The World’s Largest Saxophone (Sep, 1930)
The World’s Largest Saxophone
THERE is plenty of music in this horn. Standing six feet, seven inches in height, this saxophone is believed to be the largest in the world. In spite of its height it may be played from a sitting position—provided the musician is sufficiently expert.
The 30’s seemed to be a period where giant stuff was in vogue. Ignoring functional item like giant cranes to construct ever larger structures (or in the case above giant faces). It seems odd that in a period of general want so much effort would be put into such useless items.
Or it could be The World’s Smallest Saxophonist…
Or – “Nice to see Incredible Shrinking Man on euphonium”
http://www.youtube.com/…
at 1:40min
wonder was she in to black men…
I bet it took a bit of effort to do a shop back then.
My bro told me about this and i looked at this and the soprillo at http://www.soprillo.com
This is a contrabass saxophone in double E flat (EEb). About two dozen were made by the Buffet company in Paris during the 1920s, and at least one more by an Italian firm called Stowasser.
There are at least 6 of this group still known today. They weigh about 45 lb apiece and the bells are 17″-18″ across. The range goes down to the low Db on a piano keyboard. One of them is used regularly in the Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra. It was supposedly found abandoned in a condemned building that had once housed a music store.
Contrabass saxes today are made by Romeo Orsi in Italy and Benedikt Eppelsheim in Germany, including a compact model called the Tubax.