Sidney Bechet's Saxophone

[SuiZen]

What make soprano sax did Sidney Bechet play? Also, any info on the mouthpiece he used?

Bill

[max]

I have a picture of him playing a Buescher True Tone (with the round, pearl G# key).

I have no idea if he always played that horn, how often he switched, etc. I'm just going from that one picture...

[Dave Dolson]

Bill: This has been the subject of much discussion and conjecture over the years, and here on SOTW. Consensus is that Bechet played mostly Buescher, but others have crept into photos, stories, and lore.

As to mouthpieces, I'm not sure anyone knows, except maybe Bob Wilber, who studied with and recorded with Bechet years ago. And of course, things change, so what someone saw Bechet play may not be what he favored or kept playing.

I'm sure that no matter what he played, he sounded like Bechet. His recordings on clarinet corroborate that statement. He sounded the same on clarinet - power, soul, and lots of vibrato. In my opinion, he was the best of the early (and maybe even today's) jazz clarinetists. DAVE

[SuiZen]

Could this be one that he played?

http://www.sonic.net/~rjw/neworleans/pages/Jazz%20Museum%20-%20Saxophone%20played%20by%20Sidney%20Bechet.htm

Bill

[Dave Dolson]

Bill: I dunno . . . the soprano was certainly of that vintage, and the clarinet looked like an Eb Albert-System, if the photo's perspective wasn't too outta whack.

Bechet played Albert clarinets. If those are museum pieces, they could be horns played by Bechet . . . but he coulda picked up any horn and blown a few notes through it - and then it becomes a keeper. DAVE