Bobby Dukoff

Robert Dukoff (October 11, 1918 – May 3, 2012), known as Bobby Dukoff, was an American Big Band tenor saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, audio engineer and saxophone mouthpiece maker. He is known for his Dukoff Mouthpieces, which he began producing commercially in Los Angeles in 1945, and later in Miami from the mid-1970s.

During the Swing Era, Dukoff worked in the bands of Jerry Wald, Jimmy Dorsey and Benny Goodman. He married singer Anita Boyer in 1943. In the 1950s he was signed to RCA Victor where he made a number of albums, such as Sax in Silk, which was in the top-ten best selling albums of the label in 1956, Sax and Satin, Pure Sax and Off the Cuff. At RCA he developed as an audio engineer and worked with Charlie Parker. He later opened Dukoff Recording Studios in North Miami, and worked with artists such as the Montells, Timmy Thomas and James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s.

Early life and Big Band career Dukoff was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1918, and grew up in Sioux City, Iowa and Mount Vernon, New York. Dukoff subsequently worked with Jimmy Dorsey and Benny Goodman. While working at the New Yorker Hotel with Goodman he also worked with a young Frank Sinatra.

Recording and audio engineering career In 1949 or 1950, Dukoff moved back to New York City with his wife, where Dukoff signed on as a solo artist with RCA Victor. His record as part of the Bobby Dukoff Orchestra, Sax in Silk, was in the top-ten best selling albums of the label in 1956. He also recorded albums such as Sax and Satin, Pure Sax and Off the Cuff.

As an audio engineer at RCA, Dukoff worked with Charlie Parker. He also released some material as an educator in his Bobby Dukoff Presents... series, such as his How to learn to play the clarinet from electrical recordings or phonograph records (1957).

Dukoff established the Dukoff Recording Inc. company in 1957. With his wife he moved to the Miami area, where he opened the Dukoff Recording Studios in North Miami in the former Food Fair building. In 1972, Timmy Thomas recorded "Why Can't We Live Together" at Dukoff's studio, and James Brown also made numerous recordings there. Dukoff won awards from the Miami Advertising Club and United Fund for radio jingles which were written and produced by his company. Michael Brecker and David Sanborn to Kenny G.