I did something for the first time in my life that filled me with fear and excitement....no, not skydiving (though you may know that I did this for the first time a few months back at Skydive Santa Barbara)  I had my saxophone overhauled.  It wasn't as traumatic an experience as jumping out of an airplane, or as I thought it would be (sending my vintage Mark VI Tenor to be disassembled and given an extreme makeover cost a bit more than the jump but didn't risk my life), but I'm pretty sure that was because I knew it was in good hands.  I met Paul Maslin when I was 17 or 18 and he was fixing horns in his basement apartment in Evanston, IL--and as I far as I knew, the only person in the Chicago area who you should let near your horn.  Fast forward a few years, a few more cities I've lived in, and a move down the street for Paul to his current storefront location at 822 Custer Ave in Evanston, and he's still the only one I've found who I'll allow to make his mark on the VI. 

Maybe it's because his work is so good, because when I got the horn back the kangaroo leather pads sealed with the gentle pop that I've only heard on new saxophones, because the tension of the blue steel springs was just right.  Maybe it was because the horn didn't clink and clatter as it had ever since I've owned it, and played so well that I just couldn't play it cool in front of Paul, I couldn't help but put on a dopey grin like a little kid getting to have all the candy he ever wanted.  It might be because of all of those things, but really, I think it's because I feel like Paul knows me, because every time I head into his store to get my horn looked at (by appointment only) he fixes it while chatting with me about life, saxophone, music, my life in LA, and our common friends--the conversation only being interrupted when he wants me to give the horn a try to see if I like what he's doing, which I almost always do--and if I don't, he knows exactly how to remedy that.  

Even though Paul's clients come from all over to get their fancy saxophones playing better than ever, and there are probably hundreds of them, he always takes the time to get to know you a little better, get to know your saxophone, and make sure you know he thinks you're cool and that you're welcome back to hang out with him any time.  

All that being said--I've never been so inspired by a saxophone as I am by the one Paul overhauled for me.  The tone, the response, the mechanics, I could go on and on.  Maybe I'll get my alto done too, but not before I go skydiving again. Click here to go to the website for Paul's shop, PM Woodwind.