The idea for the B♭ Saxohound was realised by New York jazzman Sal Gooseberry one while in rehearsal one day with his band. He remarked to a band member who had played a string of bum notes ‘Even my dog could have played that!’
The accused band member, Washtap Mallone, challenged Gooseberry on that, and Sal was caught out as his dog Elma couldn’t play the sax, and in fact had no interest whatsoever in Jazz, much preferring classical music, especially the great Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov.
Although losing the challenge, it set Gooseberry to wonder whether it would be possible to teach a dog to not only appreciate, but also to play jazz to a reasonable standard. A couple of years later Gooseberry started a breeding program with the aim of producing the world’s first musically-minded dog.
Gooseberry encouraged the dogs at a young age by leaving muscial instruments around the house for them to play with and to become familiar with. A saxophone was even a permanent fixture in the dog basket, so that they would form an intimate bond with the instrument.
A stereo was left continually playing both jazz standards and more contemporary works so that the dogs might be able to absorb all the subtle intricacies of the form through a process of osmosis.
Miles Davis gave his nod of approval to these free form fidos and included a Saxohound on a recording for Blue Note, 'Too Blue to Howl', in 1960.
Gooseberry's star dog, Champ 'Leftbone' went onto a solo career and toured extensively throughout Liechenstein in the 1970s. Although a proficient improviser and all-round musician, Leftbone actually made far more money through the royalties paid due to one of his tunes being licensed to use with a dog food commercial than he ever did through either record sales or concert fees.