North American Saxophone Alliance, 2008 Biennial Conference

April 16-19th, 2008
University of South Carolina, Columbia SC

Simply an amazing event. Judy and I quickly realized that we had so much to learn. As non-native saxophone players, an event such as this can be incredibly beneficial. For those just entering the world of Sax, NASA is an fantastic resource to connect with.

A few highlights for us, Josh Thomas. What an amazing saxophonist. Josh is a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Saxophone Quartet. His performance of Deconstructing Eddie (yes - Van Halen), was incredible.

Hearing and seeing New Century Saxophone Quartet should be on any saxophonist or quartet's agenda. Their diversity is outstanding. Their showmanship, a real model for us. In particular, the take away from NCSQ is their homogenous sound. NCSQ's use of like instruments, reaffirmed the approach is worth the time and effort. All playing on Cannonball Saxophones, their sound is like no other group I have heard.

After hearing NCSQ, I auditioned a Cannonball A5-HS. This alto was a pure surprise to me. The tone is unique, full and rich. And the feel of the instrument vibrating when playing is an awesome instrumental experience. I found myself loving what was coming out of the bell. While I loved the sound, I did not like the left side plate key mechanism. Moving from C# to B to Bb etc, was not smooth for me. The mechanism was considerably less mature than found on Yanagisawa instruments. And, I questioned how well the finish would endure over time. I also had an adjustment issue with the octave key. It "derailed" from the neck mounted retainer. While an adjustment would have addressed that, it still seemed like a weak area for the instrument. However, I could recommend the horn for the money. For $2K, the instrument has an amazing sound.

Events like this can lead to much more than just what you experience at the event. We took lots of notes on quartet setups, highlighted music we wanted to order, listened to NCSQ with a level of detail we had not in the past (and now have a tune of theirs on our repertoire list) and connected with past friends and teachers (Dr. Joseph Murphy). We are looking forward to the next event!