Someone on SOTW (Sax on the Web) posted a video this morning of Michael Brecker soloing over his tune Peep from the early 90’s. Peep was a Brecker tune from the album “Now You See It… (Now You Don’t) that blew my mind when it was released in 1990. I was a young Brecker head […]
Reviews
Rico Metalite M7 and M9 Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
Now for something completely different, a review of a tenor saxophone mouthpiece that only costs about 30 bucks! Yes, you read that right! Today, I am reviewing two Rico Metalite tenor saxophone mouthpieces. I have been intrigued by these sax mouthpieces for a few years because I have heard a bunch of people rave about […]
10mFan Daddy-O Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
Mark Sepinuck, 10mFan as he is known in the saxophone world, has been producing a line of tenor saxophone mouthpieces for the last five years that have been very popular with saxophone players around the world. I have reviewed some of 10mFan’s tenor sax mouthpiece models in the past such as the Robusto, the Black […]
The Secret to Altissimo (no one has ever told you about before) Lesson
I know, you are sick of it! Trying to play overtones past the second or third overtone. Trying to get out an altissmo G or G#. Trying to sound like you know what you are doing and can play any altissimo note with confidence without failing miserably………I have been there and know how you feel. […]
The Cannonball Adderley Omnibook Review
Today, I am reviewing the Cannonball Adderley Omnibook that is published by Hal Leonard. This great book of transcriptions was created by Chris “Doc” Stewart who also transcribed the Sonny Rollins Omnibook that I reviewed earlier in the year. I bought this book after receiving a gift card from a student of mine. I went […]
James Bunte 42 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
This is embarrassing to admit, but here is a review that I worked on many years ago and just found on my site as a draft! I had been working on it, got side tracked and then never posted it! That’s embarrassing! I actually still have this alto mouthpiece in a drawer here in my […]
10mFan Showboat Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
Mark Sepinuck, 10mFan as he is known in the saxophone world, has been producing a line of tenor saxophone mouthpieces for the last five years that have been very popular with saxophone players around the world. I have reviewed some of 10mFan’s tenor sax mouthpiece models in the past such as the Robusto, the Black […]
JX Custom Series B Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
Today, I am reviewing the JX Custom Series B alto saxophone mouthpiece. This is made by Jianxing Li in Guangzhou, China. The JX custom Series B is advertised as a replica of a 1980’s Beechler metal alto saxophone mouthpiece. I have never played a Beechler metal alto sax mouthpiece from the 1980’s but my […]
Westcoast Sax MOAM .081 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
Today, I am reviewing the Westcoast Sax “MOAM” .081 alto saxophone mouthpiece. You might remember that I reviewed a non-plated MOAM alto mouthpiece that had a .086 tip opening last fall. Matt Lee at Westcoast Sax is always picking interesting and understated names for his mouthpieces and this is no exception. The name MOAM stands for […]
Westcoast Sax MOAM .110 Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
Today, I am reviewing another Westcoast Sax “MOAM” tenor saxophone mouthpiece. A few months ago, I reviewed an unplated .105 tip opening MOAM. Matt said he would send me a plated model of the MOAM when they were finished and I asked if I could get the .110 tip opening. I wasn’t planning on doing […]
Boston Sax Shop Signature Reed Cases
Today, I am reviewing a beautiful new product I received with a reed order from Jack Tyler at the Boston Sax Shop. Last week, I ordered some new reeds to try from Jack and when the package came, I opened it to discover this added gem inside. This is the Boston Sax Shop signature reed […]
The Sonny Rollins Omnibook Review
*I posted all the recordings I could find on Youtube that go with this transcription book at the bottom of this review………Enjoy! My first recording of Sonny Rollins that I heard as a teenager was “Saxophone Colossus”. I checked it out of the local library. I didn’t play tenor saxophone back then but I was […]
NEW Book-Mastering the Minor ii-7b5 V7b9 Bebop Scale
“Mastering the Minor ii-7b5 V7b9 Bebop Scale” is a new approach to learning to play great jazz lines over a minor ii-V progression. If you have worked out of my “Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale” book, you know that the bebop scale and the “bebop links” that can be added to it can be a […]
Great Instructional Video on Intonation by Michael Lake
Michael Lake over at altobone.com put out a video on youtube this week on intonation that I think is excellent! Michael is not a sax player, (he plays alto trombone….I know, “How dare you Steve, this is a saxophone site!!“) but his thoughts on intonation in this video are right on. Every note you play on […]
Monster Berg Larsen .170 Tip Opening Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
Yes, you read that right! A .170 tip opening!! That’s a 14 tip opening! To give you a little bit of a backstory, I received this email the other day from a fan of my site: “Hi Steve, I have a favor to ask of you, if you can fit it in to your schedule. […]
10mFan “The Classic” Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
Mark Sepinuck, 10mFan as he is known in the saxophone world, came out with a line of tenor saxophone mouthpieces five years ago that have been very popular with saxophone players. Mark, created a very detailed three category system of tenor saxophone mouthpieces and he designed what he considered to be the best tenor sax […]
Balam Saxophone Backstrap Comparison and Review
Today, I am reviewing a new saxophone neckstrap that I received from my saxophone repairman Jack Tyler at the Boston Sax Shop. Jack has been my sax repairman since 2013 when my long time repairman Ernie Sola died. The last 3-4 times I went in to see Ernie before he died he told me about […]
Improved Selmer Saxophone Model Chart
Here is a cool chart of the serial numbers and models of Selmer Saxophones through the last 100 years. This chart was researched by Douglas Pipher and shared on SOTW today. The cool aspect of this chart that I have never seen before is that Douglas has included the quantities of each type of sax […]
Finding Sax Mouthpiece Gold Among the Rubble
I’m always amazed when saxophone player’s tell me that they can know within seconds if a sax mouthpiece is right for them or not. The reason that this amazes me, is that my experience has been so different from that. For example, I received a sax mouthpiece a few months ago that is an old […]
Liu Shizhao Pearls Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
Last year, I posted a review of a couple new saxophone mouthpieces from Liu Shizhao out of China. He sent me a tenor saxophone mouthpiece prototype MB Prototype , an alto prototype and the Pilgrimage tenor sax mouthpiece that I was very impressed with and wrote reviews on. This review is on another Liu Shizhao mouthpiece for the alto […]
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