When I want to listen to "real blues sax" I listen to: Noble "Thin Man" Watts (some recordings on his own), Bobby Forte (Percy Mayfield, Charles Brown ... ), Oliver Sain (St Louis, A&R man, Fontella Bass ... ), Erskin Oglesby (Little Milton, Ike Turner, Albert King), J.T. Brown (Chicago, Elmore James, redordings on his own), Maxwell Davis (LA, A&R man, Father Of the West Coast R&B, T99 Nelson, Amos Milburn, recordings on his own), AC Reed (Buddy Guys, Albert Collins, recordings on his own) and Eddie Shaw(Chicago, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, recordings on his own). Its just Eddie Shaw that still in life!!
I also think the Keilwerth sound (not the Taiwan Keilwerths) is differnt compared to most other contemporary brands. From what I know it's just Sax Gordon (among the sudgested players) who is blowing on a Keilwerth made sax. His saxes are H.Couf I. I think they have "rolled/lip" toneholes. Couf II has straight toneholes. The story says that Keilwerth, Nauheim, did the body and neck and let Dörfler & Jörka (a small firm in former West Germany) to make and install the keys and to do the set-up. UMI/Conn also sold a DJH modifed sax in the 80's. But Sax Gordons sax is a kind of hybrid: Body is H.Couf I, neck is a reforced Selmer MKVI. Most of the pearls are gone and he has replaced them with coins from all over the world. His is blowing into a huge RPC mpc (no baffle) and his use Rico std reeds #5. It needs a real dedicated person to blow a setup like that! I think this explains his big sound. Great player and the loudest I have ever heard.
There are lots other good contemporary bluessax players wating for us !!! I listen to King Curtis, Jr Walker, Red Prysock ,,,, but they are so good that I don't get inspired to play myself.
Thomas
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