I want to start this review out with a big apology to Joe Rohrbacher of Just Joe’s Music in Bend, Oregon. Joe sent me a couple of complimentary Just Joe’s Sax Gel Straps to try out and perhaps review almost 5 YEARS AGO!! This was around the fall of 2011 and at the time I was having a […]
Chris Potter Interview/Performance with Christian McBride
Another great interview and performance by the great saxophone player Chris Potter. This was recorded from Christian McBride’s SiriusXM radio show “The Low Down”. The interview is fascinating and Chris has such a humble and real honesty about him that it is like he’s in your living room talking to you. At the 7:45 mark […]
The Lighthouse Omnibook-Dave Liebman and Steve Grossman Review
Today’s review is about a great transcription book by Petter Wettre entitled “The Lighthouse Omnibook”. This book has been sitting on my shelf for a few years but I was reminded of it the other day when John Greiner (a great tenor player that I played with at Berklee in different ensembles) mentioned the […]
Sax Mouthpiece Reviews and Morality
Ok, so this might seem like a strange title for a blog post but I have an issue that I need some insight and input on from my Neffmusic readers. Here’s the issue and then I will pose some questions at the end. Mouthpiece Reviews and Morality: Nine years ago I started what is […]
Retro Revival New Yorker Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
Today, I am reviewing the new Retro Revival New Yorker alto saxophone mouthpiece made by Joel Peskin (iReedMan) and Bob Sheppard. Joel and Bob have started a company called Retro Revival in which he produces exact copies of great vintage mouthpieces from the past. His first two mouthpiece releases were for this New Yorker alto […]
Bill Evans Signature Series Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
Today, I am reviewing the new Bill Evans Signature Series Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece. Now, before I go further I must add a disclaimer: Warning: This is one the most expensive mouthpieces on the market that I know of right now. (1695.00 US) If you do not want to be tempted by a mouthpiece that you can’t […]
Westcoast Sax MoFo Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
Today, I am reviewing the Westcoast Sax “MoFo” tenor saxophone mouthpiece. Now, not being hip to the newest slang and terminology, I had to ask my teenagers what MoFo meant. My daughters told me “Mofo” stood for mother-f*****, someone who is bad-a** or hard core. My first thought was “Why would someone name a saxophone […]
Liu Shizhao Pilgrimage MB Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
A month or two ago, I posted a review of a couple new saxophone mouthpiece from Liu Shizhao out of China. He sent me a tenor saxophone mouthpiece prototype MB Prototype and an alto prototype that I was very impressed with and wrote reviews on. Recently, he has sent me two more saxophone mouthpieces to review that […]
Lamberson J7 1920 Hard Rubber Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
In an effort to mix things up a bit, I am now reviewing a new J7 tenor saxophone mouthpiece made by Fred Lamberson. Earlier this week, I reviewed the Ted Klum London model tenor mouthpiece which was probably one of the loudest and brightest mouthpieces I have played but now I turn my attention to […]
Rafael Navarro “Bob Mintzer” Bop Boy Tenor Mouthpiece Review
Today I am reviewing another great mouthpiece by Rafael Navarro. This is a hard rubber “Bob Mintzer” Bop Boy model. I have reviewed most of Rafael Navarro’s tenor models in the past. In the beginning, he was kind enough to send me a bunch to review but after a while he started getting busier as his […]
Ted Klum London Model Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
Today’s review is of a very used Ted Klum London model tenor saxophone mouthpiece that a friend of mine was nice enough to let me try. Ted Klum is a great sax mouthpiece maker and refacer who has a great reputation among saxophone players. His site is www.tedklummouthpieces.com. It has been quite […]
Wes Montgomery’s Round Midnight Transcription for Tenor Sax
A friend of mine emailed me a link to the youtube video below and I have been listening to it all week long. I love the way Wes Montgomery plays the melody on Round Midnight by Thelonious Monk. It’s got a great bluesy feel to it that I don’t hear with any of the sax […]
Snake Oil for the Saxophone? The Buzz Oversized Neck Screw by Westcoast Sax
Whether you are into competitive sports, weight loss, golf or the saxophone, you have probably heard claims about products that you didn’t believe. Many times I refer to these claims and products with a term you have probably heard before: “Snake Oil”. The definition of the term is : “Snake oil is an expression that originally […]
Joe Allard Overtone Exercise for Saxophone
I wanted to share this great saxophone Overtone exercise that Dr. David Demsey wrote out a number of years ago. Dr. Demsey studied with Joe Allard from 1977-1980 and is the Coordinator of Jazz Studies and Professor of Music at William Paterson University. There is a great interview with Dr. Demsey about Joe Allard that any of you […]
Michael Brecker on Three Quartets with Chick Corea
I just found this on Youtube this morning and wanted to share it. This video was made in 2003 and is a reunion concert of the original musicians from Chick Corea’s “Three Quartets” album. Chick Corea, Michael Brecker,Eddie Gomez and Steve Gadd. Three Quartets was released in 1981 and was one of the first albums […]
Saxophone Lessons in Montpelier Vermont!
Jazz Saxophone Lessons near Montpelier Vermont! I’ve just finished setting up my teaching studio in Waitsfield, Vermont. If you live near the Montpelier Vermont area and are interested in saxophone lessons I am now accepting students. Montpelier is a city in central Vermont and is about a half hour from Waitsfield Vermont. I teach saxophone and specialize in jazz […]
Saxquest “The Core” Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
Today, I am reviewing the new “The Core” hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpiece from Saxquest. Mark Overton over at Saxquest came out with two new hard rubber tenor sax mouthpieces a few months ago called “The Bridge” (hand faced by Eric Falcon) and “The Core” (hand faced by James Bunte). Mark said that the purpose behind making these […]
Saxquest “The Bridge” Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
Today, I am reviewing the new “The Bridge” hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpiece from Saxquest. Mark Overton over at Saxquest came out with two new hard rubber tenor sax mouthpieces a few months ago called “The Bridge” and “The Core”. Mark said that the purpose behind making these two mouthpieces was to try to recapture the sound and […]
A Blast from the Past-Chromazone by Mike Stern Cover
This weekend, I was going through my vast computer files and trying to clean out the gigabytes of junk I had on my computer when I discovered this old clip. This is from a recording session I did way back in the early 90’s. I think I was about 25 at the time and in […]
Chris Potter Transcription of Cherokee in 10 Keys
So check this out! About 10 days ago, I was on SOTW (Sax on the Web) looking through various posts about saxophone stuff when I ran across a post by a recent member from Spain I didn’t know named”ffjay” that read: Hi all! Guess you’d listen one of the stunning Chris Potter’s solo playing Cherokee in […]
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