Tenor Saxophone SELMER Balanced Action (SBA, 1937), n°235XX, lacquered

What a year this 1937 was! Saxophonists Archie Shepp and Joe Henderson were born and bassists Ron Carter and Charly Haden saw the first light of day.  Reggie Workman, an accompanist of John Coltrane, stepped onto the world stage. Guitarist Baden Powell, one of the pioneers of Bossa Nova, became incarnate on the planet, and so forth and so on. In short, a powerful year par excellence for Jazz.

Following the successful SELMER Super Sax series (e.g., Cigar Cutter and Radio Improved), 1936 saw the appearance of the ergonomically fine-tuned and revolutionary “Balanced Action” model we see as the “Forerunner of the modern Saxophone.”

The present exemplar from the 1937 production year is an immediate eye-catcher – its neck is gold-plated, the remaining parts were relacquered some time ago and in the meantime year upon year of intense playing has again left the lacquer worn in places, something that in fact adds to a venerable vintage appearance.

By the way: Nothing against pleasant looks, but between you and me, sound has top priority. Moreover, we know for sure that vintage looks come frequently hand in hand with a fantastic sound. And so it is here. This Sax is open and exhibits presence in all registers. Packed at the bottom with a beautiful volume, it maintains its openness and clarity on the way up. It is certainly one of the stronger of its peers, and accordingly possesses abundant enough projection to enhance whomsoever it pushes to front and center stage.

The sound is full and round with the touch of a warm summer evening. At times one feels the Horn to be singing – so self-contained is its voice. At any rate, it strikes a good figure as soon as the first triplets sweep across the dancefloor – it is indeed a child of the Swing Era, and you’ve no choice but to go with the flow.

Pay us a visit and give it a try. Have I promised too much? You’ll see as soon as your feet start dancing when the Sax emits your first notes – then you’ll understand without a doubt what I’ve been talking about.

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