Al McLean-tonal characteristics of a '53 Grafton alto on Sophisticated Lady

Here is a performance of Sophisticated Lady from 2015 featuring Al McLean (alto), Jim Doxas (drums) and Jason Davis (bass) recorded at Upstairs Jazz bar, Montreal Canada.  Al McLean performs on a 1953 Grafton alto which he painstakenly restored.  The trio dig deep into Ellington's ballad taking the time to let McLean bring out the darkness of this plastic horn with haunting melodic lines of the middle register and the essence of a shrill cry in the upper register courtesy of the alloy neck.  The performers give a masterclass in playing within the changes.

The Grafton Alto has always peaked my curiosity as a horn which could paint many different tonal characteristics not found in horns based on the classic french design.  Ornette and Bird knew something was special about these Italian-British masterpieces.  It's unfortunate the horn was only produced as an Alto and since the last horn was made the remaining tooling to manufacture them was sold for scrap.  These are no Vibrato Saxophones, they are the real deal!


More information on the Grafton from Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafton_saxophone