The ongoing debate in the saxophone community is whether equipment really matters. By equipment we mean the brand of saxophone, mouthpiece, ligature, reeds, neck, pads and resonators. Some people will even argue that the type of material, screws and resonance stones on the body of the sax make a difference. I’ve had students come in […]
Marc Jean Ligature Review
Around the middle of February I received an email from Marc Jean at Musique de Marc asking if I would be interested in trying one of his Marc Jean ligatures. He said it was a new design and that many players of note were digging it. I was a bit skeptical as I get a […]
Selmer Long Shank Soloist Tenor Mouthpiece
This is a Vintage Selmer Long Shank Soloist Tenor Mouthpiece that was originally a C*. This mouthpiece has been refaced to a .105 tip opening by Brian Powell. I have been wanting to try one of these ever since I tried a Selmer short shank soloist about a year ago. I loved the short shank […]
“Live” solo on “Jump Jive and Wail”
This is a live clip from a gig I did 5-6 years ago. It’s on the tune “Jump Jive and Wail”. I have no idea what mouthpiece I’m using on this. This is a bit of a different style of music than I usually post clips of so I thought some of you might like […]
What difference does the ligature make? Part 1
A saxophone ligature is a device that holds the reed against the table (flat part) of the mouthpiece. Most people wouldn’t think this is that big of a deal, I mean how hard is it to use something to make the reed stay against the mouthpiece? You could use a rubber band if push came […]
Ralph Morgan MLL 8* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
This a Ralph Morgan MLL 8* tenor saxophone mouthpiece. This use to be a ML model but the owner of the piece sent it to Erik Greiffenhagen to have the chamber made larger so now it is a MLL model. The tip opening of this mouthpiece is an 8* which for a Morgan is a […]
White Brilhart Tonalin 7* Tenor Mouthpiece
Here is a White Brilhart Tonalin 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece. I believe this one is from the late 60’s although I’m not an expert on Vintage Brilhart mouthpieces. Mark Sepinuck was kind enough to let me try this one. He felt that it gave him a “Gene Ammons” type of sound. I really dig the […]
“Live” For The Love of You Solo-Lamberson DD7
This is a live clip from a gig I did 5-6 years ago. I play a tenor saxophone solo using the Fred Lamberson DD7 tenor mouthpiece I had back then. The mouthpiece is made of white acetal with a high long baffle in it that drops down into the chamber after about a half inch […]
Amazing Charlie Parker Recording of Cherokee
Back when I was in junior high school I was introduced to the playing of Charlie Parker. It was 9th grade and up to that point all I had listened to was Spyro Gyra, Chuck Mangione, Dave Sanborn and the Yellowjackets. My saxophone teacher told me that if I wanted to be good at jazz […]
Great hour long interview with Joshua Redman
Here’s a great link to an interview with the great tenor saxophone player Joshua Redman. Joshua has been one of my favorite tenor players since I first heard him in the mid 90’s. I think the first album I bought was “Freedom in the Groove”. Soon after that I bought every one of Joshua Redman’s […]
Barone Jazz Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
Here is a fairly new Phil Barone tenor saxophone mouthpiece. This is the “Jazz” model and is a 7*(.105) tip opening. I believe this is a 2009 model although there is no date on it (his older mouthpieces had dates engraved on the side of them). I have owned 5-6 Barone mouthpieces over the […]
Barone Hollywood Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
Here is a fairly new Phil Barone tenor saxophone mouthpiece. This is the “Hollywood” model and is an 8 (.110) tip opening. I believe this is a 2009 model although there is no date on it ( his older mouthpieces had dates engraved on the side of them). I have owned 5-6 Barone mouthpieces over […]
The Ultimate Alto Sax Sound-Jesse Davis
I love Jesse Davis! I listen to tenor saxophone players about 80% of the time but when I want to listen to an alto saxophone player Jesse Davis is usually my first choice. If you don’t know him check out this video of “The Very Thought of You”…….He has an amazing sound that is huge,fat […]
JodyJazz ESP 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
Here is a JodyJazz ESP 7* (.105) tenor saxophone mouthpiece. These are made by Jody Espina who has a huge variety of mouthpieces that he makes at www.jodyjazz.com. I borrowed this from a good friend of mine. These mouthpieces come with what’s called a “spoiler”. It is a black wedge that you slide into the […]
For those of you looking for the perfect horn…………
It might be as close as your refrigerator! Check out this video.
Transcription of Chris Potter’s solo on “All The Thing You Are”
This bootleg recording is of Chris Potter teaching at a clinic. It’s been floating around the internet for a number of years now and is an amazing example of what Chris Potter can do with a jazz standard like “All the Things You Are”. He’s playing it solo! Just him and his tenor sax. Now, […]
Florida Link Refaced by Erik Greiffenhagen
Here is an incredible Florida Link saxophone mouthpiece that was refaced by Erik Greiffenhagen from a 6 to a 7* (.105). I bought this mouthpiece from Les Arbuckle about 6 weeks ago and have been playing it ever since. Les came on SOTW (Sax on the Web) and said he had a link for sale […]
Which Ponzol mouthpiece do you like the best?
In this poll I am playing 8 measures of “In a Sentimental Mood” on 3 different Ponzol mouthpieces. I’m trying to play the melody in a similar way for each clip. See if you can hear a difference between the clips. If you can, vote for the one that you like the best! Which Ponzol […]
Ponzol Stainless Steel M2 Tenor Mouthpiece
Today, I have another Peter Ponzol M2 Stainless Steel tenor mouthpiece for review. I did a review of one of these a year or two ago but the sample clip I played of it was done in my garage. Since then, i have had a few people ask if I can do another one that […]
Ponzol M2 Gold Tenor Mouthpiece
This is another classic Peter Ponzol M2 tenor mouthpiece. I’ve played about 5-6 of these and they were all great. This one is a .110 tip opening which feels perfect for me. They have a brightness and kick to them that really comes out when you are on the gig.
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