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🎷
The Saxophone
That Played with Legends
A 100-year-old mystery — solved
Elkhart, Indiana • 1924  |  New York City • 1949
🎵 Billie Holiday 🎺 Louis Armstrong 🎷 Pat Nizza
The Instrument

Meet the
Conn 4M Soprano

This curved soprano saxophone is 100 years old. It was hand-crafted in Elkhart, Indiana — the "Band Instrument Capital of the World" — at a factory called C.G. Conn, Ltd.

Serial Number

M142059 — this number, stamped right on the body, tells us exactly when and where it was made: 1924, Elkhart, Indiana.

Fun Fact

Conn also helped invent the sousaphone — the giant coiled horn you see in marching bands — with famous bandleader John Philip Sousa!

Lower body of the Conn 4M soprano saxophone showing serial number M142059

The serial number M142059 stamped on the body — our time-stamp from 1924

Bell of the Conn soprano showing hand-engraved floral scrollwork

The hand-engraved bell — every swirl was carved by a human artist in 1924

What Makes It Special

Every Detail
Tells a Story

🌿
Hand Engraved
A human artist carved every flower and vine by hand — no machines!
🔴
Mother of Pearl
The key touches are real pearl — only the fanciest "Artist Grade" horns got this.
⚙️
Rolled Tone Holes
A patented 1914 design — the rims are rolled out for a better seal and richer sound.
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Lyre Bracket
This clip held sheet music while playing outdoors or in dance halls — a working musician's tool!
Up Close

The Keys &
the Pearl

See those shimmering circles on the keys? Those are mother-of-pearl touches — the same material found in fancy jewelry. Only professional musicians bought instruments with this upgrade.

How We Know It's "Series I"

The G# key has a smooth cup, not a ridged "nail-file" surface. Conn switched to the ridged design after serial number 145,400 in 1925. This horn — at 142,059 — was made just 3,341 instruments before that change!

Key stack showing mother-of-pearl touches on the Conn soprano

The mother-of-pearl key touches — a 100-year-old Artist Grade upgrade

The Story So Far

A Jazz Age Timeline

The Legends

Billie & Louis:
One Day Only

On September 30, 1949, something extraordinary happened at Decca Studios in New York City. Two of the greatest jazz musicians in history — Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong — recorded together for the only time in their lives.

Who Was Billie Holiday?

Known as "Lady Day," Billie Holiday (1915–1959) was one of the most emotional, expressive singers in jazz history. Songs like Strange Fruit and God Bless the Child made her a legend.

Who Was Louis Armstrong?

"Satchmo" Louis Armstrong (1901–1971) was so important to jazz that some people call him the person who invented the modern music solo. His trumpet playing and gravelly singing changed music forever.

Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong together

Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong — from the Louis Armstrong House Museum

Billie Holiday, 1949

Billie Holiday, 1949 — the same year as the historic Decca session

The Evidence

How Do We Know?

Clue Where We Found It Status
Horn is a real 1924 Conn 4M Series I Serial number chart + physical inspection ✓ Confirmed
Pat Nizza played on the Sept. 30, 1949 Decca session Jazz Discography Project, Wikipedia, billieholidaysongs.com ✓ Confirmed
That session is the ONLY time Holiday & Armstrong recorded together Louis Armstrong House Museum ✓ Confirmed
Nizza played SOPRANO sax at that session (not just tenor) Enciclopedia del Jazz (Italy) — lists him as (st-sb) = tenor + soprano ✓ Confirmed
Soprano is audible on a specific track Need to analyze original recordings / NYPL score archive ⏳ Being Investigated
🔑 The Key Discovery

Most English discographies just say "tenor sax." But the Italian jazz encyclopedia used a special code: (st-sb) — "st" = tenor, "sb" = soprano. Pat Nizza doubled BOTH instruments at that session. A soprano saxophone was physically present in the studio that day.

Hear It for Yourself

Listen to the
1949 Recording

The three songs recorded at that September 30, 1949 session are available online right now. Listen closely to the saxophone section — you might be hearing the very horn in this family's collection!

🎵 "You Can't Lose a Broken Heart"

Billie Holiday & Louis Armstrong duet — Decca Records, 1949

▶ Listen on YouTube

🎵 "My Sweet Hunk O'Trash"

Billie Holiday & Louis Armstrong duet — the funnier of the two duets!

▶ Listen on YouTube

🎵 "Now or Never"

Billie Holiday solo — written by Holiday herself

▶ Listen on YouTube
The Verdict

🏆 What This Saxophone Is

This is the soprano saxophone of Pat Nizza — a professional musician who was confirmed by multiple jazz history databases to have played soprano saxophone in the studio on the day Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong made their only recording together.

The family's story checks out. The serial number, the Italian discography, the history — it all lines up. This horn was in that room.

What to Do Next