O-10, that was actually a very conservative estimate; wouldn’t want to be accused of braggadocio 🤗. Moreover, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Wynton has never played Bolero. Well, maybe at Juilliard, your favorite institution of higher learning, maybe once or twice. It’s not what he does; that’s all. Now, I know you have often said that you are not interested in learning "one single iota" about music; no problem. Perhaps you are interested in learning a little bit about the music scene. If not, you need read no further.
Symphony orchestras program Bolero, on average, probably once or twice a year; the piece is a staple of the orchestral rep. Every time that it’s programmed it receives three or four performances. If it’s programmed twice a year that is 6-8 performances. As a freelance saxophonist for 35 years I have played with at least a dozen different orchestras at one time or another. If you do the math, 30 Boleros is neither terribly unusual nor record breaking. Also, most saxophonists who play Classical music also play jazz. Recently retired bass clarinetist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Ron Reuben, is also a very fine jazz player who also played saxophone in the orchestra for decades; he probably holds the record. Glad to inform you (if you’re still here). Btw, you may recall that I once posted on this thread a very funny story about Gerry Mulligan playing Bolero (on soprano) with the NY Phil. Not what he does (did); we can leave it at that 😉
