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<\/a><\/p>\nRafael Navarro “Bob Mintzer” Bebop Special Tenor Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n If I remember correctly, I think Bob was playing a metal Berg Larsen back then.\u00a0 (I’m not totally sure of that as I wasn’t a mouthpiece nut back then)\u00a0 Sometime later in the 90’s he switched over to a Freddie Gregory mouthpiece.\u00a0 I remember thinking that he made the right move going to the Freddie Gregory as I loved his tone so much more on it.\u00a0 It was rich and thick sounding and I loved it.\u00a0 Over the past year, Bob has again switched to a new mouthpiece, the Rafael Navarro Bebop Special.\u00a0 My first thought when I heard this news was that Navarro mouthpieces must be pretty amazing to get someone to switch from a Freddie Gregory (these have a reputation of being some of the best mouthpieces out there………).<\/p>\n Rafael Navarro “Bob Mintzer” Bebop Special Tenor Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n As you can see from the pictures, this Bebop Special has a very cool and unique red marble look to it.\u00a0 The tip, rails and table look great.\u00a0 This Bebop Special has a tip that doesn’t quite match my Rigotti Gold reeds.\u00a0 Rafael thinks that this mouthpiece was from the first run he made of the Bebop Special which had a slightly different tip shape.\u00a0 It has what I consider to be a pretty high rollover baffle that slopes down into a large chamber.\u00a0 The unique aspect of this mouthpiece is the facing curve I believe.\u00a0 From talking to Rafael, I have learned that Bob Mintzer likes a pretty unique facing curve on his mouthpieces.\u00a0 It is not your typical facing curve that is for sure.\u00a0\u00a0 I don’t know what the specific numbers are but I can tell you that this curve loves harder reeds. The reed I am playing on in the clip below is a Rigotti Gold 3 Strong.\u00a0 On all my other 7** tip mouthpieces this reed feels too hard but on the Bebop Special it feels perfect.\u00a0 I actually think I would like to try a 3 1\/2 on this piece but I didn’t have any on hand.<\/p>\n Rafael Navarro “Bob Mintzer” Bebop Special Tenor Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n The Bebop Special was great to play.\u00a0 I found it brighter and more powerful than the Navarro Maestra that I reviewed earlier this year.\u00a0 It’s also brighter and more powerful than my Early Babbitt hard rubber Otto Link.\u00a0 It’s not like a Guardala Brecker mouthpiece bright but has more of a richer thicker brightness to it. The unique facing curve gives it a unique resistance that I really dug.\u00a0 The resistance made it very easy to blow against and shape the sound.\u00a0 I felt like I could blow all the air I had and the mouthpiece would compensate with volume.\u00a0\u00a0 Sometimes I feel like I hit a wall volume wise with mouthpieces but not with this one.<\/p>\n The tone was\u00a0 rich and powerful.\u00a0 I also felt like it had a dry quality to it.\u00a0 The altissimo was especially easy on this mouthpiece and it was very smooth between the notes which makes the fast passages easier to play.\u00a0 I could very easily play a jazz gig or louder funk gig with this mouthpiece.<\/p>\n Rafael Navarro “Bob Mintzer” Bebop Special Tenor Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n The Rafael Navarro “Bob Mintzer” Bebop Special Tenor Mouthpiece was a complete joy to play. If you like the sound of the clip below and the mouthpiece catches your interest then give it a try. You can contact Rafael on his website at http:\/\/rafaelnavarro.com\/<\/a>. Tell him Steve sent you………….<\/p>\n Let me know what you think in the comments below. Thanks, Steve<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n