Roberto’s Winds, Inc.
Roberto’s Winds, Inc.
149 West 46th Street3rd Floor
New York, NY 10036
212 391 1315
robertoswinds.com
M-Sa 10am-6pm
Roberto’s Winds and Jon Baltimore Music Company, Inc. appear to be the two last remnants of the music industry on 46th. Roberto Romeo, a tall, longhaired Italian who immigrated in 1982 to play jazz, remained in New York after finding a job in Saul Fromkin’s shop doing saxophone repair work. When Mr. Fromkin retired to Florida in 1989, Roberto took over, gradually expanding the business to its current state: a three-level rehearsal space and music shop, right across the street from where he used to work as an assistant repairman.
When we arrived at Roberto’s to take photos one afternoon, we found several artists practicing in the rehearsal spaces, filling the hallways with their music. Roberto explained to us that “This shop remains one of the best places available in Midtown.” While, in the 70s and 80s, rehearsal spaces and repair shops were in abundance two blocks north on 48th Street, most have now shuttered. “It was a mixture of aging proprietors, rising rents, and decreasing business,” Roberto went on to say.
Roberto’s Winds, however, seems to have found a niche and is quite busy, so much so that Roberto has even started to try his hand at building his own saxophones, a series of which he displays proudly near the front of the store. Roberto counts Bill Cosby, Woody Allen, Sonny Rollins and David Murray among his customers, along with numerous other jazz greats.
A highlight of our visit was when Roberto showed us his Selmer Mark VI Room, filled with vintage saxophones from 1954 to 1975 created by Henri Selmer and widely reputed to be one of the greatest models produced. With a variety of altos, tenors, sopranos, and baritones, the room holds many saxophones formerly used by top professionals.
