This is my Yamaha tenor sax that is in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.
The engraving was done by Tomoji Hirakata. He is the head of repair at Yamaha/NYC and is a brilliant artist.
The design of the engraving was mine but was brought to life by Tomoji.
On the top/front of the bell is DMB - Dave Matthews Band, obviously. : )
On the left side/front is the Japanese kanji for Music.
On the right side/front is the OM symbol - the sacred, primordial sound of the universe.
On the bottom left/front is my last name Coffin and to the right/front of that is my wife Ryoko’s family name Suzuki (in Japanese)
Also on the bell is a replica of a dragon from the greatest printmaker Japan has know, Katsushika Hokusai. (He was maybe best known for The Great Wave Off Kanagawa)
On the outside of the bell (on the right side of my body) is a drawing done by Dave Matthews of The GrooGrux King as a tribute to the beloved LeRoi Moore. The 8 moons at the top of the crown signify 8 band members and the broken one represents LeRoi…
On the inside of the bell, closest to my body - the left side of the tenor, is the ‘mascot’ of Bela Fleck & the Flecktones - the Cosmic Hippo. I spent 14 years with The Flecktones and the history runs deep between these two groups!
On the front ‘body’ of the bell are the names of my immediate family members. My wife Ryoko, my step-sons Caleb & Pico, my mom Connie, my dad Bob (deceased) and his wife Barbara, and my wife’s parents Yukichi & Akemi. The initials at the bottom AJL are for my first band director Arthur Joseph Lagassee - if not for him, I wouldn’t be playing the saxophone. He fanned the flame and is responsible for me being a musician. All these people, and more, have sacrificed at least as much as I have along the way and I cannot express my gratitude deeply enough to them.
I could fill this entire horn, and 10 others, with the names of my ‘family’ members whom I hold dear. Thank you to those other family members, my many, many bandmates, my friends, my teachers, my students, my peers and contemporaries who have shaped me and taught me lessons too numerous to recount. To our crew - you are in your own Hall Of Fame! To the fans, there are none better than you. To all my friends and family at Yamaha, my deepest gratitude.
Each and every one of you are here with me and you are a part of this incredible honor. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. We’re just getting started…
With love and peace, JC
PS My original sketch is the last photo.
The Dave Matthews Band Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame exhibit….
