On Monday, June 17, 2017 Joshua Smith's tenor saxophone was stolen in San Francisco California.

Those who know Joshua know him as a lifelong tenor saxophonist, and devoted performer of jazz and creative music, who has abided by the ebb and flow of surviving from making music for a living. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, he currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where he performs regularly at jazz clubs, restaurants, private events, and concerts in the jazz in creative music realms, teaches music lessons, and raises his 4 year old son Shiloh. Joshua has played a 1952 Selmer Super Balanced Action Tenor Saxophone for the past 21 years. It is his primary instrument and has been a part of just about every gig Joshua has played. If you've heard Joshua play straight ahead jazz, or with his acclaimed band "birth", you have heard this horn. It has been his talisman, and he has breathed 21 years of honest, expansive, and thought provoking music through it. It's also the main tool for earning his living as a saxophonist.

His jazz website is www.JoshuaSmithSaxophone.com

"I am in shock and fairly devastated to be parted from my instrument. I feel like part of me is missing as I constantly look around to double check for it like a phantom limb."

"I got the horn when I was 16 years old. (I'm now 37). I was visiting New York City with my parents to look at music schools, and found my war-torn Selmer Super Balanced Action at Manny's music on 48th Street in Manhattan.

It was the only used horn on site and it was in pretty rough shape. I had been lucky enough to meet the well-known jazz saxophonist Mark Turner who was so kind and generous to meet me in Manhattan that day to check out the horn, as I did not feel ready to assess the quality of the horn, being inexperienced in purchasing saxophones. What Mark found when he arrived at Manny's that day was a saxophone in deep need of repair and love and a 16-year-old aspiring jazz musician who would provide it just that. I was so happy to have a Selmer of that vintage and even though it was a bit ragged, I was over the moon to have that instrument. After an overhaul by stalwart Cleveland woodwind repair man Tom Ianni, the saxophone joined me for my life of making music, until last week. I played the horn throughout the US and Europe, performing jazz and improvised music and brought it with me every time I traveled anywhere for any reason. I have never been apart from the horn, and to have it gone is indescribably difficult. I intended to leave that horn to my son Shiloh."

Anyone familiar with Selmer saxophones knows that Super Balanced Action tenors are rare and the cost for them has steadily increased over the last 21 years. The current value of Joshua's horn was over $8,000. To replace it from a reputable dealer will cost approximately $10,000 or more. Hoping to replace the horn within the next several weeks, Joshua is reaching out now to raise funds for this purchase.

Joshua will be joined by Aidan Plank on bass, Carmen Castaldi on drums, and a handful of special guests.

DONATE HERE:

https://www.gofundme.com/joshuasmithstolensaxophone