Review: "The Legendary Saxophonists Collection"
: Edward Lefebre
A few months ago I received an email from Bryan Kendall, who offered
his Legendary Saxophonists Collection. Being curious
what this was about I replied and explained to him that anyone can
advertise his/her classical saxophone CD on this website for free;
the only thing I want in return is a copy of the CD. So far this
has been a great way for me to help other musicians out, and as
a reward, I get a free collection of Saxophone CDs! Afterwards, I took my mobile phone and called some friends and told them my story.
Some weeks later I received a package from Honduras with a CD from
this Collection. Surprisingly the requested CD seems to be burned
on a home computer (not professionally pressed), and the cover seems
to come straight out of a (cheap) home printer.
No
copyright notices were to be found on the CD (except for the hand
written do not copy). I did find the following notice on his website
though:
"Disclaimer: This catalog is solely the responsibility
of Bryan Kendal; Wade E. Walker, Jr., has no part of the operations
or ownership of THE LEGENDARY SAXOPHONISTS COLLECTION, nor receives
any compensation. Wade E. Walker, Jr. is not responsible for any
legal issues involving the recordings. For any information regarding
items on this page please contact Bryan Kendal at the email address
below."
Hmm. Not sure what to think of all this. I emailed Bryan back,
saying that his CD looks rather cheap but that I am willing to put
the CD on the site. After a few more e-mail exchanges he decided
he didn't want to have anything to do with my website anymore (see
more below).
About the music
There are four tracks on this CD. Together they have a total playing
time of 10 minutes and 17 seconds. Although the quality of the recordings
are pretty bad (the originals were cylinder recordings from about
1890) and it is very hard to distinguish the saxophone sound from
the band (Lefebre is playing 'in' the Patrick Gilmore Band, no solos),
the CD is still interesting to hear, and the cover does give helpful
information.
Donate or not to donate....
According to an earlier email message, Bryan Kendall also donates
complete sets to Universities and Conservatories:
[...] we donate complete sets to Universities and Conservatoriers.
(We have just shipped complete sets to the Paris Conservatory
and the National Library of France.)
When I asked him if he could send a set to the Victoria
Conservatory of Music (where I work) and the UBC School of Music
(Vancouver, where I am working on my DMA), he reacted all upset:
The decision to donate or not to donate is in the realm of
myself and our group of volunteers. It does not involve any decision
of yours [..].
I, quite simply, find the tone of your correspondance unpleasant.
I would appreciate it if you do not write me again.
So much for his marketing skills. I probably offended him with
my earlier email, saying that the CD looks cheap. Well, too bad,
his CD really does look cheap compared with all other CDs that saxophonists
have send me so far!
My advice
If you are serious about buying this collection I would suggest
to contact Bryan Kendall first, to find out what the full story
is behind this collection: is this a carefully (legal and of a reasonable
quality) produced set of saxophone CDs or is he selling copies that
are made with a home computer and a printer? You can order just
one of the CDs he is advertising to see if you like the quality
of the product he is offering: the complete sets seem like a lot
of money for copies made on what appears to be a home computer.
Erik Abbink
Bryan Kendall can be contacted by email and phone (see one of his
websites, http://www.c-melody.com/ - http://www.c-melody.org/ -
http://www.c-melody.net/ - http://mysite.verizon.net/res8o1o8/cmelody.htm
)
*If anyone does claim to have the copyrights of this recording
and has problems with the small excerpt on my website, please contact
me as soon as possible and I will remove the snippet if needed.
No
copyright notices were to be found on the CD (except for the hand
written do not copy). I did find the following notice on his website
though: