Sax-o-logy

It’s magical sound conjures up the night club scene in Bollywood films. Music directors think there is something sexy about it and looks like many young Mumbaikars seem to have abandoned the guitar to pick it. It is the Saxophone, an instrument which is slowly gaining popularity among city slickers. And Kenny G’s performance in Mumbai has just swayed a few more to take up the Sax.

23-year-old Terence Hayden didn’t want to play the guitar. “I always did things that were different. So, when I decided to take up an instrument, I chose the Sax over the guitar and the piano, which every second person knows to play,” he says. But the Saxophone doesn’t come cheap. Although an Indian Sax would cost you Rs3500 it is the imported Sax that starts at Rs17000 and can go up to Rs1 lakh. which is supposed to be the more trusted, sweeter sounding instrument. Joseph Gomes of Furtados Music India says that there has been a constant increase in the demand for the Saxophone. But he’s worried that there aren’t too many teachers that can teach the wind instrument. Terence who has just started to pick up a few notes plans to let Youtube videos teach him. 19-year-old Rhys Dsouza on the other hand has been playing the instrument for 3 years now. “I am mostly self-taught. I want to master the Saxophone and then teach when I am older,” he says. Rhys doesn’t deny female attention. “The girls say the sax is so hot. I don’t know where that leaves me.” Ask Ryan Sadri, Sax player of the band, Something Relevant about Sax appeal and he’ll tell you that he has no complaints when women rank him way up on the hotness quotient. Ryan who has tried his hand at the guitar and the piano thinks the Sax is a way more satisfying instrument. The sound is soul stirring music for him.

Unlike America, where you’ll find people playing the Saxophone on the streets to earn a quick buck, in Mumbai, there are a very few talented Sax players like Mickey Correa, Joe Pereira (popularly known as Jazzy Joe), Giovanni and Braz Gonsalves. They perform solo or as part of their bands at the Bombay Chamber Orchestra, Blue Frog and NCPA.

So if you weren’t already inspired by Lisa Simpson and Kenny G, visit these popular jaunts in the city to hear Rhys Dsouza and Ryan Sadri play. They might just convince you to get your own golden beauty.