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<\/a><\/p>\nDrake “Jerry Bergonzi” Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n A few years later, I was lucky enough to study with Jerry for a year or two.\u00a0 I had switched to the tenor sax after college because 9 out of 10 gig calls were for a tenor player and I wanted to be able to pay my rent………\u00a0 I learned so much in those weekly lessons with Jerry!\u00a0 Mr. Bergonzi is an amazing teacher and a great guy.\u00a0 I used to go out with friends and fellow students to hear him play around town whenever we could.<\/p>\n Jerry Bergonzi has a very unique and personal sound.\u00a0 His tone reminds me of a Coltrane type of sound.\u00a0 To my ears it has a bright dry quality to it.\u00a0 The only way I can get closer to his sound concept is by playing with much harder reeds.\u00a0 To be honest, whenever I try to do that I exhaust myself.\u00a0 His sound concept is very different than mine but when I heard that Drake was coming out with a Jerry Bergonzi model,\u00a0 I was very interested in trying it………..<\/p>\n The Drake Bergonzi tenor sax mouthpiece was hard for me to review and critique because it seemed a bit hard to nail down description wise.\u00a0 Most mouthpieces I try out I can pretty quickly put in a certain category.\u00a0 Bright, Dark, Fat, Focused, etc…….. \u00a0 With the Drake Bergonzi model I found that as soon as I labeled it as dark, I found myself thinking it was bright.\u00a0 As soon as I decided it was bright, it was sounding dark to me.\u00a0 It had a mix of a fat spread sound that I found very focused also……………..You get the point…………\u00a0 There is a quote of Jerry’s on the Drake website that I think sums it up:<\/p>\n “What I look for in a mouthpiece is the ability to shape the sound that I hear in my head with the ease of articulation. Drake’s mouthpieces do that for me”<\/b>–\u00a0Jerry Bergonzi<\/i><\/p>\n The key words that stick out to me are “the ability to shape the sound that I hear”.\u00a0 I found myself trying to figure out this mouthpiece but maybe what I was trying to figure out was myself……(I know……really Zen right?)\u00a0 I think what I was experiencing is that the sound of this mouthpiece is able to be shaped and molded so easily that I was experiencing different qualities depending how I was playing.<\/p>\n Drake “Jerry Bergonzi” Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n The Drake Bergonzi model was as perfect as I have found all of Aaron Drakes mouthpieces to be.\u00a0 The tip, rails,table and baffle were all immaculate.\u00a0 Everything was even and symmetrical.\u00a0 The baffle sloped down perfectly into a large chamber.\u00a0 The craftsmanship was superb.<\/p>\n After hearing Dave O’Higgin’s advice on Sax on the Web, I decided to try an 8* version of the Drake Bergonzi model.\u00a0 I usually play 7*-8 tip openings but Dave told me that he was playing 7*’s also and he felt the 8* was perfect for him.\u00a0 I think the 8* was indeed a good choice for me.\u00a0 It didn’t feel huge to me but was easy to get used to.<\/p>\n Drake “Jerry Bergonzi” Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n It took me a while to dial in the reed choice for this mouthpiece.\u00a0 I tried a variety of reeds and brands.\u00a0 I found that Rigotti Gold 3’s, Rico Jazz Select 3M’s, and Vandoren Java 3’s played well on the Bergonzi 8* but I found that the sound was very different than what I go for.\u00a0 It leaned more towards a Bergonzi type of sound with those harder reeds. The harder the reed the brighter and drier I felt the sound got.\u00a0 This isn’t a bad thing in the least but it just isn’t my sound on the tenor.\u00a0\u00a0 If you are going for a Bergonzi type sound I really think this mouthpiece will get you there with a 3-4 reed………<\/p>\n I finally locked in my reed choice when I tried an Ishimori Woodstone 3 reed on it. The Woodstone 3 reeds are a bit softer and more easy blowing than the other\u00a0 size 3 reeds I had tried but it wasn’t as soft as the 2 1\/2’s.<\/p>\n It played easy enough to get a clear vibrant sound but offered enough resistance that I could push against to shape the sound.\u00a0 I tried all the Rigotti Gold 2 1\/2 sizes also but those just felt too soft for this saxophone mouthpiece.<\/p>\n Drake “Jerry Bergonzi” Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n This is the description of the Drake Bergonzi model from the Drake website:<\/p>\n This model has been developed through a close collaboration between Aaron Drake and Jerry Bergonzi.\u00a0 It has taken over two years to refine the various design elements incorporated in this model.\u00a0 The fundamental design is based on Jerry’s personal EB from the 1960’s.\u00a0 The classic “crescent” shaped baffle transitions to a re-calibrated floor contour and ultimately a round large chamber.\u00a0 The tip and side rails are finished to the exact specifications that Jerry prefers – this slightly wider contour helps to generate a thickness and stability in the sound and attack.\u00a0 The addition of the banding on the shank helps to focus the core vibrational frequencies and generates greater projection.<\/em><\/p>\n Drake “Jerry Bergonzi” Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n Now the hard part, trying to describe the sound.\u00a0 I did feel like the tone was darker in the lower register.\u00a0 It got brighter as I went above second octave A.\u00a0 The tone was very thick, full\u00a0 and had a dry aspect to it to my ears. \u00a0 It was very easy to play in the altissimo and to get around the horn. \u00a0 I would actually say that the altissimo was much easier to play than many other Otto Links and “Link” type mouthpieces I have reviewed on this site.\u00a0\u00a0 It was very easy to play fast and the tone was smooth and even around the horn.<\/p>\n The 8* also had a lot of room to be pushed.\u00a0 It could play really loud and full.\u00a0 I felt that the more air I put into it the bigger and more focused the sound got. The intonation was great and within normal limits.<\/p>\n I will say that you should take these words on sound as just words and opinions of mine.\u00a0 The true test is to listen to the clip below and to judge for yourself.\u00a0 I have run into sax players that say a sound is dark when I think it is bright, or they say it is so focused when I think it is spread sounding so………..listen to the clip and decide for yourself what words describe the sound.<\/p>\n Drake “Jerry Bergonzi” Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n I really enjoyed playing this Drake Jerry Bergonzi Tenor mouthpiece.\u00a0 If you like the sound and look of this mouthpiece you can try contacting Aaron Drake to see if you can try one yourself.\u00a0 Here is the website for the Drake Bergonzi saxophone mouthpiece.<\/a><\/p>\n Let me know what you think in the comments below.\u00a0 Thanks, Steve<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n