"Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground" - Teddy Roosevelt

Introducing Jim "SuperSaw" Leonard
Musical Saw Specialist, wrote the book "Scratch my Back" (sample page) and had three recordings that has now been refined to a CD and his only current recording is only issued from Japan. See below for ordering information.

"I began playing the musical saw in 1975. Since then, I have become not only an expert "sawist", but I have developed a revolutionary new method of playing the instrument."

Jim's career started when he sent an order to Mussehl & Westphal, Wisconsin- based manufacturers of musical saws, see company history. Two days after receiving his saw, Jim was barely able to get a tone out of it. After two weeks of practice, however he was able to play a few tunes. Two years later, he had attained a level of skill on the instrument that took most players a decade or more to reach.

Although Jim doesn't read a note of music, he was raised in a musical family and has the ability to memorize a song after hearing it once. He excels at musical improvisation, so he takes advantage of every opportunity to trade riffs with other musicians.

Jim's early performances were at club meetings, convalescent homes, picnics and church groups meetings. Eventually, he felt that he was skilled enough to play at bluegrass festivals.

Most saw players were limited to playing ballads and slow waltzes because of the physical limitations of the instrument. But Jim was determined to find a way to play faster numbers. He found it by snapping the saw from note to note, he eliminated the sustain between notes and allowed a faster pace.

Jim demonstrated his new technique at the first Musical Saw Festival in Santa Cruz, California. The gentleman whose act preceded Jim's had written a book on methods of playing the saw and explained to the audience that only slow tunes could be played on the instrument. Jim then came on stage and proceeded to play lightning-paced renditions of "Tico Tico" and the "Twelfth street rag". The crowd gave him a standing ovation, and from that day on Jim was known as "Supersaw".J. L.

Jim demonstrating playing the saw during a stay at a Ballet performance in San Jose California.

Wonderland by Night on the Musical Saw by Super Saw Jim

Saw Jim is nearly 80 years old and is one of the kindest men I know. He was decreed the first Master Sawyer in the world by Dan Wallace owner of Mussehl and Westphal Musical Saw Company. He has been playing the saw since 1975 and stared at Disneyland off and on as an outside contract musician playing on the porch of Thunder Ranch. He is also the author of "Scratch My Back: A Pictorial History of the Musical Saw and How to Play It." This movie was made at the recording studio Alexsandra Meijer's Living Room and produced and edited by Michelle Meijer.

Jim "SuperSaw" Leonard's CD Album Please Order My CD (Order Link) Recordings
Tico Tico (2:12) Robert E. Lee (2:05) Lady of Spain (1:31) Spanish eyes (2:53) Alexander's rag time band (1:15) Bye Bye Blue (2:30) Under the double eagle (2:18) Baby Face (2:07) (sample) Who's sorry now? (2:16) Are you lonesome tonight? (4:03)	Your song by Jim Leonard (2:46) How great thou art (2:21) Beautiful Ohio (2:44) Carolina in the Morning (2:39) In the garden (3:08) Closer walk with thee (3:51) I Found a Million Dollar Baby (2:37) Ave Maria (7:09) Hamabe No Uta (previously unreleased)(3:36)
I recommend the following source for musical saws. Mussehl and Westphal Musical Saws, The Professional Tenor, Solo Musical Saws Swedish Stradivarius Mussehl and Westphal W0626 Beech Drive East Troy, MI. 53120 Email: MusicalSaws@MusicalSaws.com 414-642-3649 This page was last modified June 14 2012