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.
Ponzol M1 Gold Tenor Mouthpiece
This is a Peter Ponzol M1 that I purchased just for the heck of it. I have tried a bunch of M2’s but never a M1( Maybe in a store once) This is a really nice piece. It a bit brighter than the Ponzol ML tenor mouthpiece I played before but a bit darker than […]
Morgan ML 8* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
This a Morgan ML tenor mouthpiece. I received this from a friend of mine who loves it. These use to be made by Ralph Morgan but now are made by Brian Powell and Eric Greiffenhagen. They both used to work with Ralph Morgan. These two guys have done a great job at keeping […]
Lawton 9BB JVW Refaced Tenor Mouthpiece Review
This a Lawton 9BB tenor saxophone mouthpiece that was refaced by JVW (Jon Van Wie). If you have never heard of Jon Van Wie, he was a great mouthpiece refacer that passed away some years ago. I had him do some work on some mouthpieces for me when I first started getting into this mouthpiece […]
Lawton 8* BB Special Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
This a Lawton 8*BB Special tenor saxophone mouthpiece. I’ve never tried a Lawton before so I was looking forward to playing this one. This a special one that Geoff Lawton made without the typical sliding ligature track he usually puts on his mouthpieces. This is a great playing mouthpiece. The 8* tip is a bit above […]
Tenney Jazzmaster 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
This is the “Doc” Tenney Jazzmaster 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece. A friend of mine on the internet was kind enough to send it to me so I could put a clip up of it. Mr. Tenney has quite the reputation for his mouthpiece work. I’ve had a few students that have played his pieces over […]
Morgan 6J Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece
This is an old Morgan 6J soprano mouthpiece that a student of mine let me borrow. These were made by the legendary Ralph Morgan. Ralph passed away in 2007 and it was a great loss to the saxophone world. I’ve told this story before but one time I had a Morgan mouthpiece that was […]
As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 1
Over the years, I have told this story hundreds of times. At restaurants, friend’s homes, camping trips and many other places. There have been a number of times where I start telling the story to one person and soon find myself surrounded by a number of people all tentatively listening. These attentive listeners will […]
As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 2
Ok, where was I? Oh yeah……… So all this hysterical laughing is going on. As this is getting worse and worse, things in my life start to quickly fall apart around me. Most of my relationships are stressed because people think I’m a little strange (OK very strange if not crazy). The bands I’m in […]
As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 3
I’m back with Part 3. At this point in the story, things start to get REALLY interesting……. Before I delve into the rest of the story, I need to give you some history about myself. First of all, up until this point in my life, I was hardly ever sick. I never broke a bone. […]
As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 4
Hello again! Where was I? Oh yeah, around this time, my younger brother came out to visit me from Buffalo NY. I hadn’t seen him in awhile and he decided to come out to Boston for a visit. We had a lot of fun while he was here but the one thing I remember was […]
As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 5
Here we are at Part 5 in the story………….A couple of days after the whole “LensCrafters” experience, I decided to go get some chinese food with a good musician friend of mine down in Boston. We met down in Chinatown in Boston for a late dinner. During dinner, I told him about all the things […]
As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 6
I’ll do my best in this next part of the story to recount things in the proper order. To be honest, the next few parts of the story are a little vague and cloudy in my memory. I remember meeting with a Doctor to have the talk you have before a major surgery. His name […]
As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 7
Well………..where were we? Oh yeah, in Mass General Hospital, waiting for my next surgery. As I remember, it was 2-3 days later. They came to get me for the surgery and it was an emotional time. This was the big surgery where they were messing with my nerves, arteries and not to mention my […]
As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 8
Ok, on with the story. If you’ve read parts 1-7 you know I’ve been through quite the ordeal so far. It’s over now. All that is behind me and I can move on. I can start living my life again and not worry about what’s wrong with me or what surgery I need next. This […]
As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 9
Ok, I have my emotions contained again and can go on with my story……. After the neurosurgeon told me I couldn’t play the saxophone ever again, I think I was in shock. I didn’t know what to say or how to feel. After a short while, I started feeling this heavy feeling of sadness coming […]
As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 10
In this next part of the story, we need to skip ahead a few years. Just so you are clear on the time line, I had the brain tumor symptoms from 1993-1995. I had the brain surgery in August of 1995. I had bacterial meningitis in August of 1996 (I actually had bacterial meningitis two […]
As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 11
After the Proton Beam Radiation treatment I quickly jumped back into things. It was about a month later, that I was on a gig playing my sax when I got this excruciating pain in my jaw. I had to stop playing my solo and I just held my jaw for a second and then […]
As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 12
Well, I’ve been putting this off long enough! To be honest, writing this part of the story is not something I feel very excited about. There are a few reasons for this. One, it’s not funny (well maybe a little funny). Two, it brings back some painful memories. Three, it doesn’t paint me in the […]
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