressure! Kept saying he liked what he had....

Me and my Gold Medal (17xxx) salute you!