Please Help Me Replace My Stolen Sax
Donation protected
On May 22, 2019, my tenor saxophone was stolen from me on the subway train when I fell asleep after a late-night gig. Despite immediately filing a police report and enacting an extensive search of pawn shops and music instrument dealers, I haven’t been able to recover this extremely valuable horn.
My tenor saxophone was a 1966 Selmer Mark VI with serial no. 136619 that I originally purchased with the help of Houston Local AFM 65-699 in 2002 from USA Horn. The instrument changed my life in many ways. From the balanced fingering mechanism, to the crystalline intonation and tonal response, to the clarity achieved in the extreme registers, this rare instrument enabled me to execute at the highest levels of performance. Most importantly, the horn helped me develop a deeply personal saxophone sound that would become the foundation for my professional career.
I’ve been a professional saxophonist since I was 16 years old growing up in Texas. My first gigs were with my father, the late Joe Killian, a professional jazz pianist and organist whose career spanned more than 60 years. In 1998, I attended Texas State University and began gigging professionally in Austin, but I wasn’t content with being just a side musician; I wanted to be a creator, a composer and band leader, so at age twenty, I formed a quartet and soon after recorded my first album, “Straight Ahead” that featured my father as well as Dr. James Polk, my professor at Texas State and former musical director with Ray Charles on piano. Since then, in addition to appearing on dozens of albums as a guest artist, I’ve recorded two critically acclaimed albums of my original music for Sunnyside Records featuring some of the world's top jazz artists, including the late Roy Hargrove.
I started this GoFundMe to replace my horn and have chosen another Mark VI which is currently on sale at Roberto’s Winds in Manhattan. It costs $12,000. In some ways, this horn exceeds the playability of my stolen tenor. Whether we know each other already, or we have yet to meet, your support means the world to me. Thank you so much for your help, you are the heart from which my music comes from!
Sincerely,
Stan Killian
**************Critical Praise******************
“His is a voice filled with a mature gravitas that seems to emerge from a deeper sense of wisdom. His tone is resonant and echoes with mellow grandeur. His colors are rich and reflect the depths to which the tenor saxophone can reach, while still remaining accessible to encompass tender emotions. He plays in long, unbroken lines that weave in and out of lush melodies.”
Raul D’Gama Rose, All About Jazz, June 18, 2011
“Stan Killian sounds a hopeful note for jazz's future. Killian is more precisely of the Dexter Gordon sound that carried through in Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, and Wayne Shorter. Killian's debut album, Unified, is the stuff of the 1960s Blue Note factory: hard bop that's branching out into bossa nova, the New Thing, and groundbreaking harmonic language. It's great stuff that brings the past into the present, like any good jazz does.”
Michael J. West, Washington City Paper, May 19, 2011
“It is clear that Stan Killian has a unique voice in a jazz economy filled with wannabes, copycats and frankly lesser players. Killian displays technique, sound and sensibilities that only a player with a diverse array of experiences could possess.”
SaxShed.com
“Compositionally, Killian thinks about the direction of the tunes… Killian commands attention….”
Jon Ross, Downbeat, August 2011
“His playing is smart but unpretentious, logical yet unrestrained. That kind of balance is hard to achieve in jazz, and we’ll be lucky if he can keep it up for his next album.”
Brian Zimmerman JazzTimes May 3, 2011
“If you appreciate the work of jazz greats like Coltrane and Davis, Stan Killian is a player you should get to know”
Jon Neudorf, 4 stars, Sea of Tranquility May 5, 2011
“Texas-born Killian takes Sonny Rollin’s fluid approach, bulks it up and adds just a touch of that Texas tenor twang to it ... going up against a major figure like Hargrove, he proves that he belongs in that kind of company... [a] fully formed talent who has every right to be performing with the likes of Hargrove, Binney and Pelt"
S. Victor Aaron Something Else Reviews August 20, 2011
“He quickly reveals that he can play tempos others may not attempt.”
SaxShed.com
“Unified is a good name for a great album and it’s one of the most perfectly balanced, thoughtfully produced jazz albums I’ve heard in a while... This intrepid saxophonist is a force to reckon with.”
Nick Bewsey Jazz in Space June 26, 2011
“With enough on the ball to attract some stellar leaders to lend a hand as sidemen, he knows his stuff and proves his point.”
Midwest Record May 27, 2011
“Stan Killian makes an impressive debut as a leader with Unified …. Recommended”
4 stars, All Music May 5, 2011
“Killian can solo 'til the cows come home, but he has a strong sense of melody and the sure and certain knowledge that songs that swing are the backbone of jazz. With “Unified,” and selections such as “Twin Dark Mirrors” and “Window of Time,” Killian uses his considerable playing and writing chops to deliver music that challenges, but music that's accessible”.
Jim Beal Jr., My San Antonio, May 27, 2011
“Killian's own contributions as lead musician/writer are stylish and engaging, and the core quartets on the album demonstrate their ability to stand alone as musical ensemble, just as the album title suggests.”
Bruce Lindsay, All About Jazz, June 21, 2011
“This swerving style enables him to bend notes and approach melodic lines with hot harmonics that burn quietly, as the song lines unfurl, sometimes with much surprise. This keeps his entourage on edge and pushes them into reaching deeper into the pocket to come up with magical inventions, which keep the music alive and on edge... “Killian's music is a rich alchemy of abstract musical geometry and a concrete sense of the vivid narrative line that makes his muscular stories or musical paradigms accessible and even understood. But he also enlivens the music with a broad sense of wonder, as well as generous helpings of magic and mystery.”
Raul D’Gama Rose, All About Jazz, June 18, 2011
Here's a video of me playing a song I wrote called Hindu at the 55 Bar in NYC, my monthly residency where I play with my quartet.
A photo from the 55 Bar in NYC this month. Come see me every second Tuesday of the month!
My tenor saxophone was a 1966 Selmer Mark VI with serial no. 136619 that I originally purchased with the help of Houston Local AFM 65-699 in 2002 from USA Horn. The instrument changed my life in many ways. From the balanced fingering mechanism, to the crystalline intonation and tonal response, to the clarity achieved in the extreme registers, this rare instrument enabled me to execute at the highest levels of performance. Most importantly, the horn helped me develop a deeply personal saxophone sound that would become the foundation for my professional career.
I’ve been a professional saxophonist since I was 16 years old growing up in Texas. My first gigs were with my father, the late Joe Killian, a professional jazz pianist and organist whose career spanned more than 60 years. In 1998, I attended Texas State University and began gigging professionally in Austin, but I wasn’t content with being just a side musician; I wanted to be a creator, a composer and band leader, so at age twenty, I formed a quartet and soon after recorded my first album, “Straight Ahead” that featured my father as well as Dr. James Polk, my professor at Texas State and former musical director with Ray Charles on piano. Since then, in addition to appearing on dozens of albums as a guest artist, I’ve recorded two critically acclaimed albums of my original music for Sunnyside Records featuring some of the world's top jazz artists, including the late Roy Hargrove.
I started this GoFundMe to replace my horn and have chosen another Mark VI which is currently on sale at Roberto’s Winds in Manhattan. It costs $12,000. In some ways, this horn exceeds the playability of my stolen tenor. Whether we know each other already, or we have yet to meet, your support means the world to me. Thank you so much for your help, you are the heart from which my music comes from!
Sincerely,
Stan Killian
**************Critical Praise******************
“His is a voice filled with a mature gravitas that seems to emerge from a deeper sense of wisdom. His tone is resonant and echoes with mellow grandeur. His colors are rich and reflect the depths to which the tenor saxophone can reach, while still remaining accessible to encompass tender emotions. He plays in long, unbroken lines that weave in and out of lush melodies.”
Raul D’Gama Rose, All About Jazz, June 18, 2011
“Stan Killian sounds a hopeful note for jazz's future. Killian is more precisely of the Dexter Gordon sound that carried through in Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, and Wayne Shorter. Killian's debut album, Unified, is the stuff of the 1960s Blue Note factory: hard bop that's branching out into bossa nova, the New Thing, and groundbreaking harmonic language. It's great stuff that brings the past into the present, like any good jazz does.”
Michael J. West, Washington City Paper, May 19, 2011
“It is clear that Stan Killian has a unique voice in a jazz economy filled with wannabes, copycats and frankly lesser players. Killian displays technique, sound and sensibilities that only a player with a diverse array of experiences could possess.”
SaxShed.com
“Compositionally, Killian thinks about the direction of the tunes… Killian commands attention….”
Jon Ross, Downbeat, August 2011
“His playing is smart but unpretentious, logical yet unrestrained. That kind of balance is hard to achieve in jazz, and we’ll be lucky if he can keep it up for his next album.”
Brian Zimmerman JazzTimes May 3, 2011
“If you appreciate the work of jazz greats like Coltrane and Davis, Stan Killian is a player you should get to know”
Jon Neudorf, 4 stars, Sea of Tranquility May 5, 2011
“Texas-born Killian takes Sonny Rollin’s fluid approach, bulks it up and adds just a touch of that Texas tenor twang to it ... going up against a major figure like Hargrove, he proves that he belongs in that kind of company... [a] fully formed talent who has every right to be performing with the likes of Hargrove, Binney and Pelt"
S. Victor Aaron Something Else Reviews August 20, 2011
“He quickly reveals that he can play tempos others may not attempt.”
SaxShed.com
“Unified is a good name for a great album and it’s one of the most perfectly balanced, thoughtfully produced jazz albums I’ve heard in a while... This intrepid saxophonist is a force to reckon with.”
Nick Bewsey Jazz in Space June 26, 2011
“With enough on the ball to attract some stellar leaders to lend a hand as sidemen, he knows his stuff and proves his point.”
Midwest Record May 27, 2011
“Stan Killian makes an impressive debut as a leader with Unified …. Recommended”
4 stars, All Music May 5, 2011
“Killian can solo 'til the cows come home, but he has a strong sense of melody and the sure and certain knowledge that songs that swing are the backbone of jazz. With “Unified,” and selections such as “Twin Dark Mirrors” and “Window of Time,” Killian uses his considerable playing and writing chops to deliver music that challenges, but music that's accessible”.
Jim Beal Jr., My San Antonio, May 27, 2011
“Killian's own contributions as lead musician/writer are stylish and engaging, and the core quartets on the album demonstrate their ability to stand alone as musical ensemble, just as the album title suggests.”
Bruce Lindsay, All About Jazz, June 21, 2011
“This swerving style enables him to bend notes and approach melodic lines with hot harmonics that burn quietly, as the song lines unfurl, sometimes with much surprise. This keeps his entourage on edge and pushes them into reaching deeper into the pocket to come up with magical inventions, which keep the music alive and on edge... “Killian's music is a rich alchemy of abstract musical geometry and a concrete sense of the vivid narrative line that makes his muscular stories or musical paradigms accessible and even understood. But he also enlivens the music with a broad sense of wonder, as well as generous helpings of magic and mystery.”
Raul D’Gama Rose, All About Jazz, June 18, 2011
Here's a video of me playing a song I wrote called Hindu at the 55 Bar in NYC, my monthly residency where I play with my quartet.
A photo from the 55 Bar in NYC this month. Come see me every second Tuesday of the month!Organizer
Stan Killian
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY
