multi saxes

MULTI-SAXES

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In 1962, I worked in a four piece ‘Vegas' type show group around L.A. and the leader was constantly telling me to “Do something different”! When performing, my saxes and clarinet were on stands behind us so we could do our show routines out front with nothing in the way and when it was my turn to play a solo, I’d spin around, grab a horn and return to the mike. Finally, after being told “Do something different” so often, I turned to grab a horn one night but surprised everyone by spinning back around with two horns (tenor & alto sax) in my mouth and played a rather primitive, clumsy solo on some blues tune. Everyone, including the leader, flipped out! They didn’t care if it was bad and weird playing! They just freaked over the two sax stunt. From then on I was stuck with this ‘multi sax’ bit and got busy finding something more musical to play.

I had heard about Roland Kirk, a multi-sax wizard, so I found some of his recordings and was amazed at what all he could do with THREE (YES 3!) saxes at once! That was all the encouragement I needed to take off on this new, exciting musical adventure.

The first problem I dealt with was exactly how to handle the 2 saxes together and soon figured out that the alto should hang to the right of the tenor. It also became apparent right away that the reeds of each mouthpiece should be of similar or equal resistance so both saxes will responded well to one air stream. Many different mouthpiece and reed combinations will play well together if the reeds are of equal resistance. Tune up by playing a common note such as C on tenor and G on alto and adjust the mouthpieces. Since the mouthpieces are conical shaped, it’s simple to tune up while playing by gently pushing or pulling one or the mouthpieces in or out of your embouchure. Eventually, the air gap between the two mouthpieces will get ‘filled in’ as you relax and get comfortable either standing or sitting.

My biggest problem was consistently finding good notes to play in any particular song with multi horns. This search consumed many hours of practising and trying things out and was nearly overwhelming at first. I tried several quick solutions by memorizing some fingering combinations for one or two of the pieces our show group played which got me through a lot of shows right away but soon became dissatisfied with this limitation. I wanted to automatically play what I was hearing on both horns just like I would on one horn. Playing two horns at once also deepened my understanding of harmony and chords because the two saxes needed to sound some part of a chord to fit what the band was playing. Gradually, I learned to play certain combinations of fingerings to get the kinds of two part chords that fit but still could not spontaneously play what I wanted to.

After the show group gig I worked in a small rock n’ roll band, The Dogs, which introduced me to another musical challenge. For Rock, I had to play in various weird and difficult keys that are not comfortable for saxophone, but since we were playing mostly blues or one chord type tunes, I had a chance to work out some more (strange) fingerings on the two saxes to play chords that worked in Rock. Although the other three guys in that rock band probably never knew it, I was secretly studying and trying things out in the background while they cranked out the loud but simple rock tunes. I was still unhappy with the fact that I had to work everything out ahead and couldn’t just play licks spontaneously and automatically in a creative way.

After about a year, the break through came when I realized that using horns in two different keys, i.e. a Bb sax and an Eb sax, was the whole problem. When working with a ‘C’ chord, it means having to play some part of a D chord on the Bb tenor and some part of an A chord on the Eb alto that would sound good when played together. It finally occurred to me that if both saxes were in the same key I’d only have to decide which two notes to use from just one chord instead of two! Since I could ‘hear’ best on the tenor, I decided to convert the alto sax to a ‘Bb’ instrument which meant creating a new set of fingerings for the alto. Thus the alto’s open C# became a new F#; it’s C (right middle finger) became a new F; it’s B (right index finger) became a new E; it’s A (right first two fingers) became a D and so on. This was even easier since my right hand was playing the upper part of the alto sax from it’s right side, which meant I was using all strange fingerings to begin with. Learning a new set of fingerings for the alto was quick and easy and from that point on everything just fell into place. Now, instead of trying to transpose and struggle with two different keys (Bb & Eb), all I have to do is find two good notes in just ONE KEY. I.e., if I hear a ‘C7’ chord as for the tenor, all I have to do is decide what two notes in a ‘C7’ chord to use. I could play (upper or lower register) C (root) on tenor and E (3^rd) on alto, or Bb (7^th) on tenor and E (3^rd) on alto, or G (5^th) on tenor and E (3^rd) on alto, or A (13^th) on tenor and C (root) on alto, or Bb (7^th) on tenor and D (9^th) on alto, and other combinations. There are even more possibilities within the upper and altissimo registers!

After working in a lot of Rock bands with their more difficult keys (E, D, B, A, etc.), I found myself playing in pop/jazz music settings where we played in comfortable keys like: C, Bb, F, Eb, G, Ab, etc. and soon I wanted to play some harmony notes that were not available because the alto’s range was too limited. In the key of concert F (the tenor’s G) I noticed that I needed a few more notes (B or Bb) from the alto sax to play good harmony with the tenor. The tenor’s range was from G up while the alto’s range was from C up so all I needed was a B or Bb from the alto to harmonize with the tenor’s G. It was obvious that I needed some extra keys on the alto to achieve more range to go with the tenor.

Glen Johnston soldered two long bass clarinet keys to the tops the alto’s lower F and F# keys that reached up just under my right pinky finger and I was able to close those two keys which gave me the B or Bb notes to harmonize the tenor’s G and up. Wow - it worked! Now I was able to get the sounds I wanted when playing in (my) G, as we often did. Sadly, those two long, soldered on clarinet keys fell off right away but they had given me a taste of the sounds I wanted so I tried “something different”.

Next I made up a little stick and cardboard model from my drawings of what seemed possible to build onto the alto to operate the lower F and F# keys from the right hand pinky. I took my horn and extra key model to repairman Larry Comeau at Baxter-Northrop Music to see if he’d help me make the new key system. I expected him to kick me out of his shop with my crazy ideas but was surprised when he became very enthused with my scheme. Larry drilled out the alto’s lower G# post and placed a long steel hinge rod through the alto’s G# to an added on post just above the F & F# keys to carry the new key system. He suggested I write to Selmer and ask for some right hand Eb/C key spatulas and hinge tubing for my Selmer alto. Larry also gave me a quick lesson in soldering and a bottle of flux. While waiting for a response from Selmer, I found some sheet brass at a scrap metal place and began planning my keys. Selmer sent me a nice assortment of the hinge tubing and the two right pinky spatula keys!

I was in a big hurry to get my keys working so I feverishly went to work cutting out key parts from the scrap brass with a coping saw and blind luck. Thanks to Larry’s help with silver soldering and a lot of trials, a working key system to operate the alto’s lower F & F# keys with my right pinky finger emerged! I also added a simple cross-over key to open the alto’s D palm key with my right index finger since the palm D is very difficult to reach from the right side. This system makes it possible for the alto to play some kind of harmony with the tenor throughout it’s left hand range including some of the altissimo register.

I am currently playing at jazz festivals and other things with The Nightblooming Jazzmen Dixieland/swing band (http://nightbloomingjazzmen.com/) which provides ample opportunities to play multi saxes. Sound bites are available at the website. One of the most interesting aspects of multi horn work is when it’s integrated into a horn section with one or more other horns (trumpet, trombone, sax, etc.). I love hearing the ensemble sound of multi horns and other instruments. It’s a lot of fun to do this and can be challenging if written into a horn section where the saxes can play note combinations that might sound ‘weird’ if played alone.

If you are a multi horn player, I hope to hear you play some time or hear from you. It's quite an adventure and I'd suggest you listen to some of these multi horn artists for inspiration and direction:
Rahsaan Roland Kirk, George Braith, Jeff Coffin, and some others you can find on the internet.

Good luck with your multi horn playing – it’s really fun.

Jim

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