A thread about the Aulochrome - a newfangled saxomothingymcventionbob

Lovano describes the instrument and introduces an excerpt from his new album @ about the 10:30 mark in this segment of today's Soundcheck:

http://audio.wnyc.org/soundcheck/soundcheck072406c.mp3

I know nothing about the album (other than that it's out next week) or the instrument, but I suspect that, after five years of existence, it's bound for the curiosity pile, alongside the stritch and manzello.

Davey Payne to thread.

Aw, you mean it's not going to be the latest craze?

I thought it sounded awesome, in any case.

The latest craze:

http://img22.exs.cx/img22/3806/rufus12mx.jpg

I've heard some jazz bagpipe stuff I really dig, but I think its harmonic limitations are, uh, well, limitations. Whereas the aulochrome only expands the possibilities.

I've only had limited experience with woodwinds, so I'd rather defer to someone who knows better, but I'd think the possibilities are only slightly expanded, since you're still fingering with ten fingers — that's the problem I had with Rahsaan, in that I'd rather hear him use all ten fingers on one tenor instead of having what would seem to be a limited number of notes available via fingering two different horns.

i.e. it's not the same as the expanded possibilities you have when playing a Chapman Stick or other touch-style guitar.

I liked the little Lovano snippet, though, and I'm curious to hear more.

Apparently it does open some possibilities that two separate saxophones don't have:

The double mouthpiece is made of two separate elements placed together. The tone chambers are different, enabling independant harmonization in the two pipes.

The particular attention to the acoustics of this instrument opens up vast new possibilities to saxophonists.

It allows producing differential tones (a virtual bass note resulting from the difference of the frequencies of the two notes of one interval) as well as additional tones, extending the lower register far below the deepest note determined by the length of the pipes.
Also, a tiny “mistuning” of the unison generates beats; players can control the rhythm of the pulsations.

All of this creates new tone effects by totally acoustic means and offers the possibility of playing contrapuntal lines.

What's a good Rasaan Roland Kirk number where he does the two saxophone thing? I've been told about this but never actually heard it.

"Volunteered Slavery"...?

That looks pretty sweet. Although really, the last thing sax players need is more notes.

were i a rich man, don dietrich and jim sauter would each receive one of these in the mail with a note: "bells together II."