Mauriate Endorser - FWIW

[sweetsax]

Hey guys, I know none of the members here would ever favor a sax simply because a certain pro player endorses them, but I saw Daren Rahn at Jazz At Jacks in Denver on Saturday night and on tenor, he was playing his P. Mauriat with the straight tone holes.

He sounded awesome! He was backing up Tim Bowman (guitar) who is doing a small tour to promote his new smooth jazz album. I normally am NOT a fan of smooth jazz, but they were using Nelson Rangel's rythym section and those guys flat out rock!!

Anyway, I just thought it was a pleasant suprise to see a pro actually playing a sax they endorse. We always wonder if those pros who supposedly endorse a sax are just talking money for their sponsorship, but play a mark 6 for gigs and recordings. I have a Nelson Rangel CD, and on the jacket it says "Nelson Rangel plays Yamaha saxophones." I have been seeing him play in Denver for years and he clearly plays mark 6s. (his soprano might be a yama, but his alto and tenor are 6s for sure)

I won't try to explain the exact sound Daren was getting from his Mauriat. Those descriptions can be very subjective, and this was not an acoustic gig so the sound equipment obviously plays a big factor in the sound. All I can say is he sounded great! I didn't get a chance to talk to him after the show so I didn't find out what set-up he was using. His other saxes were: alto - mark 6, and soprano sc991.

[Russ]

I'm glad I popped in now because earlier today I was looking at Darren Rahn's website whilst digging for P Mauriat reviews - All his press shots were of a Yanagisawa ( to my untrained eye) . Whilst there, I downloaded his track 'Heartbreak'. What a killer !

I wonder when we'll see these horns this side of the pond (UK) ?

You're dead right. It IS nice to hear that some pro players actually PLAY the horns they endorse.

[deblcooper]

I wonder when we'll see these horns this side of the pond (UK) ?



Hi Russ,

Well, you could hop on a Wideroe flight, we have them here in Norway. I am sure someone will pick them up soon in the UK.

[Joe Jazz]

I have 8 Nelson Rangell CD's and indeed was always under the impression he played Yamaha's as pictured. Haven't seen him in person in years, unfortunately. He's always been one of my favorite smooth jazz artists. Hard to beat his first CD "Playing for keeps". My wife named one of her previous bands after it.........

[sweetsax]

I have 8 Nelson Rangell CD's and indeed was always under the impression he played Yamaha's as pictured. Haven't seen him in person in years, unfortunately. He's always been one of my favorite smooth jazz artists. Hard to beat his first CD "Playing for keeps". My wife named one of her previous bands after it.........

Hey Joe,
I've lived in the Denver area all my life, so I have seen him a lot around town. Even though I am not the biggest fan of smooth jazz, his live stuff is just awesome. I know I sound redundant, but he's got this young rythym section that just brings it every night.

His new CD just came out called "My American Song Book." Apparently it's got a lot of the harder funk and rock type stuff that he plays at his live gigs. He does everything from Bird and Miles, to Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles. The last few times I saw him live, he did this funked-up version of "Come Together" that just killed me.

Anyway, I am pretty positive the only yamaha he plays is his soprano - looks like it is either a 61 or older 62 with the one-peice body. What was interesting though is that one day last summer, I went into a local music store downtown to test out a Yani A991. When I asked the guy behind the counter if I could play it, he said "Oh, you're a little late, Nelson Rangell was just in here 10 minutes ago and borrowed it for a recording session."

I wonder why he would borrow that sax to record instead of using his VI?????

[Hurling Frootmig]

On the topic of guys who endorse and play what they endorse.

We have a couple of young players in the Chicago area who are Yamaha artists and they do actually play the horns. The first guy is Frank Catalano. Cool guy who plays the Yamaha 82Z and also endorses Vandoren. Uses all of the stuff that he actually endorses. More importantly he can flat out play. Very modern tone and interesting musical ideas in his solos.

The other guy is Shawn Costantino. I gathered he was a Yamaha young artist or something. He works with some of the local kids and went to DePaul. He was playing a Yamaha 82Z alto and had an old 61 tenor. I thought his alto playing was pretty good and showed a lot of potential. His tone was really nice and I would like to hear more of him down the road.

[Morry]

In general, endorsements mean nothing. Some artists get free horns, some get paid to play a particular horn, some get paid to pose in an ad with a particular horn, and another few endorse them simply because they like the way the horn plays. It is impossible to know into which category a particular artist falls.

Try them all and play what you like.

[saxboy]

Morry, you are partly right.
I do have to say that I have not heard of anyone getting a free horn lately, and would guess a signature model might be an exception but why wouldn't a guy want to play a sax made exaclty for him?
I endorse and play Yamaha for 15 years now. Every Artist deal I have ever heard of is cost, not free. It means very little actual savings when you realize only morons pay retail.
The loose area is the up start companies. I would guess a new sax maker would pay to have a famous guy play their sax, but I would only be guessing.
For the most part, guys are trying to get endorsements far more than the companies need or want. It is supply and demand. I see every sax player walk in looking for a deal to boost their career. I don't see the sax companies busting to sign anyone. That's just my view of the situation.
As far as the TRUTH.
I had a Yamaha intern email me for a list of who plays what and I told him no one really knows. The print marketing is vague, the sax players dont really care and the information is always changing.
I do know that these companies seem happy to say whatever the want and dont seem to want to hear or know that XYZ is never seen with there precious sax.

"Try them all and play what you like."

Now that couldn't be said better. I know I did and do...

SAXBOY
www.saxreviews.com

[Morry]

Greg,

I have talked to a number of folks with ties to various artists with deals, and they have gotten grossly different deals as endorsers. Some of this info also came from a dealer friend who has known many endorsing artists over the years.

One example might be Tower of Power. They are Yamaha artists. The latest lead tenor player, Tom Politzer recently finally made the switch to a Custom 875B. He was hesitant to do so, and played a SBA before that. There's no way that getting a horn at cost is any kind of incentive to him, since he didn't want it in the first place. But the horn section is an endorsing artist as a whole, so he had to make the switch. If there wasn't some other kind of deal to sweeten the pot, I don't see why he would have ever made the move, or any of the other section members for that matter.

A local player here was a L.A. Sax endorsing artist a few years back. Up until that time, he had a stable of Mark VI saxes. He sold them all when he got the endorsement. Getting a set of L.A. Saxes at cost could not possibly be any incentive if you already have a closet full of Mark VIs. BTW, he is no longer with them.

I also don't believe that Phil Woods endorses the Yamaha 82Z just to get a horn at cost. Companies would line up around the block to give him free horns (plus cash) to play their brand.

My dealer friend told me about a famous clarinet player with a big band had his picture in a trade magazine endorsing a Conn clarinet. The artist admitted that he only played the first tune of each concert on the Conn, then immediately switched to the R13. Obviously, there had to be cash involved, because he didn't enjoy playing the horn at all.

[saxboy]

Morry,
Nice to see you posting on my heels. Like what you have to say and would have to say your like an old friend here at SOTW.

All I can say is - COULD BE?

I work with a lot of these endorsing guys and my circle (mid and young more commercial artists) is all I know. I don't hang with the few remaining legend dudes. (dang it)

COULD BE - don't know.

SAXBOY

[Bill Mecca]

A good friend of mine used to endorse a particular brand of sax, he had to pay for the horn (I hated to tell him it was more than most would pay on the street...but that is another story) what he got out of it was the publicity on the makers website, print ads etc, as they say the only bad publicity is no publicity.

BTW: He later sold the tenor of that brand, had them refinish his Selmer, and used that and later he got and still has their soprano, but I don't think he has the endorsement deal any longer. Think about it, what is the cost of buying an ad in the major mags?

[Morry]

Bill,

I agree to some extent. However, I wouldn't think that guys like Phil Woods need the publicity. I could be wrong. And often am.