FRANCOIS DE RIBAUPIERRE

"Through the year, looking for the sound I had in mind, I’ve been playing a lot of different vintage tenors, Conn, King, Buescher, Selmer and I loved each one for their own unique voice and feel, which I thought was to be found only in saxophones of the past. I’ve been tempted by Borgani saxophones since the day I tried them a decade ago while studying at the Brussels Conservatory.
When I first contact Orfeo Borgani, he kindly offered me to try one of his « Vintage » Tenor for a couple of weeks to get me used to the Borgani saxes, and invited me to visit his Factory. Being in Macerata I met the very nice people of the Factory and had a chance to try all their Saxophones two days long ! What an experience ! I was really amazed how all the different tenors had their own voice and own way of playing.
The visual and cosmetic aspect taken apart, all the alloys had a very special sound, a particular overtones structure, projection and resistance. Trying all of them was like going through a sonic kaleidoscope !
The Pearl Silver Tenor was the one that appealed the more to me (but I could have taken any of them home !). For me it offers a lot of tonal possibilities and a very wide range of dynamics. It really opens new musical landscapes.
The Sopranos made a very strong impression on me too.
Finally I found a new Soprano that sounded like a proud member of the saxophone family. No more compromise was made on intonation and keywork, the sound was big and warm and the horn free blowing ! My personal choice was the Pearl Silver (again !) with a sterling silver bell, which focused the sound a bit more and gave an extra resonance to it.

Many thanks to Orfeo Borgani and his staff for helping me find new dimensions in the art of saxophone playing. These people really care about quality and are very serious developing new concepts of sound for the saxophone."

Francois De Ribaupierre (www.francois-de-ribaupierre.de)

Country: Svizzera