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<\/a><\/p>\n“The story really begins with our initial conversation, in which Bird\u2019s daughter Kim and I talked about the venture between RS Berkeley, Drake and Beverly Getz, while sharing stories about the influence her father had on my education and career. After a few conversations, Kim had expressed interest in the project and told me she had Bird\u2019s white mouthpiece in her possession.<\/strong> She offered to host a face-to-face meeting with our team to discuss the project in greater detail and I accepted without hesitation. <\/em><\/p>\n With an amazing sense of accomplishment and excitement, I contacted my friend Tim Ries to discuss the magnitude of the situation. After all, Charlie Parker was an icon, personifying the conception of the jazz musician as an uncompromising artist. With Tim\u2019s tireless dedication towards RS Berkeley, I felt it would be valuable to have him accompany us to the meeting. On the other hand, I knew Tim wouldn\u2019t want to miss out on pursuing anything related to Bird.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A gracious host, Kim welcomed Aaron Drake of Drake Mouthpieces, Todd Feldman of RS Berkeley, RS Berkeley Endorser, Tim Ries and myself into her home on a snowy February day. As we sat and talked in Kim\u2019s living room, she politely excused herself for a few minutes and came back stating, \u201cI have something I want to show you.\u201d With a red saxophone case in her hands, she carefully placed it on a coffee table that Bird had once owned. <\/strong>As my heart pounded, we opened the case and discovered Bird\u2019s Super 20 King Alto Saxophone and white mouthpiece. <\/strong>As exhilarating as this was for me as a Charlie Parker fan, we examined every aspect of the case and its contents. We were intrigued to find a number of used reeds played by Bird himself, <\/strong>as well as two neck straps. Although one neck strap was damaged at some point, we were able to see where Bird repaired the strap, tying knots in key areas, providing himself with consistent and accurate horn placement. Considering Parker passed in the fifties, his saxophone and accessories were in meticulous condition. <\/strong>In what ended up becoming a historical event for us, we spent a good part of the day watching, listening and seeing personal Parker family treasures, including videos of Bird playing, a recording he made at the age of sixteen, personal interviews and family photos. One of the most exciting items we observed was an original portrait Bird painted himself. The painting, a portrait of Bird\u2019s late daughter, Pree, was his interpretation of what he envisioned her to look like when she was older. As our five hour meeting came to end, we expressed our sincere appreciation to Kim for sharing her family\u2019s history with us and for providing us with Bird\u2019s white mouthpiece.”<\/em><\/p>\n Bird Legend Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n Les Silver had Aaron Drake of Drake Mouthpieces copy Bird’s mouthpiece as close as possible.\u00a0 Les sent me 3 mouthpieces to try a 4* (.060), 5* (.070) and a 6* (.080).\u00a0\u00a0 The 4* is the copy of Charlie Parker’s mouthpiece.\u00a0 The 5* and 6* are adjusted to have bigger tip openings.\u00a0 I have heard that Charlie Parker had two white mouthpieces.\u00a0 One was a Runyon 22 and the other was a Brilhart Streamline.\u00a0\u00a0 I’m not sure which this is a copy of.<\/p>\n The mouthpiece is white and looks great.\u00a0 It has a medium baffle that slopes down into a small to medium size\u00a0 squarish chamber.\u00a0 The table, tip and rails look great on all three mouthpieces.<\/p>\n The coolest thing about these legend series mouthpieces is knowing that they are replica’s of the original.\u00a0 I love to close my eyes and think of Parker while I played them.\u00a0 It’s as close as I will ever get to being in a room with him and trying his mouthpiece.\u00a0 Of course, that will never happen but I can still dream about it………………..<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n