Comments:
Most people (if they're lucky) have never heard of a sopranino saxophone. It is pitched in Eb, above the soprano. It is the smallest and most obnoxious member of the standard saxophone family. When I joined the Night Blooming Jazzmen in 2001, I found myself working with Jim Richardson, who could play alto and tenor sax at the same time - extremely well. I began doubling on soprano (my main instrument was the piano) and Jim and I began playing solos on three saxes. Then I thought: this would be even more silly with four saxes. I tried to play alto and soprano at the same time - but it didn't work. I had a curved alto and a straight soprano. There no way to hold them to my mouth in a way that I could get a tone on both. I thither had to buy a churned soprano or a straight sopranino. Since I could not justify a second soprano, I went for the sopranino. I bought this at the NAMM show but it wasn't cheap. No one made a student model sopranino. I had to pay $750 for mine - which was still quite a bargain. I was then able to get tones on the soprano and sopranino simultaneously - but not great tone! I ended up using the sopranino alone.