It feels like the tone is coming from a bigger, deeper instrument, but in the alto register, which is really remarkable. Cannonball’s tone, I always think of as a tenor saxophone reincarnated in the body of an alto, and that’s pretty much what a Super 20 alto like this allows. It’s warm, full, rich, and projecting, but without any hint of shrillness or thinness.
KING SUPER 20 ALTO 1955 FULL
For me, great tone that you get from these full pearls Super 20’s is pretty hard to beat. Why do I say that Super 20’s like this are the best altos ever? The overall combination of tone, beauty, and ergonomics.
KING SUPER 20 ALTO 1955 SERIAL
Cannonball played almost exactly this serial alto on Kind of Blue. You really can get the Cannonball Adderley vibe going on one of these (with lots of practice) better than almost anything else. This is the ‘Series II’ which has the best combination of beauty, features, and key work of all of the Super 20 altos. It is in great shape, with no serious past repairs at all.
This King Super 20 alto is from just about the most desirable year, 1952, which is the same version and serial of Super 20 that Cannonball Adderley played on Kind of Blue and Somethin’ Else. This means it got many hours of painstaking labor done to make the mechanism all factory fresh, and to replace everything that can be replaced so that it is back to new playing condition and pad wise. It now performs great and will be ready to go for many many years to come with only regular maintenance needed. It just got a full, fresh, high-end overhaul, done by the highly-skilled Jan Olsen (Norway). This one has original lacquer and looks good in a played in way, with the only past repair being a resoldered low C key guard.
King altos are the best altos ever, full stop.
0 kommentar(er)
