**** Whatever happened to John Purcell?****
Oh man, Acman3! One of the most interesting, and also sad, stories in all of NYC-music-scene lore. I knew John peripherally due to mutual acquaintances and run-ins at various music-industry events. He was (is?) a respected jazz woodwind multi-instrumentalist with a reputation for being a real character with ideas that some considered truly off-beat. He also, sadly, has mental health problems and over the last several years has spent periods of times being institutionalized. A lot of John's controversial ideas have a great many parallels to what audiophiles go through. I have always felt that this aspect of being an instrumentalist has many parallels with audiophilia. You may find this story interesting; and my apology to anyone who finds this too much of a departure from the subject of this thread:
John believed (believes) that anything, and I mean ANYTHING, that you
do to an instrument, no matter how minute and seemingly unimportant, will have an effect on the sound produced by the instrument; that it's all about resonance. Sound familiar? While he was ridiculed by some players for some of these ideas (not I), others thought of him as a kind of genius. If you look at the credits on some of David Sanborn's records from the 90's, you will see John credited as "sound consultant"; Sanborn's sound, that is. I don't mean to bore you with this, but this is a wild experience that I had that was related to this:
There is a well-known instrument repair/set-up man in NYC who, for many years was David Sanborn's repairman. Other saxophone players knew that Mondays and Tuesdays were blocked out for David Sanborn, and it would be almost possible to get to see him on those days. Sanborn is known for being obsessive about the set-up of his instrument, and actually had this technician on retainer so that he could have him service his instruments whenever he wanted. I also use this same technician. One day, after a rehearsal, I needed to have an emergency repair done before the performance later that evening. Even though it was Tuesday, I called him and asked if he could squeeze me in. I got very lucky, as Sanborn and Purcell (who Sanborn always brought along as "consultant") had just stepped out for lunch. I ran to the repair shop and all of Sanborn's gear was there. Here is where it gets good, and how it relates to what audiophiles agonize over concerning tweaks, and wether they make an audible difference or not. Keep in mind that a saxophone is a mechanical instrument with many keys, each operated by a small metal needle spring, not much larger than a sewing needle (hence the name).
I will never forget this: On the technician's workbench were three cork pieces each about six inches square. Two of the cork squares were packed with many springs stuck in them. Off to one side was a third cork square with a single, lone spring stuck in it. I looked at the technician, and he smiled and I immediately knew: THAT WAS THE ONE! That was the one that sounded best.
The last I heard about John Purcell was from a colleague who told me that John had been spotted at an intersection on the Upper West Side of NYC screaming at traffic as it went by. Sad indeed.
