Grafton Plastic Saxaphone - Antique, full working order

"Charlie Parker

The most notable player of a Grafton saxophone was Charlie Parker. While in Toronto, Charlie Parker and “the quintet” were scheduled to perform at Massey Hall, but Parker had pawned his saxophone - some sources say to buy heroin. A sales representative for Grafton (or the owner of the company, depending upon from whom one receives the story) asked Parker to use a Grafton for a Massey Hall gig in May of 1953. Although Parker was under exclusive contract to use only one type of saxophone whilst gigging in the United States, outside the U.S.A. he was free to use any sax he wished, including this Grafton. The recording of Parker (credited as Charlie Chan due to contract issues) can be heard on the CD "Jazz at Massey Hall" with Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus and Max Roach. The Grafton saxophone that Parker used (serial number 10265) was sold at the Christie's auction house in London in September 1994 for £93,500 sterling, though this was because of its association with a famous jazz musician rather than the instrument itself having any special merit. The buyer was the American Jazz Museum, located in Parker's home town of Kansas City, Missouri.

John Dankworth

English jazz composer, saxophonist and clarinetist John Dankworth was an early endorser. The Grafton company provided him with two altos, specially customised to his requirements. During the Festival of Britain in 1951, the "John Dankworth Seven" (with Dankworth playing a Grafton) performed at the newly-opened Royal Festival Hall in London.

Ornette Coleman

Ornette Coleman used to play a Grafton (that he purchased in 1954) originally because it was the cheapest saxophone he could replace his first tenor with after it was broken. In the late fifties and early sixties, Coleman was sometimes known as "the man with the plastic horn". However, Coleman subsequently replaced his Grafton with a white-lacquered Selmer alto instead" - Wikipedia

Please contact me for postage as it is being shipped from Australia..

The prices listed here is just a guide, it will depend on the location of the buyer.

Insurance is essential, not optional!