Dexter Gordon played on a Conn 10m and a Dukoff BD Hollywood tenor saxophone mouthpiece during the Blue Note era until the mid-sixties. Bobby Dukoff made two different BD Hollywood tenor sax mouthpiece models during this time: a medium chamber and a large chamber. Please see:
http://www.theowanne.com/mouthpieces101/Duckoff.php.
There has always been a huge debate about which model BD Dukoff Dexter Played.
Jean Philippe Dubrun recently contacted me and shared that he has acquired a Dukoff BD Hollywood tenor mouthpiece stamped “DG Special” on the side. It’s a 6* tip opening, serial number V173. It has the large chamber, rounded inner side walls and a slight rollover baffle, so is definitely the large chamber BD Hollywood produced in 1949 which was made in two halves silver soldered together.
Could this be a ‘Dexter Gordon’ model? We believe it is, and if so, this answers the long time debate. Indeed, it seems Dexter played the large chamber Dukoff! Very Cool….and snicker…I always suspected as much!
September 6, 2008 at 6:00 pm |
Dexter’s tone has always come across to me as (pardon the subjective term) “honest”. While there’s certainly a time and place and NEED for the power and projection of a high baffle on tenor, I’d take a low-baffled large-chambered piece and a good sound man over a paint-peeler any day.
September 8, 2008 at 10:43 pm |
I’m with you, Ed! Dexter was my first tenor hero, and it was all about his sound. I agree with you that the BD/Link concept is ideal for those of us who value beauty and expression of sound over volume and projection. From there it’s just a matter of finding the right one- the “missing Link” as Bob Sheppard used to say to me.