Musician’s plea for return of prized stolen saxophone

An award-winning musician is appealing for help in retrieving his stolen saxophone.

Soweto Kinch’s handmade 1963 Selmer Mark VI sax was taken from his car in Gloucester Way while he was at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in Islington last Wednesday evening.

The saxophone — worth thousands of pounds — was his first professional-quality instrument and helped propel him to stardom. He said: “It was my pride and joy. It was the instrument that enabled me to turn the corner in my career. I have got a replacement but I won’t feel fully settled until I know what happened to my old one.”

Kinch, 35, from Birmingham, has been playing the saxophone since he was nine. He has been nominated for a Mercury Music Prize and twice named best jazz act at the Mobo Awards.