Elkhart, Indiana
C. G. Conn, Ltd.

Metal, leather, ebonite MPC
ca. 1941
Length: 28 in, Width: 9 in
Wind Instruments – Woodwind Instruments – Single Reed – Saxophone

Engraving back of bell 6M VIII Pat. App’d for / A / 304455  / L 
Engraving on bell “Made by: C.G. CONN LTD.  ELKHART, IND  (Lady’s Face)

This Conn Alto Sax Model 6M VIII in Eb was Artie Shaw’s swing-era Conn alto saxophone, circa 1941, which he played during the height of his fame.   According to the provenance, Artie said, “This saxophone plays beautifully and is possessive of a bigger sound than most similar Conn saxophones.” Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky (1910 –2004), grew up in a Jewish family in New Haven, Connecticut; his father was from Russia, his mother from Austria.  He first bought a saxophone by working in a grocery store and began learning the saxophone at 13. At 16, he switched to the clarinet and left home to tour with a band.  He was widely regarded as “one of jazz’s finest clarinetists and led one of the most popular big bands in the United States from the late 1930’s through the early 1940s.  In total, Shaw was an American clarinetist and saxophonist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction.

Since the first American cornet in 1875, C.G. Conn produced many “firsts” throughout its distinguished history: the first American saxophone, first double-bell euphonium, first sousaphone (built to Sousa’s specifications), and a long list of many others. C.G. Conn was purchased by Steinway Musical instruments in 2000 and in 2003 Steinway properties were merged into a subsidiary called Conn-Selmer.