P Mauriat Grand Dreams 285 Alto Saxophone This is an incredibly kind donation from private owner, Peter James. Totally immaculate with original case, crook, mouthpiece and even reed! Thank you, Peter! 2019 Review The Grand Dreams alto is the latest addition to the P Mauriat range and comes in a visually striking cognac lacquer. Solidly built, it has all the Mauriat traits, but with a new right and left-hand stack key layout, together with an adjustment of the palm key heights and a very responsive improved flush octave key. A super 6 neck, mother-of-pearl finger pieces and metal reflectors over the leather pads complete the picture. The key positioning is certainly more ergonomic and, along with a nicely balanced action, the Grand Dreams is a breeze to play. The top front F and Es responded extremely well and the right ‘pinky’ keys are perfectly situated, while players with smaller hands will find the positioning of the C and Eb keys a real plus. The pre-impregnated cork is a nice feature, and our Meyer 5 mouthpiece (fitted with a Jazz Select 3 reed) slipped on easily. The Grand Dreams is about as free-blowing as it can get and holds its voice all the way through the register. Altissimo was effortless and the sotto voce very impressive. The sonic palette is, however, not typically Mauriat. Though there is an underlying richness and warmth to the sound, the Grand Dreams has a lively brightness and more bite to its tone than that of its stablemates. It comes in the now standard shaped semi-rigid denier covered case with a 3/4 zip, grab handles to the top and side, along with eight heavy-duty nylon/rubber feet. There are large gusseted pockets to both side panels, with one having a very useful smaller ‘hidden’ interior zippered pocket, together with a pen pocket run and another, smaller zippered pouch pocket to the upper outside face. The shaped velour covered interior has a separate neck pocket and a hidden pouch set into the base of the case for mouthpiece, reeds and other accessories. But, perhaps the most unusual and welcome fixture was the quality neck strap with its padded leatherette halter and adjustable sling with its solid slip lock. To say we were impressed would be an understatement. The Grand Dreams marks a major advancement for Mauriat and it all comes at a remarkably competitive price – just a tad over £2,000!

Zetland Tenor Saxophone Absolutely brand new. Boxed. With case and Yamaha 4C mouthpiece. This horn has been kindly donated by Tom at Headwind Muisc in Bristol. Thanks so much! Zetland are solid, punchy and astoundingly easy to play. When coupled with the right mouthpiece the tone is on par with most professional model instruments on the market. “The action and intonation felt great on the Zetland, not to mention how free and easy blowing it is. Cracking student sax.”

Windcraft WAS-110 Alto Saxophone This brand new instrument was kindly donated by Sam at Dawkes Music. THE go to saxophone and brass shop in West London. They also put on live events. It’s a revolutionary place! Thanks a million, Sam! This premium quality student Alto Saxophone would be ideal to get started on. Designed to be easy to play and super-reliable, the Windcraft brand is the result of years of expertise. The instrument comes with a lightweight yet protective case, an easy to play mouthpiece, a couple of spare reeds, cleaning equipment and a 5 year UK warranty. If you've ever wanted to start playing the Saxophone this is the ideal instrument!

One year’s membership of the world renowned Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in the vibrant heart of Soho, London. (Book price £375). Comes in a very cool, jet black package. Benefits include: Priority booking, 20% off shows, queue jumping (!), free cloakroom, free entrance to the upstairs bar, free late, late shows, exclusive private shows, free bottle of champagne if you introduce a new member. Delivery / Collection International delivery included

One year’s membership of the world renowned Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in the vibrant heart of Soho, London. (Book price £375). Comes in a very cool, jet black package. Benefits include: Priority booking, 20% off shows, queue jumping (!), free cloakroom, free entrance to the upstairs bar, free late, late shows, exclusive private shows, free bottle of champagne if you introduce a new member. Delivery / Collection International delivery included

One year’s membership of the world renowned Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in the vibrant heart of Soho, London. (Book price £375). Comes in a very cool, jet black package. Benefits include: Priority booking, 20% off shows, queue jumping (!), free cloakroom, free entrance to the upstairs bar, free late, late shows, exclusive private shows, free bottle of champagne if you introduce a new member. Delivery / Collection International delivery included

Thanks again to Sam at Dawkes for putting this into the raffle. They run live events throughout the year. If you’re the winner of this ticket then let them know which event you would like to see and bring a friend or partner.

10 tickets for the Isle of Wight Jazz Weekend 15th - 18th of September. These tickets have been kindly donated by the director, Jim Thorn. Thanks Jim! All the events at the weekend or separately ticketed so you can either go and see 10 yourself or 5 if there’s two of you! Or 3.33 if there’s three of you… It’s a great lineup this year. Check the website for details. https://www.iwjazzweekend.co.uk/lineup/all-events.php