Mark Sepinuck has been collecting and selling vintage mouthpieces and saxophones for over 30+ years. Over the past few years, Mark decided to come out with his own line of mouthpieces since he was not entirely happy with the vintage/modern mouthpieces available on the market today.
His goal was to create a mouthpiece that suited him as well as a mouthpiece he believes many other saxophonists would enjoy. The 10mFan mouthpieces that Mark has introduced over the past 5+ years include:
Robusto (T)
The Classic (T)
Merlot (T)
Showtime (T)
Black-Widow (T)
The Boss (T)
Daddy-O (A)
Showboat (A).
Of note is the fact that there will be metal versions of his tenor mouthpieces in the near future (and may already be out by the time you’re reading this).
Recently, Mark has been working with a new mouthpiece maker to produce his line of mouthpieces with some further updates that are different from his original models. Mark was nice enough to send me a 10mFan Robusto 7 as well as The Classic 7 to test play. I will be reviewing each mouthpiece on tone, response, intonation, quality, and my overall thoughts.
10mFan Classic Mouthpiece (7)
Product Overview
Mark describes The Classic as a mouthpiece which is focused and warm but also incredibly flexible at any dynamic level with an even sound from top to bottom.With the recent updates, the new Classic model has a facing length measuring 50 for a 6*, 7, and 7* tip openings which Mark feels will further enhance, the warmth, core, and flexibility of The Classic design. In comparison to the Robusto, The Classic showcases a higher floor, a shorter and lower baffle, super scooped-out side walls, and an oval shaped chamber. In addition, the new Classic now contains wider tip rails which are not as thin as the previous model resulting in a better alignment with the reed and table of the mouthpiece.
Tone & Response
As Mark described The Classic had a warm focused sound that did not lean towards the dark or bright side but right in the middle in my opinion. I will say by trying different reed brands, strengths, and cuts did have an overall effect on the sound leaning towards the brighter or darker side. I was using a Boston Sax Shop 2.5 reed which is Rigotti cane with a different cut that leans towards the darker side of the sound spectrum.
I found The Classic could have edge to the sound when pushed, but maintained a very clean and focused sound from low Bb into the altissimo range. The Classic response was immediate and free-blowing. In comparison to some of the other previous 10mFan models I have tried in the past, I believe the new facing length provides a little bit more resistance to push against which is something I believe many players will enjoy because sometimes if a mouthpiece is too free-blowing it makes it a bit more difficult to control at various dynamic levels.
Intonation
The intonation was great. From low Bb to the altissimo range I had no problem adjusting to The Classic. I was very surprised how easy it was to play in the altissimo range with little to no adjustment from my current Slant hard rubber link as well as maintain the note in tune.
Quality
The Classic is made from high quality German bar stock hard rubber. When I looked at the tip, rails, and table, they all looked clean, even, and I did not notice any blemishes or irregularities. I did notice the table, rails, and inside of the mouthpiece was not buffed which showed the hand finishing that was done. As per Mark, each of his mouthpiece designs are “saved on the computer, cut by CNC precision machined for complete accuracy, and hand finished one at a time” which ensures a consistent mouthpiece.
Overall Thoughts
I really enjoyed playing the 10mFan The Classic tenor mouthpiece. I found The Classic embodied some of tone and focus characteristics that I find on my Slant Link while offering much more flexibility and really projecting when playing at various dynamic levels. The overall flexibility and projection of The Classic are characteristics that really stood out to me with The Classic as well as The Robusto mouthpieces.
I will say that if you are coming from vintage metal or hard rubber Link and are looking for a copy, The Classic might not be the right fit for you. With that being said, if you are open to a mouthpiece that embodies many of those characteristics found in a classic link and other vintage hard rubber mouthpieces but are also looking for much more projection and flexibility, The Classic could be the right mouthpiece for you.
Sound Clip
Equipment
Saxophone: Lupifaro Platinum Tenor
Ligature: Marc Jean Ligature or Vintage metal two screw ligature
Reeds: Boston Sax Shop 2.5 (T)
Mouthpiece: The Classic (7)
10mFan Robusto Mouthpiece (7)
Product Overview
In addition to testing out The Classic model, Mark sent me the Robusto model in a 7 tip opening. Mark designed the Robusto as his own personal mouthpiece and describes the Robusto as a hard rubber mouthpiece that contains a “spread, fat, warm, and punchy sound with a sizzle when pushed.” In comparison to The Classic, the Robusto has a medium height baffle with straight side walls and the floor drops after the baffle into a round chamber.
Tone & Response
When speaking with Mark about my current setup, he told me that I would prefer The Classic model but wanted me to try the Robusto to see what I thought. Mark’s description of the Robusto is spot-on. The Robusto had a spread fat sound that could be warm as well as edgy when pushed. Similar to The Classic, sonically speaking, I found the Robusto fell right into the middle of the sound spectrum, but I also believe that using a different reed and ligature combination could brighten or darken the overall sound. Like The Classic, I test-played the Robusto with a Boston Sax Shop 2.5 reed.
The biggest difference I noticed between the Robusto and The Classic was the overall response. The Robusto seemed to project even more than the Classic when pushed and I found that the overall sound was much more spread than focused, but depending on your playing style, the Robusto can play with a focused sound. In addition, on the Robusto, I found that the sound was a bit brighter in the upper stack than on The Classic and could really project and cut while playing into the altissimo range.
Intonation
Similar to The Classic, the Robusto’s intonation was great. From low Bb to the altissimo range I had no problem adjusting to the Robusto.
Quality
Similar to The Classic, the Robusto is made from high quality German bar stock hard rubber. When I looked at the tip, rails, and table, they all looked clean, even, and I did not notice any blemishes or irregularities. The Robusto’s tip, rails, and table looked clean, even, and I did not notice any blemishes or irregularities. As was the case with The Classic, I did notice the table, rails, and inside of the mouthpiece was not buffed, which showed the hand finishing that was done.
Overall Thoughts
The Robusto is a great mouthpiece. From the tone, response, and intonation, the Robusto provides the player a lot of flexibility from a dynamic standpoint as well just sheer projection when pushed. I would recommend those players looking for a spread, fat, and punchy sound (Mark says to think of Gene Ammons) to consider checking out the Robusto.
Sound Clip
Equipment
Saxophone: Lupifaro Platinum Tenor
Ligature: Marc Jean Ligature or Vintage metal two screw ligature
Reeds: Boston Sax Shop 2.5 (T)
Mouthpiece: Robusto (7)
My Final Thoughts
I would like to thank Mark Sepinuck for sending me his 10mFan The Classic and Robusto tenor saxophone mouthpieces to try out. I really like the recent updates that Mark has made to each of these models and think many players will feel the same. With that being said, overall, I preferred The Classic over the Robusto in terms of its playing characteristics, as they suited me best.
After checking out The Classic and Robusto, I still see myself playing my vintage Slant Link, but what’s important to note is that the 10mFan line of mouthpieces were not designed to be copies or modified versions of a vintage Link, Dukoff, Meyer, Freddie Gregory, Berg, Selmer, etc., but as truly original designs that stand on their own.
If you are looking for a Link or Meyer copy, Mark’s mouthpieces might not be the right fit for you. However, after play-testing The Classic and Robusto, these 10mFan mouthpieces have a lot to offer in terms of dynamic range and flexibility which are areas in which I believe many of the classic vintage mouthpieces & many modern mouthpieces fall short.
Again, I would like to thank Mark for sending me The Classic and Robusto mouthpieces to review, and I am excited to try out the new models that Mark has in store for the near future.
For those of you who don’t already know Matt Marantz, Matt is not just a great saxophone player, but over time has become one of the go-to guys for refacing mouthpieces. Since I have known Matt and have been able to check out his line of mouthpieces, I understand why his services have become increasingly in demand. I was excited to get the chance to learn more from Matt about his background as a musician as well as how he got into mouthpiece refacing – a business which has changed quite a bit over the past 5 to 10 years.
Matt Marantz Bio
Originally from Dallas Texas, Matt grew up in a musical family and attended high school at the Booker T. Washington Arts Magnet.
Some of Matt’s early accomplishments can be seen in publications such as Downbeat and Jazziz magazines.
After graduating High School, Matt moved to New York City to study at the Manhattan School of Music with saxophonist Bob Mintzer on a full scholarship.
Matt began appearing alongside his musical peers at NYC venues as well as venues such as the Monterey Jazz Festival in California, the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy, and the TIM Jazz Festival in Brazil.
After finishing up at the Manhattan School of Music, Matt was selected as one of the 2009-2011 Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz artist-diploma class members, where he studied and performed with the likes of Terence Blanchard, Herbie Hancock, Jack DeJohnette, and Jason Moran.
Matt released his debut album, Offering accompanied by guitarists Steve Cardenas and pianist Sam Harris.
Shortly after, in 2012, Matt released his second recorded work which was a collaborative effort between Matt and his brother, pianist Luke Marantz called The Primary Colors.
Currently, Matt resides in the NYC metro area and continues to teach and perform as a sideman and leader. When Matt is not teaching or performing, he is busy at the bench refacing and producing his own line of mouthpieces for players all around the world.
Interview
ZS: What got you into refacing mouthpieces and why do you continue to reface and produce your own line of mouthpieces today?
MM: When I was in high school, there was a website called mouthpiece heaven which was started by Theo Wanne. I was constantly checking out this site because there was some great information on mouthpiece brands, models, facings etc. which I was interested in because I was having trouble finding a mouthpiece on alto that worked for me. While attending various conferences over the years like the International Association For Jazz Education (IAJE), I was picking up mouthpieces from time to time that worked better than my current setup but I was still overall never happy. Since I was unhappy, I actually reached out to Theo Wanne with a few questions regarding mouthpieces and some of the issues I was running into. Theo actually wrote me back with answers to my questions and said he had a custom refaced Meyer which he thought I would really enjoy. I decided to purchase this custom Meyer mouthpiece which ended up playing quite well.
While at the Manhattan School of Music, one of the tenor player’s I played with in various ensembles actually refaced mouthpieces and was well known in the NYC area. I noticed he played on an old link and I was curious to check it out since I had never had a good experience with the links I currently owned. When asking him about his setup, he mentioned that he actually refaces mouthpieces and studied with Jon Van Wie as well as Ted Klum. Knowing he worked on mouthpieces, I brought him a metal link that I originally purchased from Roberto’s in NYC that I felt was not working great. He spent close to 4 hours working on my metal Otto link and let me watch him and his process for refacing mouthpieces. During this time, I actually had no interest on working on mouthpieces and was just focused on playing. I fell in love with the link he refaced and decided to bring over some other mouthpieces (mainly alto and soprano). In addition to using him, I also sent some of my mouthpieces to other refacers but unfortunately got frustrated when I received them back and they were not up to my standards.
A mouthpiece refacer named Keith Bradbury (aka “Mojo”) had tools for sale on his website such as gauges, sand paper, and other items. Since I had already accumulated close to 40 junk mouthpieces, and was spending quite a bit of money on mouthpieces that were not meeting my standards, I decided that I was going to learn how to reface mouthpieces starting in 2010. Keith’s website was full of helpful articles on refacing mouthpieces from players such as Ralph Morgan.
My first few years I ruined close to 30 or 40 of my mouthpieces while trying to figure out how to apply various facing curves. Over time, I got better and better to the point where I knew how the mouthpiece was going to play before even applying various mouthpiece curves. My first customers were actually my friends who would give me mouthpieces that they were not playing anymore so I could work on them and send them back.
When I was in Grad school, I took a music business class and realized that just playing gigs was not going to cut it so I put together a website about my playing and added a section on mouthpieces. After not much time, people started to find out about my refacing work and started to send me requests to reface their mouthpieces. By the time I graduated in 2013, I moved back to Brooklyn and tried to promote my refacing services on the internet with sites such as Sax on The Web. A couple of years later I was hired by Rafael Navarro after he saw some of my work with the request to work on 100 mouthpieces for him. This was my first time working on a bulk order which I would take the blanks he sent me and my goal was to reface each mouthpiece by hand. This amount of work helped me hone my chops because I was doing refacing on a small scale (one by one) in the past. Not long after, I decided to move my shop from working from home to a music store in NYC which resulted in a lot of New York players stopping by to check out my mouthpieces and refacing work. After some time in NYC, I decided to move my shop back to Brooklyn and work from home.
ZS: Many of your mouthpieces are based off of some of the most sought after vintage mouthpieces: Meyer’s, Link’s, Selmer’s, Guardala’s, Dukoff’s, etc and the list goes on. Are your mouthpieces inspired by vintage mouthpieces from the past?
MM: Most of the pieces I make are inspired by Meyer Bros & New York as well as a Slant and Double Ring Link. My goal is to produce a modern version of these mouthpieces that are more stable and consistent from mouthpiece to mouthpiece. My new “La Moderna” line for soprano at the moment is a unique design not based off of vintage mouthpieces from the past, and I’ve found this design really works for my playing, and others who have stopped by to try one have said the same. Based on the feedback, I am potentially looking into producing the La Moderna line for alto and tenor in the future.
ZS: What do you see as one of the major problems with off the shelf mouthpieces in many music stores today?
MM: What I see as the main problem is the table is not flat which I am able to check with a perfect flat block of steel and applying various pressure points to make sure I do not see any light. I have seen this issue with various Meyers, Otto Links, and Vandoren mouthpieces to name a few. I do see issues with facing curves as well but this is less of an issue then I would expect and the good news is it can be easily corrected.
ZS: With more and more mouthpiece refacers entering the scene, how do you stay ahead and competitive?
MM: I have been refacing mouthpieces for 10+ years that at this point I actually don’t advertise as much. Thanks to word of mouth, I am constantly busy with refacing work. Although more refacers are coming on the scene today, there has also been in increase in the number of players, which has created more than enough work to go around. I have found over time that once players find out about the quality of my work, they will typically come back to me with future requests. I feel that in comparison to other refacers, the time and energy that I put into each reface is something I do not see many refacers doing today.
ZS: Why have mouthpieces increased in price over the years? Is it a cost of materials, or customer expectations which seem to demand more hand-work?
MM: The cost of materials has increased over time, but mainly the amount of time to do great refacing work requires quite a bit of effort, which is reflected in the price.
ZS: Any future mouthpiece projects on the horizon, or new directions you see the business going?
MM: For me, I am continuing to improve the work that I do and striving to get blanks more and more consistent, which will allow me to work on what makes the mouthpiece play well instead of working on cleaning up the machine work done on the blanks. I am also wanting to make more mouthpiece models that appeal to a larger audience over just players who are looking for Link and Meyer type mouthpieces.
Anyhow who’s subscribed to the Best. Saxophone. Website. Ever. newsletter or follows the site on social media knows that I’ve just released a new course by sax legend, David Liebman titled The Ultimate Guide to Saxophone Sound Production.
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Here’s Where I Make You Richer (sort of)
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The “Lightning-Round” of Rapid-Fire Sax Sound Tips
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At the 2019 NAMM Show, I stopped by the DANSR booth and had the opportunity to briefly try the Vandoren M/O Pink Gold (some call it Rose Gold) ligature. Recently, Michael Fenoglio, Vandoren Brand Manager, was nice enough to send me a Vandoren M/O Pink Gold ligature for tenor saxophone. I will be comparing the Pink Gold finish to my Vandoren M/O aged gold finish to see if I notice a difference. For those of you who are not familiar with the Vandoren product line, please see my overview here to get up to speed.
Product Overview
Similar to the very popular Vandoren Optimum Ligature, The M|O ligature combines the lightweight construction of the Vandoren Masters ligature with the tightening mechanism found on the Optimum ligature. Some characteristics of the Vandoren M/O ligature are as follows: lightweight, symmetrical tightening, 2 small contact points, and most importantly (or at least to me), very easy to adjust.
Impressions
The Vandoren M|O ligature for saxophone comes in the following finishes: Gold, Pink-Gold, Gold-Plated, and Aged Gold. There recently has been quite a few conversations around the material or plating of a ligature and if it makes a difference in the response and sound or if it is simply just for aesthetics. To further test, I played my Vandoren M|O aged gold finish to compare it to the Vandoren M|O Pink Gold finish (see setup below for full context).
I believe the Vandoren M|O ligature is made out of brass material with various different plantings applied, but was not able to confirm with Vandoren if the Pink-Gold ligature was a combination of other materials such as brass, copper, zinc, etc.
Testing Equipment
Saxophone: Lupifaro Platinum Tenor
Reed: Boston Sax Shop 2.5 (T)
Ligature: Vandoren M|O Aged Gold & Pink Gold
Mouthpiece: D’Addario Select Jazz (7)
Sound Clips
1.) Vandoren M|O Pink Gold Finish:
2.) Vandoren M|O Aged Gold Finish:
Final Thoughts
The sound and response is subjective based on what your current setup is, but what I found after play testing both Vandoren M|O finishes was the following:
Sonically, I noticed both finishes were very similar.
I found the age gold finish had a bit more buzz or edge to the overall sound while the Pink Gold finish had more clarity and depth.
From a response standpoint, both ligatures responded almost exactly the same. I did feel the response on the Pink Gold finish was a tad freer blowing which made it slightly easier to execute phrasing at various dynamic levels.
Overall, I preferred the Pink Gold finish over the aged gold finish but this is completely personal. Aesthetically, the Pink Gold finish reminded me of the Yangisawa AW020PG saxophone which if you have not checked out, I think you will be pleased.
With that being said, the Pink Gold finish, from my research is about 2.5 times the price of the normal gold and aged gold finish. If you enjoy the M|O ligature but are on a budget, I would recommend purchasing the standard gold or aged gold finish. If you do not have a budget and like the overall response, sound, and finish of the M|O Pink Gold in comparison to the other finishes, I think you will be very happy with your purchase.
Finally, I also would recommend comparing the Vandorn M|O Pink Gold finish to other ligature in a similar price range like the Ishimori and BG ligatures to find which one works best for your setup.
Once again, a big thanks to Michael for sending me the Vandoren M|O Pink Gold ligature to further play test.
I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences play testing the various Vandoren M|O ligatures finishes.
At the 2019 NAMM Show, I was able to meet up with Jeff Ellwood, who is a saxophone player and teacher based out of Southern California. I have been following Jeff’s playing for quite some time as well practicing his educational materials, which are very good for players at all levels. For those of you who already don’t know much about Jeff Ellwood, here are some key details to note:
Received his Bachelor of Music from The Berklee College of Music & his Master’s from Cal State Fullerton.
Studied Saxophone & Improvisation with James Moody, Rick Margitza, Ralph Bowen, John Ellis, Billy Pierce, George Garzone, Eric Marienthal, and Gary Foster.
Jeff has performed or recorded with, Tony Bennett, Jerry Bergonzi, Rick Margitza, Terell Stafford, James Moody, Randy Brecker, Christina McBride, Stevie Wonder, Bob Mintzer, Eddie Daniels, Arturo Sandoval, Dave Grusin, and Quincy Jones to name a few.
In 2013, Jeff worked with saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi to produce a compilation of all of Jerry’s compositions. In addition, Jeff co-authored the book, Basic Jazz Improvisation For All Musicians
Currently, Jeff is the Director of instrumental Jazz Studies at Mt. San Antonio College and an adjust professor of jazz saxophone at Cal State Fullerton.
Interview
ZS: What was your experience playing music and why did you choose the saxophone?
JE: Well nobody in my family played music but I had asthma growing up as a kid and my doctor recommended that a musical instrument might be a good idea to help with my lungs. I started playing a musical instrument in the 5th grade and chose the saxophone because I realized at a young age that girls liked the saxophone. I started on alto saxophone while in high school and played in a few rock bands but never took any saxophone lessons.
By the end of high school, I knew music was something I was interested in doing and I was fortunate enough that my dad bought me a Selmer Series II alto in black lacquer to replace my current horn. After high school, I went to a community college for a few years and was learning a lot of material that I should have learned in high school but unfortunately I didn’t. I was trying to learn this material but things were not making sense to me. Before summer break, I noticed my high school had a tenor which I asked to borrow over break and that is when things started to make sense.
In some ways I have regrets that I never had lessons in high school, but in some ways I don’t have regrets because it forced me to figure things out and explore playing differently.
You have to understand that when I came out of high school, I was awful. I did not know my major scales or how to read music. My first week at community college they made me play lead alto because I had a good sound but I could not read. I remember the first tune we had to play was a Mark Taylor arrangement of “All The Things You Are” and we had to play that in the 2nd week of school which I had no idea what the symbols meant on the page. It was a long process for me to learn scales, chords, how to read, etc. and I played a lot of wrong notes during that time.
I knew after high school that I wanted to pursue music and attend Berklee College of Music because I knew it was a place that had many great players; which would motivate me to stay in the practice room and figure things out. Although I wanted to go to Berklee right after high school, I knew that I was not ready, so my only option was to attend my local community college.
When I decided to go community college they happened to hire a new instructor who was a saxophone player named Charlie Richard and he took me on as a student and is now the Director of Jazz Studies at Riverside City College. Charlie studied with Harvey Pittel and he had me playing Ferling Etudes and studying a lot of those concepts he learned from Harvey Pittel. I don’t feel that I would be half the musician I am today if it weren’t for those 2 years at community college because Berklee wouldn’t have nurtured me the same way a community college would.
After community college, I applied to Berklee but what further interested me in attending Berklee early on was they had these summer music camps in L.A. I went to one of these camps my first year out of high school which was a week-long and this was the first time I met Billy Pierce. For some reason, I was placed in the top level saxophone class (which I don’t know why), and I was clearly the weakest person there.
I kept asking players in my class “Oh you sound great, how do you do that?” and they were not willing to help me which was frustrating. The next year, I switched to tenor and came back to the camp. When I saw Billy Pierce, he asked me “what happened?”; similar to the story of Charlie Parker getting a cymbal thrown at his head, after my first year attending camp, I started working really hard to become as good as I could.
At the Berklee summer camp they gave out scholarship money. By no means was I anybody good who was at the camp, but Berklee ended up offering me scholarship money and to this day I believe it was because of Billy Pierce talking to the judges about how far I had come from last year.
At Berklee, I studied with Billy for my first 2 years. I bounced around to a few other teachers, Jim Odgren and Dino Govoni. After Jim I moved on to studying with George Garzone for the remainder of my time at Berklee. When I studied with Billy, I was learning a lot of the bebop language. I found Billy was a very logical teacher and remember he had filing cabinets full of charts and materials over the years teaching students. This was a great help to me because I always come into Billy’s lessons with questions and he gave me material I could work on and helped me figure it out. Garzone had his own system but it was not as organized and structured in certain ways which was also good because it let me think about ideas in a different way. After Berklee, I stayed in Boston for another year and played with a hip hop band with a bunch of jazz musicians called Red Time. It was a great band but the leader of the band decided he wanted to take the band to New York; I just was not interested in making the move and ended up moving back to California.
Just before Berklee, I was still trying to figure out how I heard music and stumbled across a Rick Margitza album which is when the lightbulb went off and is how I heard and wanted to play music. I transcribed and listened to so much of Rick Margitza and knew that I wanted to study with him. I got his phone number and just called Rick and said I need to study with you. For our lessons, I would play on a cassette tape and send it to Rick. After, Rick would listen to it and then talk on the other side of the cassette tape, write things down for me to review, and send the tape back. Those were some of my most valuable lessons I took to date.
When I moved back to California, I really had no desire to get a college teaching job but was teaching saxophone lessons on the side as I was trying to get my name out there. Back at my community college Riverside City College they had an evening jazz ensemble that was filled with local band directors, semi-professionals and professionals. That ensemble was being run by my former teacher Charlie Richard and he pulled me aside one day and asked if I would teach the improvisation class at the college, which I said sure. From there, I started to coach some combo’s and teach some students. After some time, Charlie recommended that I go back to college and get a Master’s degree. I decided to attend Cal State Fullerton and got my Master’s Degree in Performance. The teaching path was never on my radar but I kind of fell into it.
ZS: Who would you say are your biggest influences?
JE: Really my top three influences are Rick Margitza, Jerry Bergonzi, and Seamus Blake. I try to listen to other players but I keep gravitating back to these three players.
ZS: As a teacher and player, what are your thoughts on how jazz is being taught in today’s schools compared to the past? What are some similarities and differences?
JE: I think because of the world we live in, I don’t think honesty is something that happens a lot in education. I don’t think a lot of students come out of school as qualified and ready as they should be. Back when I was studying it was much more black and white. I was being told all the time, that what I was doing was not good enough and that I was not working hard enough to get it together. I knew this advice was coming from a loving place and my teachers were not trying to destroy me but simply telling me what it really takes to play music well. I don’t see students listening to music the same way as I did in the past. I find students are not listening, memorizing and internalizing their favorite player’s solos. Even today we have access to so much material online but some students are lazy and want to be told what to do instead of figuring out the material themselves.
ZS: With jazz blending more into other genres of music, what opportunities are you seeing for both yourself as well as young players entering the scene today?
JE: I am seeing younger players taking charge of their own careers. By leveraging technology, I see players coming up with their own type of music and carving out a path for themselves. I am not always a fan of some of the music but I understand these players are trying to make a living. Being an educator has allowed me to play what I want to play. I only want to play music that inspires me and play with players who want to make great music.
ZS: Do you think young saxophonists and veterans can just get by with just playing music, or do you see teaching as almost a requirement if you want to make music your full time career?
JE: Let’s be realistic; you would be foolish to not teach players who want to learn from you. I think Chad Lefkowitz-Brown and Bob Reynolds are great examples where they are carving out their own path related to teaching, with e-books and educational based websites. I myself am working on a Seamus Blake transcription book with Remi Bolduc from McGill University that I hope to release soon and think a lot of players will enjoy checking it out.
ZS: What projects are you currently working on right now?
JE: I am hoping to get in the studio in February and make my first record as a leader.
ZS: What are you working on today (exercise). Educational materials you would like to share with readers?
JE: What I have been working on lately has been chord sounds. In particular I have been working on 9th chords and really figuring out every possible way to mix up 5 notes and playing them at all upper extensions. Using voice leading you can combine these melodies.
ZS: What is your current setup today and what are your thoughts on the importance of equipment (Vintage V.S. Modern)?
I have never played any vintage gear or had the desire to. Part of the reason is because I love technology but I never wanted to be in a situation where my Mark VI is lost or gets stolen and I could never replace it. If anything were to happen to my Yamaha, I could go to a shop or Yamaha directly and get a new horn. I have never spent much time playing Mark VI’s or SBA’s. I actually had something happen to my modern Selmer Series II tenor so I was looking for a back-up tenor. At that time, the Yamaha Custom 82Z’s were not as expensive so I bought a black lacquer Yamaha Custom 82Z. After playing the Yamaha Custom 82Z and comparing it to my Selmer Series II, I found the Yamaha to be a better saxophone. I was later able to get connected with Yamaha and have been a Yamaha artist for quite some time. Recently, I picked up the new Yamaha Custom 82zii Atelier model and I absolutely love this horn.
At the 2019 NAMM Show, I had the chance to meet with Rulon Brown, President of Key Leaves, and test the Key Leaves Sax Key Props as well as the Vent Vine. Most recently, Rulon sent me two new products to review – the GapCap & Spit Sponge.
GapCap
Product Overview
The end cap/end plug that comes with your saxophone is designed to protect the octave mechanism as you take your saxophone from gig to gig. The issue is many sax end caps/end plugs do not fit your saxophone neck tenon securely. In addition, your saxophone case might not be the perfect fit for your particular horn, so the end cap might not take up the necessary space needed to make sure your saxophone is secure during transport.
The good news is Rulon Brown at Key Leaves has released the GapCap to solve these issues. According to Key Leaves, the GapCap, “flexes to fit your sax perfectly, screw adjusts to fit your case, shock absorbs impact, and vents air through the top and side for a cleaner saxophone resulting in longer pad life.”
Benefits:
The spring wall design can be easily adjusted to fit the neck socket of your tenor or alto saxophone (GapCap available for tenor and alto saxophone)
If you have a loose-fitting saxophone case, the GapCap screw can be expanded to fill that gap resulting in a lower chance of bent keys or bent body.
The GapCap vents to allow airflow into the saxophone to keep the saxophone cleaner and extend the life of your pads.
My Impressions
Before receiving the GapCap, I had been using a Wooden Cap made out of Zebrawood by SaxPlugs (saxophonist Matt Vashlishan’s company). This cap did fit my saxophone well in comparison to the plastic end cap it came with, and made my saxophone fit more securely in my Bam Softpack tenor case.
When I received the GapCap, I was really impressed how it could be easily adjusted to fit many different saxophone brands from Yanagisawa to Selmer to Lupifaro to Yamaha (which is one drawback with the wooden end plugs). The GapCap adjustment screw was great when trying to make sure my saxophone was secure in my Bam case. What is great about the adjustment screw is if you are switching between cases or having difficulty finding a perfect fit for your saxophone, the GapCap can assist with filling that gap. The benefits I saw were reducing the chances of my saxophone being damaged due to movement or something or someone accidentally hitting my case.
In addition, if I ever had a sax case that was not the best fit, I do not necessarily have to go out and search for a new case (as much as I enjoy looking for new gear…).
Finally, since the GapCap has open slots, air is allowed to travel throughout my saxophone, which will result in longer-lasting cleaner pads (especially in the palm keys).
Conclusion
I would like to thank Rulon for sending me the GapCap to review. Although I like my wooden end plug, the GapCap provides my saxophone a more secure fit in my case as well as any case in the future should I decide to change (which knowing me, I probably will).
With that being said, there are vendors producing wooden end plugs (like the wooden one I own) as well as custom end plugs made out of various materials which will further solve some of the issues the standard end plug misses, so if for some reason the GapCap is not the right fit for you, you can also consider these other options.
Sticky pads have always been a problem for pretty much all saxophonists. That is why Rulon came up with the Spit Sponge. As you know, sticky saxophone pads can become a noisy and sticky mess. With the Spit Sponge, you will be able to remove moisture left on the pads and tone holes that a saxophone swab just can’t reach, resulting in extended pad life and a cleaner horn all-around. According to Key Leaves, the Spit Sponge featured “a dual texture pad cleaner with an ultra absorbent top to clean delicate pad leather, and a micro-textured bottom to scrub tone holes clean.”
Benefits:
Easy-fit shape for cramped G# keys or big bell keys
Replaces wasteful pad paper & powders
Never Fray laser-fused edge
Washable for years of use
Fight tone hole corrosion
Reduce pad rot & repair
Thoughts
Before testing the Spit Sponge, I had been using either powdered paper or my trusty dollar bill to address any pads that were sticky (typically my G# and low C# key). Both methods did solve my sticky pad issue but had their drawbacks. The dollar bill was great as a quick fix but would only temporarily remove stickiness until the next time. In comparison, the powdered paper would remove the stickiness from my pads for quite some time but would leave powder all over the pad and resonator.
The Spit Sponge is a great alternative to both these options because the top layer of the spit sponge does absorb any spit or dampness after playing to keep the pad dry, and the bottom layers allow you to clean the tone-hole so no build up will occur. What’s great about the Spit Sponge is you can easily clean it with soap and water so it can be used over and over for years. The Spit Sponge, although a simple tool, is a nice addition to the current line of Key Leaves products.
Will the dollar bill or powder paper still work as a remedy for sticky pads? Yes, but after further testing, I do believe that the Spit Sponge is the better solution.
Again, I would like to thank Rulon for sending me the GapCap and Spit Sponge to review.
The GapCap is a great solution for those players who like their current saxophone case but have realized that their saxophone or case is not a perfect fit. The GapCap will prevent your saxophone from moving around in the case, which many times is where damage will occur. In addition, if you ever switch horns or purchase another saxophone, the GapCap will assist with making your new saxophone a more secure fit. One alternative to the GapCap would be to buy a custom-made case like a Mike Manning, but as many of you know, this would be a more expensive option.
As for the Spit Sponge, it’s a great product for keeping your pads dry as well as tone-holes clean to further prevent your pads from sticking. I would be interested to compare the Spit Sponge to BG’s Pad Dryers and see how they compare. With that being said, the dollar bill or pad paper will still work as I mentioned above, but they both have those considerable drawbacks that I mentioned earlier.
So that’s my take on these two new products, but please do share your thoughts and feedback if you have used Key Leaves GapCap or Spit Sponge!
Once again, the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show 2020 was filled with exhibitors showcasing their latest music-making products, so once again,I was lucky enough to be able to visit the show myself and check out all of the latest and greatest saxophones, necks, ligatures, mouthpieces, reeds, neck-straps, neck-screws, cases and the list goes on and on and on.
With only four days to see it all, it’s virtually impossible to try out every single product that I’m interested in checking out, but in this article I share my finding with the new products I did have a chance to test play at the show this year. I’ve also included a list of products I didn’t get to try out, but piqued my interest as worthy of checking out this year.
Saxophones
Eastman 850 Tenor
Since test playing the new Eastman 850 alto saxophone at last year’s NAMM show, Eastman this year released the 850 tenor. Similar to the Eastman 850 alto I play tested last year, the Eastman 850 tenor embodies the same unique features such as: re-designed side keys, the alternate f# and high f# key placement, each palm key placed at a different angle for maximum comfort, left hand pinky table has a raised C# for a smoother transition to the low B and Bb, uniquely designed octave mechanism, and rounded tone whole cups.
In addition, Ralph Torres over at Eastman informed me that the 850 model will come with 2 necks giving the player further possibilities to experiment with sonically as well as how the horn responds (more or less resistance based on the different neck tapers).
Similar to the alto, I overall really liked how the Eastman 850 tenor responded as well as felt under my fingers. The Eastman 850 tenor responded well from top to bottom with overall good intonation without much adjustment.
Sonically, the Eastman 850 tenor had a more bright and focused sound in comparison to the Eastman 52nd street tenor; which I found to lean towards the darker side of the sound spectrum and play more spread than focused.
In addition to the Eastman 850 tenor being released, Eastman also released the updated keywork for the Eastman 52nd street line of saxophones. Personally, I see this as a major improvement to the overall keywork found on the current Eastman 52nd street saxophones. The new keywork on the Eastman 52nd street tenor and alto saxophone felt much more comfortable under my fingers. I am excited to see Eastman release the 852 alto and tenor which will be the 52nd street saxophone but with the new keywork you will find on the Eastman 850 model. I would like to thank Ralph Torres for taking the time to show me the new Eastman 850 tenor as well as updated keywork you will now find on the Eastman 52nd street line of saxophones.
I first noticed Schagerl at last year’s NAMM showcasing their line of trumpets which seemed to be quite a hit. While checking out the Schagerl booth this year, I noticed they brought a few saxophones. The Schagerl saxophone I played was the Model 66 with the “vintage” finish.
I had a chance to speak with Karl Schagerl who is the CEO of Schagerl about the Model 66 line of saxophones. Karl informed me that the Model 66 pays tribute to the Mark VI (like many saxophones being manufactured today) with the parts coming from Taiwan and then the horn being setup in the Schagerl factory in Austria. Sonically, I found the Model 66 leaned towards the darker side (depends on your setup) and felt fairly comfortable under my fingers.
Personally, I would make some adjustments to the lower stack such as the spring tension for a more even feel. From an intonation stand point the saxophone played even from low Bb to high F# without much adjustment, but I did find the altissimo to play a bit on the resistant side. After further play testing, the Schagerl Model 66 did remind me of other Taiwanese saxophones that were going after that vintage look, feel, and sound, but the Schagerl Model 66 in comparison had a overall better setup (I still think there is room for improvements) and sonically had a nice warmth and edge to the sound.
I found out that Schagerl Model 66 is carried by Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center and the current retail price is around $3,200 for the tenor which is quite competitive with other brands. I would like to thank Karl for taking the time to further discuss the Schagerl Model 66 tenor and would like to further test play this model in the future.
P Mauriat Master 97 Soprano
With the popularity of the P Mauriat Master 97 alto and tenor saxophone, P Mauriat has just released the P Mauriat Master 97 for soprano. Please note, I mainly play alto and tenor so I will do my best to provide you my overall impression of the soprano.
The P Mauriat Master 97 soprano is a 2-piece soprano (potentially a one piece option in the future) that aesthetically reminds me of the Yanagisawa 901 or 991 based off of the finish as well as the key-work (very similar to a Yanagisawa 901 or 991). The overall setup felt good under my fingers but I would make a few adjustments in the palm keys for easier access.
Sonically, the Master 97 soprano reminded me of the alto and tenor which embodied a focused and warm sound over a more edgy and spread sound which I have found on other P Mauriat models. My recommendation if you are in the market for a soprano saxophone would be to test play the P Mauriat Master 97 soprano (especially if you like the Master 97 alto & tenor) and see how it compares to a Yanagisawa WO1 or WO10 as well as Yamaha 82z soprano.
Personally, I prefer the Yanagisawa & Yamaha sopranos but I think the P Mauriat Master 97 soprano is a nice addition to the current line of P Mauriat sopranos (76 2nd edition & Le Bravo 200).
Antigua AS5200 & TS5200 Alto & Tenor Saxophone
I have played the Antigua line of saxophones in the past from the Power Bell model, to the ProOne, to the Model 25 for both tenor and alto saxophone and personally felt that the overall sound, keywork, and setup were ok but not great (always room for improvement).
At NAMM 2020, I ran into Mike Summers who is the brand manager at Antigua. I shared with Mike my overall thoughts and feedback on Antigua as well as the current lineup, and he appreciated the feedback and said he is constantly working to further improve the current lineup. While re-visiting some of the Antigua saxophone models, Mike asked if I would try Antigua’s new model which was released at TMEA 2019 called the Antigua 5200. Mike informed me that the Antigua 5200 was Antigua’s new offering designed with the classical player in mind who currently might be playing on a modern Selmer, Yamaha, or Yanagisawa but interested in what other options are out there.
The 5200 has the following features: a redesigned neck, fully ribbed construction, one-piece bell, pisoni pro pads with metal resonators, standard sized bell, and redesigned ergonomics. After play testing both the 5200 tenor and alto saxophone, I was pleasantly surprised. Similar to what I saw with the P Mauriat 97 master alto when it was first released, I personally believe the 5200 series by Antigua is a move in the right direction. Both the 5200 alto and tenor were free blowing and sonically fell in the neutral sound spectrum, but depending on your setup could play darker or brighter.
The keywork felt generally comfortable under my fingers, but after further play testing, I provided Mike a few suggestions for further improvements or enhancements to make it even better such as: the position of the Eb key, the high F# tear drop key being slightly lowered for a smoother transition, and taking the rollers from the ProOne model low C#, B, and Bb (similar to Yanagisawa) and also using those on the 5200 series. Again, I would like to thank Mike for taking the time to discuss with me more about the Antigua 5200 alto and tenor saxophone and am curious to see how this model evolves.
The Jazzlab Saxholder is personally one of my favorite neckstraps on the market today and the one I currently use. At this year’s NAMM, Jazzlab introduced the JazzLab Saxholder Pro neckstrap which is similar to the previous model but with the following enhancements:
The shoulder handles can now be removed and re-attached when needed for easier transport.
Where the neck strap cord begins has been raised to provide a better position when adjusting your saxophone.
Instead of pulling down the adjuster back and forth to find a comfortable position for the stomach plate, you now have a telescopic slider which you can unlock and lock by turning instead of adjusting up and down.
The stomach slider is larger and stays vertical instead of being able change between a vertical and horizontal position.
When adjusting the neckstrap cord you now have a slider button which you simply push in to adjust and then release to lock in place (better design over the previous mechanism).
The new Jazzlab Saxholder Pro has some nice enhancements over the previous model and I highly recommend those who have an existing Saxholder neckstrap, to consider picking one up if you prefer the new enhancements. With that being said, the current JazzLab Saxholder neckstrap is still a great neckstrap and I would only make the switch if you prefer the new model.
In addition to using the Saxholder, I have for quite some time been using the Jazzlab Deflector. For those of you don’t know, the Jazzlab Deflector will help you better hear yourself whether you are practicing, recording, or at a gig. I have found the Deflector especially useful depending on where I am playing or if I am having trouble hearing myself in various settings. The Jazzlab Deflector Pro is very similar to the original Deflector model except the Pro model now comes with two additional sound mirror attachments which allows the Deflector to be used for trumpet, trombone, and now a straight soprano (most important!). For those of you who do not own a Deflector, I highly recommend picking one up.
In addition, if you currently own a Deflector and are interested in the Pro model, my recommendation would be to pick one up if you are going to use the additional attachments, if not, I would stick with the original model.
Since first playing Silverstein’s ligatures a few years back, Silverstein has expanded their product line quite a bit and is now offering mouthpieces, cane reed, and other unique saxophone devices such as the Omniguard, Reedcure, Omnicap, and Omnipatch.
They’ve recently released a new synthetic reed for saxophone called the Alta Ambiploy. Although I still prefer cane reeds over many of the synthetic reeds offered on the market today, I was curious to see how Silverstein’s new Alta Ambiploy reed responded.
The Silverstein Alta Ambiploy Reed Details
Made out of Ambipolymer.
Wet this reed like cane.
Consistent in all temperatures and climates.
Made with double injection molding process for consistency from reed to reed.
Can be further customized with a reed tool (ReedGeek or Reed Knife).
5-15 minutes the reed will pair/align to your current mouthpiece setup.
I was pleasantly surprised how the Alta Ambiploy reed responded. The sound was consistent across all registers. For me personally, the Alta tenor reed responded close to cane after playing for quite some time but I still feel there are some different timbres I can obtain on a cane reed that I have simply not noticed while playing a synthetic reed. What I was most impressed with the Alta reed is the overall feel. After soaking the reed and playing for a bit, the Alta reed was more comfortable to play on over other synthetics that might play fairly well but the feel is quite different from cane. I will say the 2.5 strength Alta reed felt a tad bit hard so I believe I will either move down a half step or simply use my reedgeek to make the Alta reed a tad bit softer. I would like to thank Silverstein for letting me try the Alta reed. I am not sure if I am ready to make the switch from cane to synthetic but I think Silverstein is moving in the right direction.
This year, In addition to D’Addario releasing a new neckstrap, D’Addario’s big news was the release of their new synthetic reed called the Venn reed. Unfortunately since this reed just came out right before the show, I did not have the opportunity to test play but wanted to share some details for those of you who are interested (I know I am) in checking out how the VENN reed compares to other synthetic reeds as well as traditional cane reeds.
The D’Addario Venn reed is the first advanced synthetic reed offered by D’Addario that attempts to combine the longevity and durability of a synthetic reed without compromising on the sound and play-ability of a cane reed (which is, of course, the shared goal of all synthetic reeds) .
The Venn is a combination of different synthetic fibers with resin and also some cane particles. It will be coming out in April of this year for tenor, alto, and Bb clarinet, and offered with 5 different strengths.
Ligatures
JLV ligature
There are so many ligatures on the market today that it has gotten harder and harder for me to keep track of all of them. At this year’s NAMM, I was able to test play the JLV ligature, which I had heard about in the past but had not had a chance to test play myself. The JLV ligature was invented by Jean-Luc Vignaud who is a well-known French saxophonist and teacher at CNSM of Paris.
The JLV ligature
100% made in France
Designed to offer a centered and even sound across all registers as well as a resurfacing feature to prevent air leakage between the reed and the mouthpiece.
Comes in 5+ finishes: Polished, Brushed, Silver Plated, 24k Gold Plated, Platinum Plated, and Black Edition (New!)
I had a chance to meet Jean-Luc Vignaud as well as his team who showed me the different finishes as well as how to put the JLV ligature on my mouthpiece. The finishes I tried were the Silver-Plated, Gold-Plated, and Platinum Plated finish to compare to my Ishimori Sterling Silver ligature.
The overall build quality on the JLV ligature was very sturdy even though from first looks its appeared quite delicate. Putting on and taking off the JLV ligature does take a little bit of time to get used to as well as making some simple adjustments once you secure the ligature on your mouthpiece.
Once you get the hang of putting on and taking off the JLV ligature, it is quite easy to use. What’s unique about the JLV ligature besides the very few contact points between the mouthpiece and the reed is the four point bottom bar. 2 of the bottom bar’s feet sit on the reed stock while the other 2 feet sit on the vamp below the heart. Having two feet sitting on the vamp is what Jean-Luc Vignaud and his team told me will help prevent air leaks between the reed and mouthpiece.
The JLV ligature worked quite well with my mouthpiece setup. I found the reed vibrated evenly across all registers and the response was great. Between all three finishes, I mainly noticed a difference in the responsiveness as well as resistance/back-pressure with the Platinum Plated finish, which ended up being my favorite.
Overall, I was happy I had a chance to test play the JLV ligature and meet the JLV team. My recommendation is if you are in the market for a ligature, definitely check these out. That said, I would spend some time getting comfortable with taking the ligature on and off your mouthpiece as well as making minor adjustments to see if this is easy for you or not.
In addition, The JLV ligature is on the high end from a price standpoint (similar to Ishimori, Silverstein, etc.) so if you are on a budget for a ligature, I would recommend considering other ligatures before test playing the JLV ligature.
Theo Wanne this year released 4 updated/revisions to his current line of pro mouthpieces. These mouthpieces include: the Ambika 3, The Durga 4, The Gaia 3, and the Shiva 3. I had a chance to test play all but the Ambika 3. I will be sharing my thoughts test playing these new models as well as some of the updates Theo has made.
Ambika 3
Overview
Shark Gill Baffle.
Newly designed baffle and chamber.
Sonically: Even freer blowing than the previous model with more dynamics.
Timbre: Darkest mouthpiece.
Material: Comes in Metal as well as Hard Rubber.
Target: Aimed at those players who enjoy playing on those vintage mouthpieces from the 1940’s -50’s but want a fuller sound with more projection and wider dynamics.
The Durga 4 is probably one of the most free blowing and responsive mouthpieces I have ever played. The Durga 4, when pushed can really project and sonically leans towards the brighter side of the sound spectrum. It’s quite flexible and has a wide dynamic range.
Personally, I think more contemporary players will enjoy the Durga 4 while other players coming from vintage links or who are use to a different level of resistance will prefer one of Theo’s Wanne’s other models. I think those players who want an incredibly free-blowing mouthpiece that responds instantly and leans towards the bright side will enjoy the Durga 4.
Gaia 3 (7*)
Overview
Shark Gill Baffle
Thin body, Rounded inner side walls, large chamber, and roll-over baffle
Sonically: Theo’s goal was to recreate the sound of a great Vintage Florida Otto Link as well as the sonic characteristics you hear from the great tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon
Coming from a hard rubber slant link, the Theo Wanne Slant Sig 2 is probably the closest mouthpiece Theo offers to what I am playing on today. With that being said, The Gaia 3 was incredibly free-blowing (like many of Theo Wanne’s mouthpieces) with a dark sound that was easy to articulate. I found the Gaia 3 had a great dynamic range which was, overall, easy to control with the sound leaning on the cleaner side instead of being very edgy.
Shiva 3 (7*)
Overview
Shark Gill Camber & Step Baffle.
Ideal for Rock n’ Roll or R&B.
Sonically: This is Theo’s brightest mouthpiece offering.
Compared to the Durga 4, Gaia 3, and Theo Wanne’s other models, The Shiva 3 is as Theo describes, his brightest mouthpiece offering. Although quite bright sonically, I did not find the Shiva to have a thin or shrill sound when pushed (especially in the palm keys). The Shiva 3 was incredibly responsive (similar to the Durga 4, but the Durga 4 is a bit more responsive) from low Bb to high F# and whether I was playing soft or loud, the Shiva 3 was quite easy to control.
Although I prefer a darker-sounding mouthpiece (more like the Gaia 3 or Slant Sig 2), I understand why many players who play Theo’s mouthpieces like the Shiva model. If you are looking for a bright mouthpiece that projects as well as cuts, the Shiva 3 might be the right model for you.
I would like to thank Matt Ambrose (Chief Machinist and CAD Designer) at Theo Wanne for taking the time to let me try the new models Theo Wanne was showcasing at this years NAMM.
At this year’s NAMM show I had a chance to stop by the JodyJazz booth and test play the new JodyJazz HR* Custom Dark in a 7 tip opening. Due to the popularity of the JodyJazz HR* mouthpiece, Jody wanted to offer a mouthpiece that embodied a warm dark sound with more spread. The Custom Dark model utilizes the Chedeville hard rubber with rounded side walls and a much larger chamber which helps achieve a darker, warmer, and more spread sound in comparison to the JodyJazz HR* mouthpiece.
I found JodyJazz HR* Custom Dark mouthpiece to do exactly as Jody described. The HR* Custom dark was responsive with sound that was more spread as opposed to having a tightly-defined core. The dark and warm sound I could obtain on this mouthpiece made me think of Joe Henderson.
In terms of projection, the HR* Custom Dark did well, but if you are looking for mouthpiece with more projection and one that can cut, I would recommend one of JodyJazz’s other models. Overall, I am really impressed with the new JodyJazz HR* Custom Dark mouthpiece which is now my personal favorite model of Jody’s mouthpiece lineup.
Retro Revival- “Stubby” Replica 1945 Bob Dukoff Short Body Tenor
At The Retro Revival (R.R) booth this year, I had a chance to test play the new Retro Revival “Stubby”, which is a replica of a 1945 Bob Dukoff Short Body mouthpiece. I believe this mouthpiece was based off a vintage Dukoff “Stubby” that Bob Sheppard played on for years.
Those of you have played an original Dukoff “Stubby” in great condition know these mouthpieces play extremely well, but are quite hard to find. I have played a few Dukoff “Stubby’s” in past and always thought of them as the direct competitor to the vintage metal Otto Link.
The Dukoff “Stubby” has a large chamber with deep rounded inner-side walls (similar to a vintage link). What makes the “Stubby” different is it has a higher floor which I found allows for greater projection. The Retro Revival “Stubby” mouthpiece played great from top to bottom.
This mouthpiece was easy to subtone and embodied a warm dark tone that had a nice edge when pushed. I personally prefer playing on hard rubber mouthpieces, but the R.R “Stubby” was incredibly comfortable to play on, and is now my favorite metal model that R.R. offers.
If you have not tried the R.R “Stubby”, I highly recommend you do so and if you can, compare it to the R.R “Super D” and see how each one plays.
I remember visiting the Gottsu (founded by Masahiko Goto in 2005) at my very first NAMM show. That year, I had the opportunity to test play the Sepia Tone VI line of mouthpieces which I quite liked. After my first NAMM show, I had not seen Gottsu return to future NAMM’s until this year (Am glad he did).
At this year’s NAMM, Gottsu showcased an extensive line of mouthpieces which included the Sepia Tone VI, Jazz Soloist, Jazz Metal, Master (based off a vintage Master Link), Studio Metal, and Hibiki.
Since first meeting Goto, I found out that he purchased a CNC machine and has been working to further refine his line of mouthpieces – and it shows. After play testing each mouthpiece model for tenor (all played great), what stood out to me was the Gottsu Jazz Soloist.
The Jazz Soloist is not an exact copy, but more a modified version of an original vintage Selmer Soloist which was made popular by such players as Kenny Garrett, Joe Henderson, Rich Perry, and others. The tip opening I landed on was a “G” opening – which is equivalent to a 7 or .100. The piece has a horseshoe chamber like you see on the original Selmer Soloist.
I found the Gottsu Jazz Soloist had a nice dark sound with a clear core that could project and did not feel stuffy or have a nasally sound that you might find on an original Selmer Soloist. In addition, the Gottsu Jazz Soloist was very responsive and easy to play at various dynamic levels.
If you are in the market for an original Selmer Soloist, I would highly consider checking out the Gottsu Jazz Soloist because personally I think it plays better than the originals in sound, projection, dynamics, etc.
2020 NAMM was an exciting show filled with exhibitors showcasing their new and existing line up of saxophones, ligatures, mouthpieces, reeds, necks, neck straps, sax stands, and a seemingly never-ending list of saxophone products. This year in particular, I saw a further focus on the classical saxophonist (mainly mouthpieces), which was similar what I saw in 2019, but what stood out was a clear emphasis on improvements to many existing product lines.
I also saw more and more vendors expanding their product lines to essentially become a one-stop-shop. Although I think this can be a solid approach to assembling a product line, generally speaking, I’d prefer seeing manufacturers really focusing on what they do well, and refine their current products as opposed to trying to expand into offerings that they may not excel at to the same degree.
Unfortunately, as is always the case, I was not able to visit every booth at the show that I wanted to and spend the amount of time I would have liked to test play various products.
To Exhibitors…
If I did not include you in this list, please know that it is not a reflection on your product, it just came down to time. If you would like me to review your product or have any questions, please feel free to contact me using the information from my author bio below.
There are more and more talented saxophone players hitting the scene today. With so much talent and fewer gigs, you really need to hone your skills as a saxophonist, but most importantly as a versatile musician. One player I really see making strides towards not just being accomplished on his instrument, but also becoming as a musical artist is Chase Baird.
For those of you who do not know Chase, here are some key details to note:
Chase is a saxophonist and composer who can be best described as “part experimental rocker, classical romantic, and hard-bop devotee”
Described by Randy Brecker as “the future of jazz music and the saxophone”
Born in Seattle and raised in Salt Lake City, Chase picked up the saxophone at age 10
In 2003, Chase was discovered and mentored by tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker
From 2007-2009 Chase attended California State University-Long Beach and later transferred and finished at The Juilliard School in N.Y.C where he studied with Ron Blake, Joe Temperley, Steve Wilson, Frank Kimbrough, and Rodney Jones to name a few.
Chase has had the opportunity to play with such jazz greats as Mike Stern, Antonio Farao, Thana Alexa, Christian McBride, Julian Pollack, as well as popular artists such as Chaka Khan, Matthew Morrison, Jakob Dylan, Chloe Agnew, and Diana Degarmo.
Over the past few years Chase has been an active member of virtuoso drummer and composer Antonio Sánchez’s band as well as the multi-generational progressive jazz quartet Venture (featuring vibraphonist Mark Sherman, bassist Felix Pastorius and drum legend Mike Clark).
January 2017, Chase performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center celebrating the life and music of Michael Brecker, playing his own original, “Ripcord”–with former President (and sax player) Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton sitting in the front row.
Chase recently released his album A Life Between with a band comprised of Antonio Sanchez (drums), Brad Mehldau (piano), Nir Felder (guitar), and Dan Chmielinski (bass)
CHASE’S NEW ALBUM: “A Life Between”. I’ve also included the liner notes to (A LIFE BETWEEN) which provides further context what went into putting this album together, as well the challenges and rewards of life in music.
Interview
ZS: Why did you choose the saxophone?
CB: My dad had been a semi-professional trumpet player when he was younger. He also doubled on saxophone, flute, Rhodes, synths and percussion in the different bands he worked with. I wanted to play trumpet like him, but he had a really nice trumpet (Bach Stradivarius) and a mediocre alto saxophone (Vito student model), so I was given the saxophone to start learning. I would love to be able to say that I had some sort of passion or interest from the get-go but I really didn’t. My parents asked me if I wanted to take lessons, and I thought, “ok sure”. I was always good about practicing and would practice at least 15 minutes a day but it wasn’t something I was really into. What really got me interested in music was going to middle school and finally playing in band. The feeling of connection with other people while playing music was something I really enjoyed.
I first started taking lessons from a saxophone player named Nick Falcone at the local music store. After studying with Nick, I studied with Alan Braufman for 2 or 3 years. In retrospect, I should have continued to study with Alan for longer, but I have a thing in my life where I tend to want to do things my own way—sometimes to a fault. At the time, I felt that I had assimilated a lot of information from Alan and the next step was to begin transcribing a lot and getting the material under my fingers. I switched to tenor in middle school as it was more of the soloist instrument in big band and I wanted to get more into improvising. I also switched to tenor because the players I was listening to were all tenor players.
The first player I gravitated towards and still listen to is Gato Barbieri. Throughout high school I took one-off lessons from various teachers (including Jerry Bergonzi). At the end of my sophomore year of high school, my family moved to the (San Francisco) bay area and started taking a few lessons with saxophonist Mike Zilber. If I could go back, I wish I would have also taken some lessons from Dann Zinn which I believe would have further helped my playing.
ZS: What are your thoughts on music education and what was your experience studying at California State University Long Beach versus Juilliard?
CB: When I finished high school, I stayed in the bay area for a year and studied at Diablo Valley College. I actually wanted to be a psychology major at the time and wanted to do something completely different from music. After Diablo Valley College, I decided I wanted to study at California State University (CSU) Long Beach because Eric Marienthal was on the faculty and I thought it would be cool to be in L.A. I was at CSU Long Beach for 2 years and studied with Sal Lozano my 1st year and then Eric my 2nd year. I also didn’t directly study with Jay Mason but took a saxophone ensemble with him. After 2 years at CSU Long Beach, I dropped out and eventually moved to New York where finished up my undergraduate at Juilliard.
While I was at Long Beach, I felt that if I wanted to be a top call studio musician, I would need to further shed flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, etc. and I realized that there are really only about 10 studio guys doing all of that work at this point—it’s a tough scene to break into. I felt I could invest 20 years in Los Angeles shedding all these instruments and playing someone else’s music, or I could to come to New York and give it a shot doing my own thing, which is what I had always wanted to do.
Thinking back, I had my frustrations with both programs, but always had a great interactions with the individual faculty members. I felt at Long Beach, my training as a saxophone player was more solid than my experience at Juilliard. Juilliard placed a lot of emphasis on improvisation and historical styles, but there was not as much emphasis on sheer proficiency. I think this has to do with the faculty at CSU Long Beach being studio musicians; there was a strong focus on technical precision—studio players tend to favor precision over artistic individuality. (For example, L.A. studio saxophonists tend to want equipment that facilitates near-perfect intonation, whereas N.Y. jazz saxophonists tend to opt for equipment that makes them sound unique.) At Long Beach, I remember studying classical saxophone pieces from the Marcel Mule book with a tuner set to a drone to really dial in my intonation. Jeff Jarvis (the head of the jazz program at CSU Long Beach) really pushed for ensemble playing where everything was played in tune, as a section, and with perfect dynamics. This honestly is not something players in New York think about on the same level as players in L.A., because what is required for professional studio musicians.
ZS: Which saxophone players influenced you?
CB: I was influenced by players like Gato Barbieri, Stan Getz, Bob Berg, Charlie Parker, Paul Desmond, Kenny Garrett, Sonny Rollins, and especially Michael Brecker (whose solos I started transcribing a ton of around age 13 or so), but there was a time and place where I was into almost everyone.
ZS: How were you introduced to Michael Brecker? What was that experience like?
CB: I had gone to a master class with Jeff Hamilton, and Jeff made a point of saying “who do you want to meet?” and I said Michael’s name and Jeff said, “Well Michael was a guest of mine at the Hollywood Bowl and now you know me so that is really only one degree of separation from me.” Jeff was trying to make a point that, “musicians are more accessible than you think, reach out to your heroes and connect with them.”
I ended up not meeting Michael through Jeff Hamiliton, but through contacting Michael’s manager Darryl Pitt. I had made a short recording at the time that my parents then helped me put together with a letter. We sent it to Darryl Pitt, who then forwarded it to Michael. At a certain point, I remember Michael calling my house which was pretty incredible. I wanted to take lessons with Michael but he didn’t want to teach so we ended up hanging out when he came through Salt Lake City and I spent an afternoon with him.
Brecker was very unique in the sense that I am sitting in the presence of a master and I think he knew it at some level too but he did not feel it himself. When I told him that I listen to him, Coltrane, and Joe Henderson, he sort of shrugged his shoulders and suggested “Why listen to me?” His vibe was more like “listen to Coltrane”.
ZS: What do you find most challenging about being a musician today?
CB: The sheer unpredictability of getting any gig. You can try really hard for something and it doesn’t pan out, then something else completely wonderful falls into your lap—it’s tough to feel like you have much control over the trajectory. It’s also feels like you’re doing a lot of different types of gigs and getting pulled in all directions. It can be very difficult to keep your relationship to music pure in the context of having to do things you don’t want to do or deal with aspects of the community that you don’t like. You have to survive and work which means you will bump into things you don’t like, and it can sometimes feel difficult to keep the joy of playing music.
While I’m fortunate to work with some incredibly talented and open minded people, those people are surprisingly hard to find—I think the jazz community as a whole can be a very judgmental and, ironically, I feel it’s often not very conducive to free-flowing expression and creativity. Just trying to find people that you match with musically can be very difficult since there are so many different sub-genres and ideas of how the music should go.
ZS: If you could give high school and college players one piece of advice for making a comfortable living as a professional saxophone player, what would that be?
CB: If you can survive playing professionally, that is a huge accomplishment in itself. You have to get into it knowing that it is an inherently difficult field and compensate for that through diversifying your skill set. So, being able to play a variety of styles on the saxophone really well and hopefully enjoying playing those styles and connecting to them. I would also suggest learning music technology and production as soon as possible—get a working understanding of a DAW, like Logic, early on. In this day and age, I think there’s a case to be made for being a multi-instrumentalist and having the ability to play keyboard, bass, guitar or something that will allow you to do more work on pop and commercial gigs.
I also would advise young saxophonists to avoid learning to double on flute or clarinet, unless it is something that they explicitly have a passion for. When I was younger, my teachers told me to learn those instruments so that I could work. Truth be told, I have barely recouped the money I invested in the instruments and lessons—the payoff just wasn’t there for me. I spent a quite a few hours shedding those instruments—I’m actually a decent clarinet player—but I wish I had invested the time into learning music production and recording. Again, if it’s a passion for you, go for it. I have friends who have made a career of it and it can be done. If it’s not your passion, put your time into learning music technology, synthesis, production or an alternate instrument (like piano, bass, guitar or drums).
ZS: Given the current environment, any tips or tricks you’d recommend for musicians looking for additional sources of income?
CB: In the current environment, e-books seems to be a good option. At the moment, a friend of mine is putting together a transcription book that we are going to release and maybe an educational book down the road. The transcription book is going to be five or six solos of mine. I feel like Chad Lefkowitz-Brown really nailed the e-book concept, and Bob Reynolds did a great job with his online course & community. Having a strong social media presence is really important for promoting yourself as an artist. I use social media but this is something I need to be doing more of ultimately.
ZS: How do you approach practicing and is there any material you have been working on?
CB: Honestly, I haven’t really been practicing saxophone lately. Because of the coronavirus lockdown in New York, everyone is trapped at home and don’t want to bother everyone in the building—my saxophone playing can be loud. I also was starting to feel a little burnt out on saxophone in the last few months and have been wanting to do something completely different musically, for a while. I’ve been taking vocal lessons and guitar lessons which has changed my perspective; I’m putting most of my time into that at this point and am basically shedding guitar 3 to 4 hours a day. It has me thinking more melodically with less focus on the instrument—saxophone has become more fun to play also as a result.
When I was younger, I used to practice diatonic patterns a lot with a metronome (sometimes for four to five hours a day during the summer break) which really built up my dexterity and speed. These days, when I practice saxophone, it’s a combination of three things: time, pitch/harmony, and facility. I want every exercise I do to be a combination of all three, so that I can maximize my efficiency. I practice everything with a metronome because I am always working on time—the concept is to unite both technical things I need to work out on the instrument with harmony, ear training, and rhythm.
To practice this concept, I created some Logic files with a bass playing different bass ostinatos (or claves) in odd meters. Over the ostinato (say it’s 5/4), I will start playing a scale pattern that’s grouped in a number different than the base meter—if I’m in 5/4, the over-layed grouping would be in 3, 4, 6, 7 or beyond. I’m basically trying to work out something like a diatonic pattern grouped in 7’s, while keeping track of where I am in the 5/4 and extending the scale practice into the altissimo. The goal is to get used to playing over the bar line in an odd meter, while getting my altissimo and intonation together. I practice this concept very slowly because it allows me to tune each note to the bass. It allows me to work on my sound, ear training, facility, and rhythm all at one time.
ZS: What is your current setup and your thoughts on the importance of equipment?
CB: I believe equipment really makes a huge difference. Different mouthpieces with different facings and reeds and saxophones will all sound and respond totally different. I also really advocate for using larger chamber mouthpieces. The truth is you can’t get the same spectrum of harmonic complexity out of a smaller chamber than you can get out of a large chamber.
Setup
Saxophone: Selmer SBA 50,xxx
Mouthpiece: Florida No USA (.106-.108”) that was refaced by Stephan Kammerer. I also have a Double Ring that Stephan also refaced and a piece from Bill Evans that is a Guardala-style mouthpiece. I spoke with Chris Potter & Ben Wendel and they both confirmed that .108 tip (7* to 7**) seems to be a fairly ideal opening for most vintage Otto Links, both metal and rubber
Ligature: Vintage Link ligature from a tone master
CB: I am in a phase where I am exploring a lot of different things so I am not sure what the next project will be. I am very excited about the possibility of writing and playing music with lyrics, so there will be something where I sing and play guitar on the horizon—it will be more pop/rock, but will obviously kind of integrate in my jazz background. I think there is a lot of possibility for something really exciting and original in that arena. I am also thinking of doing a video recording where I write something for a string quartet and saxophone—maybe a combination of originals and a cover.
Melissa Aldana to put it simply is one of the premier young saxophonists who has been hitting the scene and really making a name for herself. For those of you who don’t already know or listen to Melissa (in which case I highly encourage you to do ASAP), here are some key details on her background:
Melissa was born in Santiago, Chile where she began playing the saxophone when she just was six years old.
Melissa learned the saxophone from her father Marcos Aldana, also a professional saxophonist.
She started on the alto saxophone and was influenced by artists such as Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderley, and Michael Brecker. However, once Melissa heard the music of Sonny Rollins, she decided to switch to tenor.
Melissa began playing at various jazz clubs in Santiago, Chile and in 2005 was invited by Danilo Pérez to play at the Panama Jazz Festival.
After auditioning at multiple music schools in the US, Melissa decided to attend Berklee College of Music, where she had the opportunity to study with Joe Lovano, George Garzone, Frank Tiberi, Greg Osby, Hal Crook, Bill Pierce, and Ralph Peterson.
Once graduating from Berklee in 2009, Melissa decided to move to New York City where she began studying with saxophonist George Coleman.
Her first album, Free Fall, was released on Greg Osby’s Inner Circle Music imprint in 2010 followed by her second album, Second Cycle, which was released in 2012.
In 2013, at the age of 24, Melissa became the first female musician as well as first South American musician to win the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition (her father had been a semi-finalist in 1991).
Her most recent album Visions, Melissa connects her work to the legacy of Latina artists who have come before her; creating a pathway for her own expression.
Interview
ZS: What was your original inspiration for starting the saxophone?
MA: My father is a saxophone player and my grandfather was a saxophone player as well. I grew up having saxophones at home when I was very young. When I was six, my dad was doing a group lesson and they needed one more saxophone to play some harmony (very basic), so he gave me the saxophone and I ended up falling in love with it. My father was very strict – I used to wake up early and practice 7 to 8 hours and transcribe Charlie Parker solos by heart, but I don’t have any hard feelings with that, I just really remember enjoying the process. I am very thankful at a very early that I was taught how to practice right. My dad played alto and tenor and my grandfather also played tenor but he mainly was a baritone player. I started on alto for many years and my process for learning was very interesting because my father never taught me how to read. My father really believed that it was very important for me to memorize everything and really learn from the transcription – not just the notes, but the concepts, language, and sound.
I would spend hours and hours with him using the radio and the cassette, and then would play one phrase many times and really focus on the articulation and the spirit behind every note. I studied with my father until I turned 15 and my dad thus far taught me about scales, theory, and made me transcribe hundreds of solos by Charlie Parker and Cannonball (but still didn’t teach me how to read). When I was 12, I heard Sonny Rollins for the first time and really fell in love with the sound which made me decide to switch to tenor and I never went back to alto.
After graduating high school, I was accepted to Berklee College of Music. When I got to Berklee, I realized there are other players that want to do the same thing as me and they are all kicking my ass, which was my first experience with other young players wanting to do the same thing as me.
ZS: Who were your influences growing up and what players do you listen to today?
MA: I have transcribed a lot of players growing up such as Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Don Byas, Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, Lucky Thompson, Michael Brecker, and Mark Turner to name a few. Right now I have been really focused on listening to myself and focusing on the areas I want to improve and further explore.
ZS: As you developed your own sound and technique, who did you try to emulate the most and what was your process?
MA: Every time I had a question about how to play, express myself, and develop ideas, I would listen to someone that I liked and started to analyze their playing. I think I have written out maybe 3 transcriptions in my life. As I have gotten older, I have gone through the process of transcribing and analyzing players over an extended period of time. I transcribed and analyzed Sonny Rollins for 4 years, then went to Mark Turner for about 4 years, and then 3 years on Don Byas, and then checked out Lionel Hampton and Bud Powell.
My process is basically transcribe until you get it. I was not focused on transcribing a lick in all 12 keys, but was more focused on learning the spirit of their playing. For me, after transcribing a player for about 3 years, I got it. This happened to me when I was transcribing Mark Turner. I could hear it and understand what he was playing, but never actually analyzed it.
I really find the process of practicing is very important. For me when I transcribe, I play very slow. I go phrase by phrase, and I memorize it until it sounds exactly the same as the recording. I would have to say that the biggest influences on my sound and technique would have to be Sonny Rollins, Don Byas, and Mark Turner.
ZS: Have you run into any challenges as a woman pursuing jazz, as well as the music scene in general?
MA: First of all, I always wanted to deny that people would treat me different or people were bagging on me at the jam session because I am a woman. To me it was always like, “no, it’s because I can play, not because I am a woman.” I remember going through this process when I was at Berklee and feeling a little bit insecure when I was at jam sessions, and everyone is bagging but then I realized that everyone is bagging everyone anyway.
With that being said, there are people that have paved the way for me to be here today and not experience these things, like Chris Davis, Ingred Jensen, Terri Carrington, and Anat Cohen to name a few.
I will say the most awkward thing for me was when I won the Monk Competition. I started hearing that I won it because I am a female and that made me mad because I was like, “why do I have to feel and play different because I am a female?” or “why do I have to play different because I am from Chile?.”
When I am playing, I am just expressing myself as an individual. I think my role is to try to be the strongest I can and let the music speak for itself in a way that transcends gender and culture, and is focused solely on the music, but I also understand that this is not everyone’s personality. I want to be known because I am an outstanding musician, and without receiving preferential treatment.
I know many great female and male players who but have not gotten the recognition I think they deserve. I also have seen journalists write about and festivals book various musicians based on their name recognition and not on their music or ability. This simply comes down to not a lot of people truly knowing about the music. For me, I am really focused on pursuing my own path and touring with my band and my own original music because although other events may help grow my name recognition, it needs to be meaningful for me because life is simply too short.
ZS: How have you adjusted to the challenge of COVID-19’s impact on the music industry thus far?
MA: I am in a very privileged situation because I have always been smart about money and saved, so I am fine at the moment, but I do feel bad for my friends who have lost weekly restaurant gigs and are struggling and scrambling to put together different types of content to generate some sort of income.
The first few months I was posting things on Instagram and being present. I noticed a lot of musicians were posting live streams, and for me, instead of posting live streams, I felt it was better for me to take the time to practice, and most importantly take, the time to get to know myself and to deal with some personal as well as family issues I had never addressed.
One reason for putting these things off was that I was traveling quite intensively over the past 2 years;. I think I was in NYC for maybe 5 days total, so I never had the time to really deal with these issues. I feel that since being quarantined, I have taken the time to address what I have been dealing with, and now getting back into focusing on my music and simply playing, which has made me feel much better.
ZS: Once things return back to normal, or as close to normal as they can be, what changes do you anticipate?
MA: I sort of have a tour in September, but how things are going I really doubt anything is going to happen until next year. I think there will be fewer outings, and as for the gigs I have booked, there are only going to be 2 shows because of the social distancing and the limited number of people that can be at any given concert.
For myself, I will say that I am more at peace with myself as a person as well as with people around me, the scene, and my relationships, which has resulted in me simply enjoying playing music even more.
ZS: Is there something you would like to share that you believe many people don’t know about you?
MA: I am a very good cook. During this quarantine, I have really gotten into cooking and taking the time to explore cooking which is so similar to music in the way you follow a recipe and handle challenges, etc. I am really into long walks and hikes, and also have been working on playing piano to compose music.
ZS: When it comes to practicing, what is your process, and do you teach your students this process?
MA: With my students, I don’t give them exercises. I teach them how to practice and what it means to achieve something. I share my process on practicing and how you can practice topics such as long tones and scales. You need to think about what you need to practice because it is very personal. You know what you need to work on and your weaknesses. I talk lot about playing voicings, which I find is very helpful because when you practice intervals you can focus on many areas like: how is your time, how is you intonation, how is your ear, how is your balance with your air, how is the jump from one note to the other, etc.
Another topic I like to discuss with all my students is patience. With the metronome set to 40 bpm, I talk about patience and how you need to be able to make the most basic things such as scales and long tones sound and feel good before pursuing odd meters.
Finally, we talk about transcriptions and I explain my process when transcribing, but the student ultimately needs to dive in and figure things out for themselves like I did. My goal is to give my students the tools to think on their own and choose what they want to practice, while understanding what it takes as well as the process.
ZS: What are your thoughts on the importance of the equipment? Do you find yourself changing much or sticking with the same gear?
MA: I am playing on a Matt Marantz mouthpiece and just switched to playing on Boston Sax Reeds, which are amazing, and the best reeds I have ever tried. I believe the sound is in your head and once you understand what you are looking for, then you can start switching.
At the end of the day, I don’t go crazy with equipment, and typically play on the same equipment for quite some time, but I understand both sides.
Equipment
Saxophone: Selmer Super Action (SBA) tenor: 45,xxx
This article will deal with various aspects of playing the saxophone in jazz ensemble, concert band, rock bands, and show bands both as the only sax player and within a small horn section. I will discuss tuning, the responsibilities of each member of the section, suggestions for mouthpieces, reeds and ligatures. These are mostly my opinions gained through years of playing in both military bands and civilian groups. However some of this information represents commonly accepted practices. Where I do present information from other sources, they will be duly cited using American Psychological Association (APA) citation practices.
The information presented will be useful to the following groups. Non-sax players, sax players of all levels, band teachers, and other music educators who may have to interact with sax players will find this article useful.
Tuning
If you go to your search bar and type in “tuning the saxophone section” you will come up with dozens of articles. Some will be similar and others will be completely different. This is my take on tuning.
First off, I teach studio saxophone in Old Dominion Universities Community Music Division. This is like a Prep Division. It is a Non-Credit enhancement course. As such I have gotten students of all ages. However most of my students have been elementary, middle school and high school students with a sprinkling of college students who were Non-Music Majors. I also taught saxophone studio for Music Majors at Tidewater Community College until I ran out of students.
From the very start after my students have the embouchure down and after I explain how to put the reed on and tongue I have students matching pitches with me. First on the neck and mouthpiece. Then on middle “B” on the saxophone. Remember at this point the student is a raw beginner. Once the student has a firm grasp of playing in the upper register then we start to tune to Concert “A”. So for altos it’s F# in the upper register. For tenors it will also be F# until they have a firm grasp of high “B”.
If you happen to teach middle school band and you are able to have the saxes either for a sectional or for a small class I would do the following. Yes tune to Concert “A”. However spend some time playing scales in unison/octaves. Try to get the students to lock in on the pitch, to listen to each other. You may want to play the scale with the students on the piano so the students can hear the pitch. Next, play intervals of fourths and fifths. If the altos play F# (concert “A”) and the tenors play F# (concert “E”) then you are setting the section up for intervals of fourths and fifths. Play those intervals at the piano so the students can hear what it is supposed to sound like. Also if you have a bari sax have the bari start on low F# or concert “A”.
Once you are satisfied that your students can play fourths, fifths, and unison/octaves in tune then move on to playing some Bach Chorales. Finally you can go over the band music.
Why Concert “A”, why not Bb or even F? After all concert “F” is the fifth of a Bb chord. It has that five to one relationship. Well my main objection is that when transposed it becomes a middle “D” on both the alto and bari saxes. Middle “D” is one of the sharpest notes on the sax. Concert Bb is okay but when transposed it becomes high “C” on the tenor which is also not one of the best notes on the sax. So I prefer Concert “A” because it works great on both alto, tenor and bari.
Once the students are in high school and/or college they should be able to tune to concert “A” without a problem if they are practicing, taking lessons etc. At this level playing in a sax quartet, combo with an electric keyboard and play-alongs will greatly help the students develop a sense of where the pitch is. Do not be afraid to have the students use a tuner. However do not let the tuner replace listening.
Concert Band
At its zenith John Phillip Sousa had a sax section with two 1st altos, two 2nd altos, two tenors, one bari, and one bass saxophone. Today most concert bands will have a section of one 1st alto, one 2nd alto, one tenor sax, and one bari sax. This section is very common among the military bands in Washington DC. Thus you have four saxophonists who work together every day and who also form the Sax Quartet as a stand alone unit.
The goal is to get a very warm blend, not to be able to play over the brass but to blend within the band. Sometimes I feel that the saxes in concert band are almost invisible. So at various times altos are blending in with the french horns and trumpets. The tenor is blending in with the euphoniums, the trombones, and sometimes the trumpets and french horns. The whole idea for the sax player is to reinforce the sound of the other instruments. Thus you need to use a warm sounding setup. Listening is the key.
I remember one very cold day when my Navy Band was playing a ceremony outside but under a tent. It must have been just above freezing when the leader called up The Klaxon by Fillmore. The second strain has the melody in the French horn and tenor sax. I was playing tenor sax and my colleague MU2 Kathy Davis was playing French horn. Despite the cold we nailed the intonation on this strain. The reason is we were both listening to each other and we both understood our roles in the ensemble. My role was to support the french horn which I did. Also neither of us had the attitude that I’m right and your wrong. We both had the pitch and melded our parts into one blended sound
Jazz Ensemble, Show Band, and Rock Band
For jazz ensemble, this is what the sax section should look like if you were standing in front of it. The 1st alto is in the center. The 2nd alto is to his/her right. The 1st tenor is to the right of the 2nd alto. The 1st tenor needs to be close to the rhythm section during solos. The 2nd tenor is to the left of the 1st alto. Finally the baritone is to the left of the 2nd tenor.
For Jazz Ensemble the sound concept is different than concert band. The section as a whole must have a brighter sound. “The sound must have direction. The players must focus the sound and keep the air moving through the saxophone” (Seckler, 2001, p. 7). Projection is a good word to describe the sound. They must not be drowned out by the 8 to 10 brass players in the band.
1st Alto
This person must have a strong sound with some edge and projection. Think Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Phil Woods, Johnny Hodges, Marshall Royal, Med Flory and today players like Dick Oatts, Bobby Watson and Vincent Herring. He/she must be very familiar with the different styles of jazz, swing, dixie, bebop, cool, bossa nova, ballads and the non-jazz styles of rock and funk. For dances you will also encounter the Latin dance styles of the rumba and cha-cha-cha. If the choice in your school is between a player with a weak sound but who played the audition well and a person with a strong sound who knows how to phrase and use inflections, but who made some mistakes on the audition, go with the person with the strong sound.
This person must be a leader, be able to guide the section while playing, giving cutoffs with their horn. They must use their horn to direct the section when to come in if there is a doubt. Because of the jazz education and publishing industry, the alto solos are usually on this chair. I believe they figure that the 2nd alto player isn’t up to it. However during the Big Band Era and after, the alto solos were on the 2nd alto part. When Art Pepper played with Stan Kenton in the late 40’s – early 50’s, he played 2nd alto and was the jazz alto player. Bud Shank played 1st alto and only got a few solos. In the Basie Band Marshall Royal played 1st alto and he almost never soloed. However with the music published today, your 1st alto should be able to solo. If they can’t, then pass the solos to someone else in the section.
The person playing 1st alto should be able to phrase and blend with the 1st trumpet and 1st trombone players during ensemble/tutti sections of a tune. This player must know how and when to use vibrato and must have a sound that can project over the sax section.
The 1st alto often has to play soprano sax, flute, piccolo, and clarinet.
2nd Alto
This person must be able to play up to the lead alto player. They must match the time, style, vibrato, and intonation of the 1st player. Many times the intonation problems in a section are because the 1st and 2nd alto players cannot agree on the pitch. For young bands, have the altos tune first on concert “A”. Then have your tenors tune, and finally the bari player. Then everyone together, maybe play a chord and listen to the blend.
Jay Branford, the 2nd alto player of the newly reformed Artie Shaw Orchestra circa 1985 had this to say about the early rehearsals when Artie rehearsed the band -“Artie Shaw was always there as leader, teacher and coach for all of them. Being the 2nd alto player on the band; one of the things that impressed me, and emphasized by Artie, was the role of the 2nd alto saxophone. He kept telling me to play out more, and that the saxophone section needed that support from me. In some ways, I think the intensity of my playing even surprised Mark (the 1st alto player) when he first came on the band. But with the efforts of Artie and Dick Johnson (the leader of the band, handpicked by Artie Shaw), they developed us into a true sectional sound” (Viola and Wagner 1985, p.45). The 2nd alto must be able to jump in and play 1st alto in the event that the 1st player is absent. If the 1st alto player cannot solo, then the solos should be passed to the 2nd alto player before you give the solo to the tenor or bari players.
The doubles on the 2nd chair are clarinet, soprano sax, flute, and piccolo. When you are playing Glenn Miller-style charts with clarinet lead, traditionally that part has been in the 2nd chair. So I suggest that the 2nd alto player listen to the way Wilbur Schwartz played the clarinet lead over the sax section on the Miller Band. Study his phrasing, his sound, and the way he projected.
1st Tenor
Like the 2nd trumpet and 2nd trombone, the 1st tenor is seated next to the rhythm section so he/she can hear the chords during solos. This is the chair in the sax section that requires improvisational skills. This player should exude confidence and have no trouble standing up to play a solo. Following the solo, and at all other times, the 1st tenor player must follow the lead alto player during sax solis etc. Sometimes this player is written in duets or trios with either a trumpet, trombone or another sax player.
I dislike the current practice in jazz education circles of calling this chair the lead tenor chair. There isn’t a lead tenor chair unless you are playing in a “Four Brothers” style section of three tenors and one baritone. Then you have a lead tenor. By the way, in my opinion that is a beautiful sound. just listen to the Woody Herman Band playing the ballad “Early Autumn” or the uptempo “Four Brothers”. Another example of this sound is in the middle of Bill Holman’s chart of “Yesterdays”. In the middle of the chart the solo tenor player plays lead over the sax section during a brief sax soli. In other charts that feature a lead tenor sound, the part is clearly marked lead on the tenor part and tenor lead on the 1st alto part. Otherwise this player is part of the section playing an inner voice. Doubles on this chair are clarinet, flute, sometimes soprano sax or bass clarinet.
2nd Tenor
This chair can be very hard to play. The person playing this chair can often have the craziest parts ever conceived, especially during a sax soli. The musical acrobatics required can be daunting. Also this person must be able to sub tone well to play softly in the lower register at times. The 2nd tenor aides the bari player in supporting the bottom of the section. Many times the 2nd tenor and the bari player are written in fourths or fifths. If the 2nd tenor player solo’s then he/she should be provided the chance to split the solos with the 1st tenor player. As the bandleader you should play to your strengths. For example suppose the 2nd player is better at playing the funk style than the 1st tenor player. Well then, let the 1st player have the swing/bebop and ballad solos and let the 2nd player have the funk solos. Actually in the better bands, all the sax players get the opportunity to solo. Examples would be The Big Phat Band, The Navy Jazz Commodores, The Airmen of Note, The WDR Big Band etc. Doubles on this chair are clarinet, flute, and sometimes bass clarinet.
Baritone
This chair is multi-faceted. Do not put your weakest player or a timid player on the bari chair. Put the person who has the best bari sound on this chair. You need an independent thinker on this chair. At times the bari will be doubling the lead alto in sax solis. Then there are times when the bari is doubled with the bass trombone or the string bass or electric bass. There are other times when the bari part will be totally different from the rest of the saxes. Bear in mind that the bari wants to speak a little later than the smaller alto. So the bari player must not hesitate while playing. The bari’s notes must line up with the 1st alto players notes. Doubles on this part are bass clarinet and clarinet.
If the bari player can solo then they too should be give that opportunity. Blues solos sound really nice on bari as do ballad features. Good examples are Bob Florence’s chart of “Auld Lange Syne” and Dave Wolpe’s chart on “Sophisticated Lady”. Both charts feature solo sections for the bari player and bari lead during a sax soli. Bruce Johnston had a really nice bari feature on”Got The Spirit” on the album “MF 4 & 5 Live At Jimmys”. I suggest that your bari player listen to Harry Carney on any Duke Ellington tune, Charlie Fowlkes with the Count Basie Band, and Bruce Johnston with Maynard Ferguson’s Band. Jeff Harrington is an excellent bari player in the Hollywood studios today. He is the voice of Lisa Simpson when she is shown playing bari sax on TV. All of these players have huge sounds and are the supporting rock of their respective sections.
The Doubles
Many arrangers will write for the sax section woodwind doubles as follows.
The 1st Alto on either flute or piccolo. The 2nd alto on flute. Both tenors on clarinet and the bari on bass clarinet. This gives you a very nice woodwind section sound. Now there are times when all the players may be playing flute or the top four chairs are on clarinet and the bari is on bass clarinet.
If your sax players do not play clarinet or flute I suggest that you encourage them to take lessons on either clarinet or flute. In the meantime in order to play charts that involve woodwinds encourage your better flute and clarinet players from either concert band or the orchestra to get involved with jazz ensemble. This experience will benefit both the flute and clarinet players and your jazz ensemble.
A Side Note
During the Swing Era up to some time in the middle to late 60’s the sax section was named and voiced as follows from top down:
1st alto
2nd tenor
3rd alto
4th tenor
5th baritone
The seating was the same as it is today though. You will encounter this voicing and labeling when you play charts from the Swing Era up to the mid or late 60’s.
However, it was taught to me at both the Stan Kenton Jazz Workshop in the mid 70’s as well as the Navy School of Music (where I was told that they were following the model from Berklee School of Music) that the section should be voiced named and voiced as follows:
1st alto
2nd alto
1st tenor
2nd tenor
baritone
Anyone who has played in a big band at any point in the past 60 or so years will obviously recognize the latter format.
Rock Band and Show Band
I was the tenor sax player in a Navy Rock Band called Four Star Edition. The other horn player was a trumpet player who sang 97% of the time. However when we had lines that we played together it was important for us to get a nice blend and be in tune. Most of what we played together were lines from Blues Brothers tunes. Other than that I was pretty much on my own. This mainly consisted of playing the sax lines and improvising solos on tunes like “I Feel Good”, “Mustang Sally” and others. On the Bob Seger tune, “Turn The Page” I had to play the line that Mr. Alto Reed played on the original recording. Alto Reed played the sax part on alto sax. The Navy did not have an alto sax to give me, so I ended up playing the sax part on tenor sax. Instead of the alto part which started on a high “E” going to a high “Eb” I had to play altissimo “A” going to “Ab”. When I played this tune I was channeling my inner Lenny Picket. Finally with about one month to go before they rotated assignments I got an Selmer Series II alto.
As far as tuning goes, I found it best to tune about two to three cents sharp. The reason being was that the guitar and bass played so hard that they were almost always high. So if I started at A=440 I soon found that I was flat. If I tuned to A=442 or 443 I found that I was right in the pocket.
Unfortunately this band used these clip on mics that were like toys. If you are playing in a rock band as part of your living, invest in either a really good clip on mic or a really good stand mic. Also make friends with the sound person. Give them a set list and put a star next to the tunes you play on. That way you will have plenty of power when you play. Do a sound check to make sure you can hear yourself and the bass in the monitor.
As far as mouthpiece setups, I do not know anyone playing an HR mouthpiece in a cranking rock band and not getting buried. You need a mouthpiece/reed combination that will project and have some edge or highs to the sound. I knew guys that used metal Dukoff’s on tenor sax. However the band’s Dukoff was checked out. So I used my trusty metal Otto Link 8* with a # 2.5 Rico reed. This is what I used for big band and combo and it proved to be quite good as long as I had sound support.
“Charts – what are those?”
Most of my parts I either learned from a recording or they were passed down from player to player. In a lot of bands they may give you a tape or CD and have you learn the parts that way. On rare occasions you may have someone who writes charts.
When I was in my Army Band I played in a top – 40 band that had a horn section of alto, tenor, bari, trombone, and trumpet plus vocals, piano, bass, drums, and guitar. For that band we did have charts that were written in-house by the band leader.
A year after I joined the Navy I was placed in the U.S. Navy Show Band which toured outside of America to West Africa and South America. Our sax section was cut down to three saxes. One alto, tenor, and bari sax. The brass section was a full section of four trumpets and four trombones. We did have good mics to play through. The Assistant Leader wrote charts to our instrumentation. We did not play big band charts with missing sax parts. So basically, on this setup, where most of the time the band was written tutti, you followed the lead trumpet player. We did have some charts where the saxes stood out by themselves, but nothing like a sax soli on a Don Menza or Thad Jones chart. One thing that I will say about our charts – they were written thick with plenty on tension tones and extended harmony. So kudos to our arranger.
However for the most part, you played as you would play in a big band. I was the bari player and I used the band’s HR Berg Larsen 95/1 with a LaVoz hard reed. However it more than did the trick for providing a solid bottom to the section and the band. I can still feel those forte low “A’s” vibrating through my body.
In the Navy Band in Orlando I played in what was called a “Show Band”, but in reality it was a big band. However, all of our performances were a show, as opposed to an actual concert. We did steps and the music was all part of a show with vocals that were supported by the “Show Band”. For example, the boss had this whole elaborate 50’s show that he wrote and was the star of. After he gave the band to a MU 1 we still did a show but it changed. On occasion, the Orlando Show Band would function as a Jazz Ensemble like the time we played at a Jazz Festival in Melbourne, FL.
Mouthpieces/Reeds/Ligatures
Classical Setups
The go-to mouthpieces seem to be the Selmer S-80. However I prefer the sound of the Larry Teal mouthpiece. For alto, I have had students use the Vandoren V-5 Series. Right now one of my students is using the A-17. For tenor I have used the Larry Teal mouthpiece with great results. I just prefer the round chamber of the Teal mouthpiece over the square chamber S-80 mouthpieces. Again for tenor, the Vandoren V-5 Series are good choices. I have a tenor student using the T-20 with very good results. The key is to try different mouthpieces and see what works for you. For concert band, just be able to blend in and not be bright. Darker sounding mouthpieces seem to work the best in this setup.
Jazz Ensemble Setups
Altos
The go-to alto mouthpiece has always been the NY Meyers 5M or 6M. Good luck finding one. Be prepared to pay a lot of money. Fortunately there have been knockoff versions made today. Theo Wanne has a version called the NY Bros. CE Winds has a version and the Babbitt Company which owns the Meyer name and mouthpiece has recently come out with their own Retro 100th Anniversary Model which they claim is like the old NY Meyer.
Other mouthpieces to try are the Vandoren HR V-16, the current edition Meyers 5M, 6M or 7M and the Beechler HR 5,6, or 7. Currently I am using a White Brilhart Tonalin 3* that I lucked into. These mouthpieces play really great, and if you can find one it will not break your bank. Most of the ones I see are going for about $200.00 on e-bay. If you look at photos of sax sections from the late 1940’s you’ll see that a lot of guys played the Brilharts. Charlie Parker, Benny Carter, and Stan Getz played them. Today Dick Oatts of the Village Vanguard Orchestra plays a 6* with a Rico Royal 3.5 reed. My Brilhart has replaced my Meyers 6M. I use a LaVoz medium hard reed and a Rovner original ligature on it. The Rovner seems to take some of the edge off. If I want more edge, I have a Selmer Brass gauge 2-screw ligature that I can use.
Tenors
To me, the Otto Link metal has always been my go to mouthpiece. I lucked into a metal Florida Otto Link 8* back in 1990 before E-bay and before the internet took off. So I got it for a very reasonable price that would be unheard of today. Barring that, the Babbitt Company recently came out with their New “Vintage” Otto Links. The metal ones seem to be based on the Tone Master from the 1940’s. The HR ones are based on the Slant Signature from the 1950’s through early 1960’s.
These mouthpieces have gotten great reviews. Babbitt also has the current edition Links which are different from the New “Vintage” Links in both metal and hard rubber. Again try them out and see what works for you.
Other mouthpieces to try are the Vandoren V-16 in both HR and metal. For years many people liked the Berg Larsen HR and metal mouthpieces from a 100/1 or 2 up to a 115/1 or 2. Lawton was another popular mouthpiece in the more open facings of 7B or BB up to 10B or BB. They were made in the UK and are now made in Belgium. CE Winds also makes Link knockoffs in HR and metal. I have one called the “The Sig”. It plays nice, but I prefer my real Florida Link. For rock band playing, a lot of players seem to like the Bobby Dukoff metal D-7 through D-9. Other more expensive tenor mouthpieces are the series from Theo Wanne and the Jody Jazz mouthpieces. However be prepared to pay a lot of money for those mouthpieces.
Bari
I never owned a bari mouthpiece. However what I borrowed worked really well. At one point I borrowed a Berg Larsen 120/1 that worked really well. The same can be said for the Runyon Custom Spoilers I borrowed. At one time a #6 then a #10. The Yanigasawa HR stock mouthpiece also worked very well for me. Other choices would be the Otto Link HR or metal 6 through 8*, the RPC, and the current Berg Larsen from a 105/1 through 120/2 tip openings.
Reeds
Michael Brecker said to use what works and do not fall for the hype. In 2003 when he visited my Navy Band, he was using a LaVoz medium reed which is a Rico/D’Addario product. I, myself have always been partial to Rico reeds. On tenor I use a Rico # 2.5 or a Rigotti Queens 2.5 reed. On alto it is a LaVoz medium reed. On bari at times it was either a Rico Royal 2.5 or a Rico Jazz Select 3M unfiled reed.
Remember the reed should offer some resistance and play equally well up high and down low. Be wary of a reed that plays too easy when you first put it on your mouthpiece. Other reeds that are getting good reviews are Roberto’s RW reeds and the Rigotti Gold reeds. I personally like the Rigotti Regal Queen reeds. I prefer reeds that give me some highs/edge to the sound with a good sub tone. Many people like the D’Addario filed and unfiled reeds, and the Hemke reeds, both Rico/D’Addario products. Other people swear by the Vandoren reeds in it’s many sub-types. You have the Vandoren Blue box, the Java green box, and the filed Java Red box. Then Vandoren has the V-16 reed and the ZZ reeds.
Try a bunch of different reeds and see what works. play them for your teacher and see your teacher thinks. If possible record yourself playing different reeds and setups and hear what works best and sounds best to you.
Ligatures
There are as many opinions about ligatures as there are ligatures to choose from. To me a ligature is something that holds the reed to the mouthpiece. In my opinion, no one needs a super expensive ligature. On www.bettersax.com, Jay Metcalf plays about ten different ligatures. I was listening to him play and he sounded the same on every ligature he used. He said so himself after he played them using the same reed and mouthpiece for every ligature. The basic requirement is that the ligature should hold the reed to the mouthpiece so the reed will not slip if you have to adjust for tuning.
This is what I use and like. On my tenor I play a metal Florida Otto Link 8*. For several years I used the Link ligature it came with. It worked but I never really got the “pop” during the suction test. I read about the metal Silver Selmer ligatures for metal mouthpieces in an advertisement for USA Horn, so I decided to give it a try. But first I tried out the Selmer ligature a friend of mine had. I liked it and it seemed to hold the reed better than the Link ligature. Plus to my ears the sound was brighter and the response was better. So I bought one and having been using the Selmer ligature since about 1994 on my metal Link.
I also have a Rovner Dark ligature for my Link that Phil Rovner sent me years ago. It seems to take the edge off the sound a bit. Sometimes I’ll use it in the house when my wife is working upstairs and I’m downstairs practicing.
On my alto, which is a Cannonball Big Bell with Bare Brass, I use a White Brilhart Tonalin 3* which may on may not be a true 3*. I couple it with a LaVoz medium-hard reed (another Rico/D’Addario product) and an old Rovner Dark ligature. I also have a Selmer Brass gauge two-screw ligature that also works really well. The Selmer seems to give me more edge/highs. The Rovner seems to take the edge off some. Who knows, it may all be in my head. I use my alto mainly for teaching, as most of my sax students play alto.
Wrapping Up
So there you have it. Remember that the greats did not have all of this “fancy-schmancy” equipment. Ben Webster used the Link ligature as did Coleman Hawkins and Georgie Auld etc. Charlie Parker used what ligature came with the mouthpiece. Lester Young, Zoot Sims, and Stan Getz used a basic two-screw Selmer-type ligature. All of these guys got great sounds.
Remember this is my take on these subjects that I gathered through years of playing in both military and civilian bands, talking to other players, and observing what they do.
Nice hanging with you, stay safe and sane. Above all else, keep your reeds slightly moist and keep practicing.
References:
Seckler, Stan. (2001). Part I Developing the jazz sax section. (p. 7).Denton, Texas: Harold Gore Publishing Company.
Viola, Joe., Wagner Paul., (1985). The all-new Artie Shaw saxophone section under the direction of Dick Johnson. Saxophone Journal, p. 45
From touring with Christian Scott to working on and producing his own music, Braxton Cook is not your average saxophone player. His high level of execution on the saxophone as well as business-savviness is something many young and experienced musicians should strive for. For those of you who are not already checking out Braxton, here are some key details to get you up to speed:
Upon moving to NYC, as a freshman at The Juilliard School, Braxton had the opportunity to meet Christian Scott and ended up becoming a long-term member in Christian’s band.
In addition to touring with Christian Scott, Braxton can be seen playing with Christian McBride Big Band as well as Marquis Hill, among many others.
Braxton was selected as a semi-finalist in the 2013 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition.
In 2014, Braxton released his debut EP Sketch and upon graduating from Juilliard he released Braxton Cook Meets Butcher Brown (2015) garnering attention from Fresh Selects label which launched his solo career.
In April of 2017, Braxton released his debut album Somewhere In Between(Fresh Selects), which allowed Braxton to tour both nationally and internationally.
Braxton’s album Somewhere in Between/Somewhere in Between Remixes & Outtakes have amassed millions of streams and downloads on Spotify and Apple Music, and has been praised by peers, musicians, and critics alike.
Most recently, Braxton was listed as Top Five Jazz Artist To Watch (alongside Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington, Butcher Brown, and Kris Bowers) in the 2018 June Issue of Ebony Magazine.
Outside of the jazz realm, Braxton has been scene working alongside Rihanna at the 2016 VMAs and Solange Knowles.
Braxton toured with Tom Misch and performed at Coachella in 2018.
In 2018, Braxton released his sophomore album entitled No Doubt (Independent) which debuted at #2 on iTunes Jazz Charts.
Most recently, Braxton released his third project on March 27th, 2020 called Fire Sign.
Interview
ZS: How Did You Become Interested In Playing The Saxophone?
BC: I grew up in a musical family. My mom played classical piano and my dad sang a good bit (especially extra loud in church). Piano was my first instrument around 4 or 5, just learning classical pieces by Beethoven such as Für Elise and Moonlight Sonata. I started playing the saxophone around the age of 6 or 7 when my mom first rented my dad a saxophone for his birthday. My dad was down in the basement practicing and I heard the saxophone and wanted to try it. Me and my two brothers (my baby brother wasn’t born at that time) all had a chance to try the saxophone but I was the only one who got a pretty good sound on it. In 4th or 5th grade I was playing sports but had the opportunity to choose band or orchestra. I chose band and the three instruments I was interested in playing were saxophone, trumpet, and one other. I ended up picking the alto saxophone because of my size (I was really short).
That was the very beginning of the saxophone for me. In addition to playing the saxophone, I was interested in drama and was singing and doing theater. I was a part of productions such as Les Misérables and Willy Wonka. I remember I wasn’t really into jazz and my dad would put on John Coltrane, but more of his avant garde stuff and I wasn’t really interested in that sound at the time. I really gravitated towards R&B and funk with Grover Washington being one of my early influences.
In 8th grade, I remember there was an assembly where some high school students came to my middle school and it was the first time I saw young players playing bebop and that is when it all really clicked for me.
In 2006, we ended up moving back to Maryland (lived in Atlanta from 2000 to 2005) where I was originally from, and during that summer, before starting 9th grade, my dad enrolled me into this jazz camp at Spring Brook High School in Montgomery County. The jazz camp was called “Everybody Can Play Jazz” and it was a 2 week intensive with a few instructors that really got me improvising pretty early. While at this camp, I met a saxophonist named Morgan Russell. Morgan Russell was a saxophonist who worked at Dale’s Music and also taught at that jazz camp at my high school, so I ended up taking private lessons with Morgan.
Through studying with Morgan, I ended up meeting a bunch of other players that Morgan was teaching, one of those being Elijah Balbed who was a good friend and person that really pushed me early on in my career. Elijah was working at Dale’s Music at 15 or 16 and told me that I should also take lessons with his teacher Paul Carr. Paul Carr is a great tenor saxophonist and also mentor who taught so many great players. I don’t end up getting into jazz band in 9th grade since I was told Jazz Band was for 10th-12th grade but I started taking private lessons with Paul Carr as well as doing his Jazz Academy to get ahead. Paul had the Jazz Academy going on throughout the year which gave me more experience playing and performing early on. Come 10th grade, I am finally able to join the jazz band and at that point, I had grown so much as a player studying with Paul which just pushed me to another level. In 10th grade, I ended up making all county as well as all state but why 10th grade was another pivotal point for me was because Wynton Marsalis visited my high school to conduct a masterclass. I happened to be playing lead alto in our big band and we were playing a bunch of Duke Ellington charts. I remember soloing on “It Don’t Mean a Thing” and Wynton was comping on piano and telling me to keep playing and complementing me. After the masterclass he talked to me one on one and told me I was really swinging and to keep practicing which really lit the fire under me with that positive affirmation to keep going in that direction. At that point, everything went into high gear.
I started putting in 12 hour days during the summer and life for me was basically school and practice. I also auditioned and made the Grammy band, which really opened me up to all those schools in New York such as Juilliard, The New School, and Manhattan School of Music which made me seriously consider pursuing music after high school.
I was always focused on academics and my grades as well, so I applied to and was accepted to NCCU, Howard, University of Maryland, Georgetown, New School, and Manhattan School of Music but I didn’t receive enough scholarship money to the music schools out of high school. My dad was fine with me pursuing music but didn’t want me to take out a bunch of loans to pursue it which was hard to hear at the time. He recommended that I attend Georgetown because as professor of law at Georgetown, my tuition would be covered if I was accepted (which I was).
I decided to go to Georgetown University and remained an undecided major for a while because I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I ended up settling on a major in English with an African American studies minor which actually was very helpful with understanding the historical context of jazz/post-bop/avant garde from the 50’s and 60’s and what was going on during that time.
All during this time, I am still playing in D.C. and meeting a lot of incredible musicians who I ended up touring with later. While playing in D.C. a lot of my friends from the Grammy band and other groups I played with were telling me I needed to get to New York and check out the scene.
My sophomore year at Georgetown, I decided that I wanted to transfer at the end of the year to Juilliard. I end up going through the audition process and getting accepted to Juilliard with a similar scholarship that I had at Georgetown which made the transition easy for me as well as my parents.
My freshman year at Juilliard, I end up meeting Christian Scott through my friend Tyler Ginsberg who was a trombone player from New Orleans that studied at Berklee College of Music. Tyler was a great friend of Christian’s and asked me if I wanted to check out Donald Harrison’s show at Symphony Space. I ended up taking the train to go see the show and after, Tyler asks if I want to meet Donald and Christian after the show. I remember going back stage and hanging out with a bunch of people and end up meeting Christian which we hit it off. We ended up exchanging information and Christian says I might have some work for you. It turns out, that I wouldn’t hear from Christian for about 3 months but then all of a sudden the summer going into my sophomore year at Juilliard, Christian hits me up that there is this TV show he wants to do called The Eddy; which funny enough just came out on Netflix. Christian ends up flying me to L.A. to record a bunch of demos for this pilot and all of us (myself, Christian Scott, Luques Curtis, Joe Dyson, Lawrence Fields, and Matt Stevens) end up hitting it off, and Christian then sends me a bunch of tour dates.
Touring with Christian started my sophomore year at Juilliard and that’s when the juggling act began. I used to have to meet with the Dean and all my teachers to find out how much class I could miss because I wanted to do the tour, but also not fall behind in school. I had to get tutors, redo classes, and make up some work, but it was all worth it in the end to go on tour.
In 2015, I graduated from Juilliard and can now do all the tour dates and focus on releasing my own music. I had already released my first EP Sketch but then not too long after that, I decided to do an album with Butcher Brown. Through that Butcher Brown project, I end up getting a connection with this label Fresh Selects, where I send them early demos of Somewhere in Between, and they wanted to sign that project. We end up setting a date for early spring 2017. As soon as Somewhere in Between came out, my Spotify started to really grow organically separate from what I was doing with Christian. During this time I started to write more and create my own music that I envisioned my 12 year old self wanting to listen too because as much as like bebop, I really gravitated toward players like Grover Washington and combining elements of bebop, post-bop, R&B, soul. etc.
ZS: Who were your influences growing up and has your interest in players changed over time?
BC: Grover Washington was one of my first influences (R&B records) but then I looked at Grover Washington’s influences, and I started checking out Cannonball Adderley, Hank Crawford, etc. At 14, Cannonball was my guy; I started learning as many of his solos as I could find by transcribing them and then learning them in all 12 keys. I listened to Charlie Parker and studied the Omnibook, but I really gravitated more towards Cannonball and still do today.
From Cannonball around 17 or 18 I started checking out Kenny Garrett (same process as learning Cannonball) and also Sonny Rollins. I am still putting my students onto Saxophone Colossus because everything about that album is so perfect. I did enjoy early Trane quite a bit, especially his prestige recordings.
Outside of the jazz realm, I definitely listened to D’Angelo and really got into neo-soul and Motown records. I always loved listening to singers like Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, etc.
While I was in New York for my particular era, I would say it was the Mark Turner era (2011-2015). So many players (including myself) were emulating Mark’s approach to the saxophone as well such great musicians such as Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, and Lennie Tristano.
ZS: As you have worked to develop your own sound and technique, who did you try to emulate the most and what was your process?
BC: During my first couple of years in New York, I was influenced by some of the more modern players so I remember trying to emulate Mark Turner (more so his altissimo), Alex Lore, and Ben Van Gelder when it comes to technique and sound because these were the artists that my peers were listening to. When I think of my sound, I would say some players that have influenced my sound today are Kenny Garrett, late Cannonball Adderley, Lee Konitz, and maybe someone contemporary players like Gerald Albright or someone in that field. My process to develop this sound and technique was playing more into the altissimo, playing harder reeds, and I started to play with a more airy sound.
BC: I had to shift my focus for sure, but there were a few things I always wanted to do. For my 2020 goals list, I am glad I finally finished my e-book: Braxton Cook’s Favorite II V I’s because if I was touring like normal like last summer, I don’t know if I would have ever gotten to finishing this e-book. I am starting to create my catalog of students and lessons and creating more e-books and templates which I realized takes time but isn’t that hard once you set it up. I hope to and will come out with some additional e-books in the future for players as well as my fans to check out.
ZS: Is there something you would like to share that you believe many people don’t know about you?
BC: I have never driven a car and am getting my license this week (just got my permit). I grew up taking trains and buses in D.C. and New York so I am finally getting my license since moving to L.A. Been focusing a lot on some life stuff at the moment.
ZS: When it comes to practicing, what is your process for honing your skills, and do you have any tips you recommend for all players from beginner to advanced?
BC: I think overtones aren’t looked at enough. I have been focused on singing every solo and learning more off of the instrument so when I get to practicing long tones and overtones, it is easier for me. For overtones, I like to play them at a very soft volume which I think has helped me extend my range and further improve my altissimo. Working on bridges that I find hard is what I like to work on and really pinpoint the areas were the transition is not smooth. I work quite a bit on the chromatic scale and tonal matching to make sure, for example, that the C# and D tonal colors aren’t too different (avoiding having one be too bright or the other too dark).
ZS: What are your thoughts on the importance of the equipment? Do you find yourself changing much or sticking with the same gear?
BC: I change my equipment way too much. My goal is to be able to get my sound on anything. I think equipment is important in terms of being comfortable.
ZS: What current projects are you working on?
BC: Right now I have been working on some music for a new Netflix movie coming out. I am also looking to work more on my writing and scoring as well as a few more e-books. One book I am working on in particular is on being an independent artist and teaching musicians how to get your music out to the world all by yourself. In addition to the saxophone, I have also been learning the bass and guitar via YouTube videos.
Equipment
Saxophone: Selmer Mark VII (1975) and just bought another Conn New Wonder
I have been following Jack Finucane at the increasingly-popular Boston Sax Shop for quite some time. Since the introduction of the Balam Back Strap, Jack has expanded his product line to include his own necks (Heritage Neck), neck-straps (Newbury Street & Deluxe), cases (Ambassador Case for tenor and alto), reeds (B.S.S.), and most recently his new B.S.S Superlative ligature. In this article, I will be providing an overview as well as my experience thus far using all of these products over the past few months (excluding the Heritage Neck-currently on back-order).
Boston Sax Shop Custom Tenor Reeds
Product Overview
Jack informed me that he decided to design his own line of reeds because although he mainly focuses on repair work, he is a player and like many of us, was frustrated that he could not find the perfect or close to perfect reed. For the reed design, Jack was looking to create a cut that offered the player a well-balanced reed (even-sounding lows, mids, and highs) with a warm sound and a good amount of projection so you could cut when needed. Jack found the current jazz reed options available today were either too buzzy or bright, while the classical reed offerings, on the other hand, had the core and depth that many players are looking for, but they would not cut through the noise when needed. Through Jack’s research, the Boston Sax Shop reed was born. The B.S.S reed is a combination of both a classical and a jazz cut, resulting in a reed that provides a warm and dark tone while providing the player with a reed that can project when pushed instead of thinning out.
Verdict
I have been playing a wide assortment of different jazz-cut reeds for some time, including brands such as Rigotti, Lupifaro, Vandoren, D’Addario, Ishimori, Roberto’s, Alexander, and the list goes on. Generally speaking, these have been working well for me but I, being a bit of a gear enthusiast (with the descriptor, “enthusiast” being an understatement), was curious how the B.S.S. reeds would perform.
I decided to order a box of five reeds in 2 strength, and five more in 2.5 strength. Since Jack informed me that the B.S.S reed is an unfiled cut with a thicker tip, I might find the 2.5 to play a bit harder than other 2.5 cuts. When I received the B.S.S reeds and started playing the 2 and 2.5, I realized the 2 was, naturally, a more free-blowing reed, but overall, I preferred the level of feedback and buzz I got when playing the 2.5 cut.
Just as Jack described, the B.S.S reeds had a dark and warm tone, but with a brighter setup, you could get a lot of edge in your sound. I did find that the five 2.5 B.S.S reeds played consistently overall, but due to their thicker tip, I decided to use my ReedGeek to further flatten the table and clear up the tip so it would play a bit less resistant.
Since playing these reeds over the past few months, I will say if you maintain these reeds (Reedcase or ReedGeek), you will see quite a long shelf life on each reed (one in particular I have been playing for 3.5 months and it has been holding strong). If you, like me, are currently a fan of Rigotti cane, then these B.S.S reeds are a must-try.
Some of the high-profile players using B.S.S Custom include Ben Wendel, Melissa, Aldana, Braxton Cook, Jeff Coffin, and Joel Frahm, to name just a few players who have made the switch. I am looking forward to checking out the alto, soprano, and baritone reeds in the future to see how they compare.
There are so many neck straps on the market today that it can be challenging to decide which one will work best for you. At the 2019 NAMM Show, I had the chance to check out the Balam Back Strap which I quite liked in terms of look, feel, and support, so I decided to pick one up. I later learned that in addition to the Balam Back Strap, Jack also offered his own line of neck straps which included two models: The Newbury Street Strap & The Newbury Street Deluxe Strap. I have seen various vendors offer similar neck-straps but, I found Jack’s neck straps to include all the features many of us horn players are looking for.
The Newbury Street Deluxe neck strap offers two different types of leather, both of which don’t stretch or bounce when you attach your saxophone, and also contain a wedge of memory foam for comfort and support. The string is a 550 paracord, which is more than strong enough to support double the weight of the saxophone. The slider is cast in brass with a powder matte black finish and provides easy adjustment depending on which saxophone you are switching too. Finally, the hook (very important) is a combination of metal and plastic. The metal hook is covered in industrial strength tubing which will prevent wear on your saxophone neckstrap ring, which means you do not have to be concerned with some of the issues a plastic hook faces (bending or not fully closing over time).
Verdict
Overall, I am very happy with the Newbury Street Deluxe neckstrap. I am currently playing on a Saxholder strap which I still feel provides me some additional neck support over the Newbury Street Deluxe but, the Newbury Street Deluxe is easier to adjust and simply more aesthetically pleasing while playing standing up or sitting down. I really enjoyed the adjustment slider which made it easy to adjust back and forth without it getting caught or stuck at certain spots – which is an issue I have run into with other neckstraps. The coating on the hook is a great idea and something I wish more manufacturers offered.
Although the neckstrap is seen as a simple piece of equipment, I really think it is important to invest in a good quality strap because it will save your neck in the long run (pun intended). I would recommend choosing the Deluxe version if you prefer the slider but, if you want a more traditional neckstrap (similar to a Oleg, Just Joe’s, etc.), then the Newbury Street will work just fine.
I recall trying one of the first prototypes of the Superlative Ligature back at the NAMM show a year ago, and was impressed with the prototype’s design, material, and construction. Jack informed me that the Superlative ligature actually started as a midnight sketch on the back of a cocktail napkin at the 2018 NAMM Show. Jack told me he really wanted to create a simple but solid, practical, and vintage-inspired ligature that he felt was missing on the market today. The design concept drew from some of Jack’s favorite ligatures, which were the: Selmer ‘2 Screw’, Magnitone and Harrison.
After 2 years of prototyping and gaining feedback from players, the Superlative ligature was born. The Superlative ligature features: “a single piece body design made up of 3 distinct radiuses that allow for plenty of reed/mouthpiece vibration while being solid and stable fitting on the mouthpiece.” The reed contact plate (see picture above), grips evenly while giving the middle section of the reed room to breathe. Jack discovered while designing this ligature that this was a common area where a new reed would swell which resulted in a non-optimal seal. The two screw inverted orientation over the traditional two screws at the bottom was for simplicity and easy adjustment.
In addition to the bare brass finish which will age over time, Jack also offers a ‘hand finished’ option which involves adding a jewelry technique finish called “stippling” to the outside of the ligature. Each one is individual and personally done by Jack. The ligature comes in three finishes: bare brass, silver plate, and gold plated. The Superlative ligature fits a wide variety of hard rubber mouthpieces but if you don’t see your mouthpiece listed, feel free to reach out to the Boston Sax Shop and they will be able to confirm if the ligature is a fit or not for your particular mouthpiece. I would also like to give a quick shout out to Derek at SaxSpy who did a great overview of the Superlative ligature if you have not already checked it out.
Verdict
Before picking up the Boston Sax Shop Superlative ligature, I was playing on an Ishimori Sterling Silver ligature (which has been working great for me) for my hard rubber slant link. When I received the Superlative ligature, it was just like Jack described and reminded me of a combination between a 2 -crew Selmer ligature, Ishimori (in terms of screws and bottom plate), and the Aidu ring ligature.
The overall construction of the Superlative ligature was great. I did not find the brass ring or screws to be thin and bendable, but instead, solid and machined well. The Superlative ligature fit my Link very nicely, and was easy to adjust – in no small part due to the neck plate design. I noticed that the ligature held the reed intact when tightened, but did not overly constrain, as the reed with the bottom left and right side showing a little bit of space to allow the reed to vibrate.
When I started to play, I noticed the Superlative ligature really allowed the reed to vibrate which I believe contributed to a bit more projection and volume in my sound. Sonically, I found the low, mids, and highs to play even, but noticed my highs popped a little bit easier. I found the Superlative ligature allowed me to obtain a nice core sound even with the further vibration which I thought would have made my sound more spread.
Overall, I am really happy with how the Superlative ligature came out, from the material, to design, to fitting, to the impact on my sound. If you are looking for a ligature and have a budget of under $100 dollars, I would definitely consider the Superlative ligature (mind you, only the brass finish is under $100, the other finishes are a bit more). Its simple design, solid construction, and overall playability is something I think many hard rubber tenor players will enjoy.
In the time since I first saw the Ambassador alto case at the 2019 NAMM Show, Jack has released a tenor version. Similar to the alto version, the tenor version is made from a composite structure and wrapped in a hard wearing automotive interior grade synthetic leather which results in lightweight but very durable case. The hardware is made up of all steel and utilizes a full length piano style hinge with four butterfly latches that require a two stage locking operation (this helps prevent the latch from accidentally opening).
The interior of the Ambassador case features a medium firm, memory style foam which delivers a tight and proper fit so your saxophone is not moving while you go from gig to gig. You have the option to go with or without the exterior pouch, but if you go with the exterior pouch option, you will have extra space for storing your reeds, mouthpiece, ligatures, and other accessories. One final feature which I know many of us saxophonists will enjoy is the ability to add padded backpack straps with locking carabiners in addition to braided steel wire loops that act as a failsafe for the unlikely event of strap failure.
Verdict
I was currently using a Bam Softpak case which served me well from high school to post-college, but it was showing signs of wear with the foam as well as interior starting to deteriorate. I had always heard good things about the Walt Johnson case, which does provide solid protection, but after seeing one up close, I found it to be quite heavy and not as compact as my Bam case. When I received the Ambassador tenor case, I felt I got the best of both worlds. The Ambassador tenor case provided me the compact and slim profile that I was looking for (especially when taking my horn on an flight), but also the protection that the Walt Johnson could offer. I decided to get the Ambassador case without the exterior pouch for a slimmer profile, but will say that if you carry lots of extra reeds, neckstraps, mouthpieces, or other accessories, you will want the pouch for the extra storage. The four butterfly latches that come on the Ambassador case really provide a secure lock so you don’t have to worry about a latch accidentally coming undone.
What’s also great is that if you latch one or two butterfly latches but forget to close the third and fourth latch by accident (obviously not recommend) the case won’t pop open with your horn unfortunately falling to the ground. The interior foam fit my tenor snug and securely, but I would recommend also using an end cap or even the GapCap by Key leaves, as either of those will further help take up the little bit of space left so your horn will not move.
The velvet bag that comes included with the Ambassador case does provide enough space for you to put your neck and mouthpiece securely within the bell and even, depending on how you store your reeds, a little space above to put a reed case (this is where the pouch comes more in handy).
Overall, I am really happy with how the Ambassador tenor case came out since checking out the alto version. I think Jack’s case is a great option for players who are looking for an off-the-shelf case that provides solid protection, is comfortable and light to carry around (backpack straps also help), and most importantly, provides a slim profile so it’s easy to travel when needed.
It is not often to see an independent music shop producing a full line of products that so many musicians are using and excited about. Since attending multiple NAMM Shows and searching the web for new products, I am seeing a further consolidation with more and more manufacturers who previously specialized in just one type of saxophone product, be it a saxophone manufacturer, a reed manufacturer, a neckstrap manufacturer, etc. (mainly talking about the large players) starting to brand themselves as a one-stop shop for all saxophone related products. Although this would seem like the right move, I have seen many manufacturers dive into producing a full product-line without the right amount of R&D and artist feedback, so some of their new products end up being a copy of an existing product, or a sub-par offering that does not help strengthen their current brand and position. Since seeing Jack introduce his own line of neckstraps, cases, reeds, and most recently, his ligature, I have come to realize that it is possible (even as a small shop), with the right R&D and artist feedback, to produce a unique, high-quality product line that can further evolve and grow over time.
I have had the opportunity to try every product that the Boston Sax Shop offers, and my overall experience, as well as what I’ve gathered from speaking with others that are also using B.S.S. products, has been overwhelmingly positive. In fact, I am now using Jack’s reeds, ligature, and his Newbury Street Deluxe Strap, and am very happy with all three.
For those players who are interested in exploring new sax gear, I would highly recommend the Boston Sax Shop line of products because the attention to detail, quality, and overall value is simply hard to beat.
I would like to thank Jack Finucane for sharing further details on each of his products, and am eagerly awaiting the return of the Heritage Necks, which happen to be out of stock at the time of this writing.
At the 2019 NAMM Show, I was able to meet up with Jeff Ellwood, who is a saxophone player and teacher based out of Southern California. I have been following Jeff’s playing for quite some time as well practicing his educational materials, which are very good for players at all levels. For those of you who already don’t know much about Jeff Ellwood, here are some key details to note:
Received his Bachelor of Music from The Berklee College of Music & his Master’s from Cal State Fullerton.
Studied Saxophone & Improvisation with James Moody, Rick Margitza, Ralph Bowen, John Ellis, Billy Pierce, George Garzone, Eric Marienthal, and Gary Foster.
Jeff has performed or recorded with, Tony Bennett, Jerry Bergonzi, Rick Margitza, Terell Stafford, James Moody, Randy Brecker, Christina McBride, Stevie Wonder, Bob Mintzer, Eddie Daniels, Arturo Sandoval, Dave Grusin, and Quincy Jones to name a few.
In 2013, Jeff worked with saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi to produce a compilation of all of Jerry’s compositions. In addition, Jeff co-authored the book, Basic Jazz Improvisation For All Musicians
Currently, Jeff is the Director of instrumental Jazz Studies at Mt. San Antonio College and an adjust professor of jazz saxophone at Cal State Fullerton.
Interview
ZS: What was your experience playing music and why did you choose the saxophone?
JE: Well nobody in my family played music but I had asthma growing up as a kid and my doctor recommended that a musical instrument might be a good idea to help with my lungs. I started playing a musical instrument in the 5th grade and chose the saxophone because I realized at a young age that girls liked the saxophone. I started on alto saxophone while in high school and played in a few rock bands but never took any saxophone lessons.
By the end of high school, I knew music was something I was interested in doing and I was fortunate enough that my dad bought me a Selmer Series II alto in black lacquer to replace my current horn. After high school, I went to a community college for a few years and was learning a lot of material that I should have learned in high school but unfortunately I didn’t. I was trying to learn this material but things were not making sense to me. Before summer break, I noticed my high school had a tenor which I asked to borrow over break and that is when things started to make sense.
In some ways I have regrets that I never had lessons in high school, but in some ways I don’t have regrets because it forced me to figure things out and explore playing differently.
You have to understand that when I came out of high school, I was awful. I did not know my major scales or how to read music. My first week at community college they made me play lead alto because I had a good sound but I could not read. I remember the first tune we had to play was a Mark Taylor arrangement of “All The Things You Are” and we had to play that in the 2nd week of school which I had no idea what the symbols meant on the page. It was a long process for me to learn scales, chords, how to read, etc. and I played a lot of wrong notes during that time.
I knew after high school that I wanted to pursue music and attend Berklee College of Music because I knew it was a place that had many great players; which would motivate me to stay in the practice room and figure things out. Although I wanted to go to Berklee right after high school, I knew that I was not ready, so my only option was to attend my local community college.
When I decided to go community college they happened to hire a new instructor who was a saxophone player named Charlie Richard and he took me on as a student and is now the Director of Jazz Studies at Riverside City College. Charlie studied with Harvey Pittel and he had me playing Ferling Etudes and studying a lot of those concepts he learned from Harvey Pittel. I don’t feel that I would be half the musician I am today if it weren’t for those 2 years at community college because Berklee wouldn’t have nurtured me the same way a community college would.
After community college, I applied to Berklee but what further interested me in attending Berklee early on was they had these summer music camps in L.A. I went to one of these camps my first year out of high school which was a week-long and this was the first time I met Billy Pierce. For some reason, I was placed in the top level saxophone class (which I don’t know why), and I was clearly the weakest person there.
I kept asking players in my class “Oh you sound great, how do you do that?” and they were not willing to help me which was frustrating. The next year, I switched to tenor and came back to the camp. When I saw Billy Pierce, he asked me “what happened?”; similar to the story of Charlie Parker getting a cymbal thrown at his head, after my first year attending camp, I started working really hard to become as good as I could.
At the Berklee summer camp they gave out scholarship money. By no means was I anybody good who was at the camp, but Berklee ended up offering me scholarship money and to this day I believe it was because of Billy Pierce talking to the judges about how far I had come from last year.
At Berklee, I studied with Billy for my first 2 years. I bounced around to a few other teachers, Jim Odgren and Dino Govoni. After Jim I moved on to studying with George Garzone for the remainder of my time at Berklee. When I studied with Billy, I was learning a lot of the bebop language. I found Billy was a very logical teacher and remember he had filing cabinets full of charts and materials over the years teaching students. This was a great help to me because I always come into Billy’s lessons with questions and he gave me material I could work on and helped me figure it out. Garzone had his own system but it was not as organized and structured in certain ways which was also good because it let me think about ideas in a different way. After Berklee, I stayed in Boston for another year and played with a hip hop band with a bunch of jazz musicians called Red Time. It was a great band but the leader of the band decided he wanted to take the band to New York; I just was not interested in making the move and ended up moving back to California.
Just before Berklee, I was still trying to figure out how I heard music and stumbled across a Rick Margitza album which is when the lightbulb went off and is how I heard and wanted to play music. I transcribed and listened to so much of Rick Margitza and knew that I wanted to study with him. I got his phone number and just called Rick and said I need to study with you. For our lessons, I would play on a cassette tape and send it to Rick. After, Rick would listen to it and then talk on the other side of the cassette tape, write things down for me to review, and send the tape back. Those were some of my most valuable lessons I took to date.
When I moved back to California, I really had no desire to get a college teaching job but was teaching saxophone lessons on the side as I was trying to get my name out there. Back at my community college Riverside City College they had an evening jazz ensemble that was filled with local band directors, semi-professionals and professionals. That ensemble was being run by my former teacher Charlie Richard and he pulled me aside one day and asked if I would teach the improvisation class at the college, which I said sure. From there, I started to coach some combo’s and teach some students. After some time, Charlie recommended that I go back to college and get a Master’s degree. I decided to attend Cal State Fullerton and got my Master’s Degree in Performance. The teaching path was never on my radar but I kind of fell into it.
ZS: Who would you say are your biggest influences?
JE: Really my top three influences are Rick Margitza, Jerry Bergonzi, and Seamus Blake. I try to listen to other players but I keep gravitating back to these three players.
ZS: As a teacher and player, what are your thoughts on how jazz is being taught in today’s schools compared to the past? What are some similarities and differences?
JE: I think because of the world we live in, I don’t think honesty is something that happens a lot in education. I don’t think a lot of students come out of school as qualified and ready as they should be. Back when I was studying it was much more black and white. I was being told all the time, that what I was doing was not good enough and that I was not working hard enough to get it together. I knew this advice was coming from a loving place and my teachers were not trying to destroy me but simply telling me what it really takes to play music well. I don’t see students listening to music the same way as I did in the past. I find students are not listening, memorizing and internalizing their favorite player’s solos. Even today we have access to so much material online but some students are lazy and want to be told what to do instead of figuring out the material themselves.
ZS: With jazz blending more into other genres of music, what opportunities are you seeing for both yourself as well as young players entering the scene today?
JE: I am seeing younger players taking charge of their own careers. By leveraging technology, I see players coming up with their own type of music and carving out a path for themselves. I am not always a fan of some of the music but I understand these players are trying to make a living. Being an educator has allowed me to play what I want to play. I only want to play music that inspires me and play with players who want to make great music.
ZS: Do you think young saxophonists and veterans can just get by with just playing music, or do you see teaching as almost a requirement if you want to make music your full time career?
JE: Let’s be realistic; you would be foolish to not teach players who want to learn from you. I think Chad Lefkowitz-Brown and Bob Reynolds are great examples where they are carving out their own path related to teaching, with e-books and educational based websites. I myself am working on a Seamus Blake transcription book with Remi Bolduc from McGill University that I hope to release soon and think a lot of players will enjoy checking it out.
ZS: What projects are you currently working on right now?
JE: I am hoping to get in the studio in February and make my first record as a leader.
ZS: What are you working on today (exercise). Educational materials you would like to share with readers?
JE: What I have been working on lately has been chord sounds. In particular I have been working on 9th chords and really figuring out every possible way to mix up 5 notes and playing them at all upper extensions. Using voice leading you can combine these melodies.
ZS: What is your current setup today and what are your thoughts on the importance of equipment (Vintage V.S. Modern)?
I have never played any vintage gear or had the desire to. Part of the reason is because I love technology but I never wanted to be in a situation where my Mark VI is lost or gets stolen and I could never replace it. If anything were to happen to my Yamaha, I could go to a shop or Yamaha directly and get a new horn. I have never spent much time playing Mark VI’s or SBA’s. I actually had something happen to my modern Selmer Series II tenor so I was looking for a back-up tenor. At that time, the Yamaha Custom 82Z’s were not as expensive so I bought a black lacquer Yamaha Custom 82Z. After playing the Yamaha Custom 82Z and comparing it to my Selmer Series II, I found the Yamaha to be a better saxophone. I was later able to get connected with Yamaha and have been a Yamaha artist for quite some time. Recently, I picked up the new Yamaha Custom 82zii Atelier model and I absolutely love this horn.
At the 2019 NAMM Show, I had the chance to meet with Rulon Brown, President of Key Leaves, and test the Key Leaves Sax Key Props as well as the Vent Vine. Most recently, Rulon sent me two new products to review – the GapCap & Spit Sponge.
GapCap
Product Overview
The end cap/end plug that comes with your saxophone is designed to protect the octave mechanism as you take your saxophone from gig to gig. The issue is many sax end caps/end plugs do not fit your saxophone neck tenon securely. In addition, your saxophone case might not be the perfect fit for your particular horn, so the end cap might not take up the necessary space needed to make sure your saxophone is secure during transport.
The good news is Rulon Brown at Key Leaves has released the GapCap to solve these issues. According to Key Leaves, the GapCap, “flexes to fit your sax perfectly, screw adjusts to fit your case, shock absorbs impact, and vents air through the top and side for a cleaner saxophone resulting in longer pad life.”
Benefits:
The spring wall design can be easily adjusted to fit the neck socket of your tenor or alto saxophone (GapCap available for tenor and alto saxophone)
If you have a loose-fitting saxophone case, the GapCap screw can be expanded to fill that gap resulting in a lower chance of bent keys or bent body.
The GapCap vents to allow airflow into the saxophone to keep the saxophone cleaner and extend the life of your pads.
My Impressions
Before receiving the GapCap, I had been using a Wooden Cap made out of Zebrawood by SaxPlugs (saxophonist Matt Vashlishan’s company). This cap did fit my saxophone well in comparison to the plastic end cap it came with, and made my saxophone fit more securely in my Bam Softpack tenor case.
When I received the GapCap, I was really impressed how it could be easily adjusted to fit many different saxophone brands from Yanagisawa to Selmer to Lupifaro to Yamaha (which is one drawback with the wooden end plugs). The GapCap adjustment screw was great when trying to make sure my saxophone was secure in my Bam case. What is great about the adjustment screw is if you are switching between cases or having difficulty finding a perfect fit for your saxophone, the GapCap can assist with filling that gap. The benefits I saw were reducing the chances of my saxophone being damaged due to movement or something or someone accidentally hitting my case.
In addition, if I ever had a sax case that was not the best fit, I do not necessarily have to go out and search for a new case (as much as I enjoy looking for new gear…).
Finally, since the GapCap has open slots, air is allowed to travel throughout my saxophone, which will result in longer-lasting cleaner pads (especially in the palm keys).
Conclusion
I would like to thank Rulon for sending me the GapCap to review. Although I like my wooden end plug, the GapCap provides my saxophone a more secure fit in my case as well as any case in the future should I decide to change (which knowing me, I probably will).
With that being said, there are vendors producing wooden end plugs (like the wooden one I own) as well as custom end plugs made out of various materials which will further solve some of the issues the standard end plug misses, so if for some reason the GapCap is not the right fit for you, you can also consider these other options.
Sticky pads have always been a problem for pretty much all saxophonists. That is why Rulon came up with the Spit Sponge. As you know, sticky saxophone pads can become a noisy and sticky mess. With the Spit Sponge, you will be able to remove moisture left on the pads and tone holes that a saxophone swab just can’t reach, resulting in extended pad life and a cleaner horn all-around. According to Key Leaves, the Spit Sponge featured “a dual texture pad cleaner with an ultra absorbent top to clean delicate pad leather, and a micro-textured bottom to scrub tone holes clean.”
Benefits:
Easy-fit shape for cramped G# keys or big bell keys
Replaces wasteful pad paper & powders
Never Fray laser-fused edge
Washable for years of use
Fight tone hole corrosion
Reduce pad rot & repair
Thoughts
Before testing the Spit Sponge, I had been using either powdered paper or my trusty dollar bill to address any pads that were sticky (typically my G# and low C# key). Both methods did solve my sticky pad issue but had their drawbacks. The dollar bill was great as a quick fix but would only temporarily remove stickiness until the next time. In comparison, the powdered paper would remove the stickiness from my pads for quite some time but would leave powder all over the pad and resonator.
The Spit Sponge is a great alternative to both these options because the top layer of the spit sponge does absorb any spit or dampness after playing to keep the pad dry, and the bottom layers allow you to clean the tone-hole so no build up will occur. What’s great about the Spit Sponge is you can easily clean it with soap and water so it can be used over and over for years. The Spit Sponge, although a simple tool, is a nice addition to the current line of Key Leaves products.
Will the dollar bill or powder paper still work as a remedy for sticky pads? Yes, but after further testing, I do believe that the Spit Sponge is the better solution.
Again, I would like to thank Rulon for sending me the GapCap and Spit Sponge to review.
The GapCap is a great solution for those players who like their current saxophone case but have realized that their saxophone or case is not a perfect fit. The GapCap will prevent your saxophone from moving around in the case, which many times is where damage will occur. In addition, if you ever switch horns or purchase another saxophone, the GapCap will assist with making your new saxophone a more secure fit. One alternative to the GapCap would be to buy a custom-made case like a Mike Manning, but as many of you know, this would be a more expensive option.
As for the Spit Sponge, it’s a great product for keeping your pads dry as well as tone-holes clean to further prevent your pads from sticking. I would be interested to compare the Spit Sponge to BG’s Pad Dryers and see how they compare. With that being said, the dollar bill or pad paper will still work as I mentioned above, but they both have those considerable drawbacks that I mentioned earlier.
So that’s my take on these two new products, but please do share your thoughts and feedback if you have used Key Leaves GapCap or Spit Sponge!
Once again, the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show 2020 was filled with exhibitors showcasing their latest music-making products, so once again,I was lucky enough to be able to visit the show myself and check out all of the latest and greatest saxophones, necks, ligatures, mouthpieces, reeds, neck-straps, neck-screws, cases and the list goes on and on and on.
With only four days to see it all, it’s virtually impossible to try out every single product that I’m interested in checking out, but in this article I share my finding with the new products I did have a chance to test play at the show this year. I’ve also included a list of products I didn’t get to try out, but piqued my interest as worthy of checking out this year.
Saxophones
Eastman 850 Tenor
Since test playing the new Eastman 850 alto saxophone at last year’s NAMM show, Eastman this year released the 850 tenor. Similar to the Eastman 850 alto I play tested last year, the Eastman 850 tenor embodies the same unique features such as: re-designed side keys, the alternate f# and high f# key placement, each palm key placed at a different angle for maximum comfort, left hand pinky table has a raised C# for a smoother transition to the low B and Bb, uniquely designed octave mechanism, and rounded tone whole cups.
In addition, Ralph Torres over at Eastman informed me that the 850 model will come with 2 necks giving the player further possibilities to experiment with sonically as well as how the horn responds (more or less resistance based on the different neck tapers).
Similar to the alto, I overall really liked how the Eastman 850 tenor responded as well as felt under my fingers. The Eastman 850 tenor responded well from top to bottom with overall good intonation without much adjustment.
Sonically, the Eastman 850 tenor had a more bright and focused sound in comparison to the Eastman 52nd street tenor; which I found to lean towards the darker side of the sound spectrum and play more spread than focused.
In addition to the Eastman 850 tenor being released, Eastman also released the updated keywork for the Eastman 52nd street line of saxophones. Personally, I see this as a major improvement to the overall keywork found on the current Eastman 52nd street saxophones. The new keywork on the Eastman 52nd street tenor and alto saxophone felt much more comfortable under my fingers. I am excited to see Eastman release the 852 alto and tenor which will be the 52nd street saxophone but with the new keywork you will find on the Eastman 850 model. I would like to thank Ralph Torres for taking the time to show me the new Eastman 850 tenor as well as updated keywork you will now find on the Eastman 52nd street line of saxophones.
I first noticed Schagerl at last year’s NAMM showcasing their line of trumpets which seemed to be quite a hit. While checking out the Schagerl booth this year, I noticed they brought a few saxophones. The Schagerl saxophone I played was the Model 66 with the “vintage” finish.
I had a chance to speak with Karl Schagerl who is the CEO of Schagerl about the Model 66 line of saxophones. Karl informed me that the Model 66 pays tribute to the Mark VI (like many saxophones being manufactured today) with the parts coming from Taiwan and then the horn being setup in the Schagerl factory in Austria. Sonically, I found the Model 66 leaned towards the darker side (depends on your setup) and felt fairly comfortable under my fingers.
Personally, I would make some adjustments to the lower stack such as the spring tension for a more even feel. From an intonation stand point the saxophone played even from low Bb to high F# without much adjustment, but I did find the altissimo to play a bit on the resistant side. After further play testing, the Schagerl Model 66 did remind me of other Taiwanese saxophones that were going after that vintage look, feel, and sound, but the Schagerl Model 66 in comparison had a overall better setup (I still think there is room for improvements) and sonically had a nice warmth and edge to the sound.
I found out that Schagerl Model 66 is carried by Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center and the current retail price is around $3,200 for the tenor which is quite competitive with other brands. I would like to thank Karl for taking the time to further discuss the Schagerl Model 66 tenor and would like to further test play this model in the future.
P Mauriat Master 97 Soprano
With the popularity of the P Mauriat Master 97 alto and tenor saxophone, P Mauriat has just released the P Mauriat Master 97 for soprano. Please note, I mainly play alto and tenor so I will do my best to provide you my overall impression of the soprano.
The P Mauriat Master 97 soprano is a 2-piece soprano (potentially a one piece option in the future) that aesthetically reminds me of the Yanagisawa 901 or 991 based off of the finish as well as the key-work (very similar to a Yanagisawa 901 or 991). The overall setup felt good under my fingers but I would make a few adjustments in the palm keys for easier access.
Sonically, the Master 97 soprano reminded me of the alto and tenor which embodied a focused and warm sound over a more edgy and spread sound which I have found on other P Mauriat models. My recommendation if you are in the market for a soprano saxophone would be to test play the P Mauriat Master 97 soprano (especially if you like the Master 97 alto & tenor) and see how it compares to a Yanagisawa WO1 or WO10 as well as Yamaha 82z soprano.
Personally, I prefer the Yanagisawa & Yamaha sopranos but I think the P Mauriat Master 97 soprano is a nice addition to the current line of P Mauriat sopranos (76 2nd edition & Le Bravo 200).
Antigua AS5200 & TS5200 Alto & Tenor Saxophone
I have played the Antigua line of saxophones in the past from the Power Bell model, to the ProOne, to the Model 25 for both tenor and alto saxophone and personally felt that the overall sound, keywork, and setup were ok but not great (always room for improvement).
At NAMM 2020, I ran into Mike Summers who is the brand manager at Antigua. I shared with Mike my overall thoughts and feedback on Antigua as well as the current lineup, and he appreciated the feedback and said he is constantly working to further improve the current lineup. While re-visiting some of the Antigua saxophone models, Mike asked if I would try Antigua’s new model which was released at TMEA 2019 called the Antigua 5200. Mike informed me that the Antigua 5200 was Antigua’s new offering designed with the classical player in mind who currently might be playing on a modern Selmer, Yamaha, or Yanagisawa but interested in what other options are out there.
The 5200 has the following features: a redesigned neck, fully ribbed construction, one-piece bell, pisoni pro pads with metal resonators, standard sized bell, and redesigned ergonomics. After play testing both the 5200 tenor and alto saxophone, I was pleasantly surprised. Similar to what I saw with the P Mauriat 97 master alto when it was first released, I personally believe the 5200 series by Antigua is a move in the right direction. Both the 5200 alto and tenor were free blowing and sonically fell in the neutral sound spectrum, but depending on your setup could play darker or brighter.
The keywork felt generally comfortable under my fingers, but after further play testing, I provided Mike a few suggestions for further improvements or enhancements to make it even better such as: the position of the Eb key, the high F# tear drop key being slightly lowered for a smoother transition, and taking the rollers from the ProOne model low C#, B, and Bb (similar to Yanagisawa) and also using those on the 5200 series. Again, I would like to thank Mike for taking the time to discuss with me more about the Antigua 5200 alto and tenor saxophone and am curious to see how this model evolves.
The Jazzlab Saxholder is personally one of my favorite neckstraps on the market today and the one I currently use. At this year’s NAMM, Jazzlab introduced the JazzLab Saxholder Pro neckstrap which is similar to the previous model but with the following enhancements:
The shoulder handles can now be removed and re-attached when needed for easier transport.
Where the neck strap cord begins has been raised to provide a better position when adjusting your saxophone.
Instead of pulling down the adjuster back and forth to find a comfortable position for the stomach plate, you now have a telescopic slider which you can unlock and lock by turning instead of adjusting up and down.
The stomach slider is larger and stays vertical instead of being able change between a vertical and horizontal position.
When adjusting the neckstrap cord you now have a slider button which you simply push in to adjust and then release to lock in place (better design over the previous mechanism).
The new Jazzlab Saxholder Pro has some nice enhancements over the previous model and I highly recommend those who have an existing Saxholder neckstrap, to consider picking one up if you prefer the new enhancements. With that being said, the current JazzLab Saxholder neckstrap is still a great neckstrap and I would only make the switch if you prefer the new model.
In addition to using the Saxholder, I have for quite some time been using the Jazzlab Deflector. For those of you don’t know, the Jazzlab Deflector will help you better hear yourself whether you are practicing, recording, or at a gig. I have found the Deflector especially useful depending on where I am playing or if I am having trouble hearing myself in various settings. The Jazzlab Deflector Pro is very similar to the original Deflector model except the Pro model now comes with two additional sound mirror attachments which allows the Deflector to be used for trumpet, trombone, and now a straight soprano (most important!). For those of you who do not own a Deflector, I highly recommend picking one up.
In addition, if you currently own a Deflector and are interested in the Pro model, my recommendation would be to pick one up if you are going to use the additional attachments, if not, I would stick with the original model.
Since first playing Silverstein’s ligatures a few years back, Silverstein has expanded their product line quite a bit and is now offering mouthpieces, cane reed, and other unique saxophone devices such as the Omniguard, Reedcure, Omnicap, and Omnipatch.
They’ve recently released a new synthetic reed for saxophone called the Alta Ambiploy. Although I still prefer cane reeds over many of the synthetic reeds offered on the market today, I was curious to see how Silverstein’s new Alta Ambiploy reed responded.
The Silverstein Alta Ambiploy Reed Details
Made out of Ambipolymer.
Wet this reed like cane.
Consistent in all temperatures and climates.
Made with double injection molding process for consistency from reed to reed.
Can be further customized with a reed tool (ReedGeek or Reed Knife).
5-15 minutes the reed will pair/align to your current mouthpiece setup.
I was pleasantly surprised how the Alta Ambiploy reed responded. The sound was consistent across all registers. For me personally, the Alta tenor reed responded close to cane after playing for quite some time but I still feel there are some different timbres I can obtain on a cane reed that I have simply not noticed while playing a synthetic reed. What I was most impressed with the Alta reed is the overall feel. After soaking the reed and playing for a bit, the Alta reed was more comfortable to play on over other synthetics that might play fairly well but the feel is quite different from cane. I will say the 2.5 strength Alta reed felt a tad bit hard so I believe I will either move down a half step or simply use my reedgeek to make the Alta reed a tad bit softer. I would like to thank Silverstein for letting me try the Alta reed. I am not sure if I am ready to make the switch from cane to synthetic but I think Silverstein is moving in the right direction.
This year, In addition to D’Addario releasing a new neckstrap, D’Addario’s big news was the release of their new synthetic reed called the Venn reed. Unfortunately since this reed just came out right before the show, I did not have the opportunity to test play but wanted to share some details for those of you who are interested (I know I am) in checking out how the VENN reed compares to other synthetic reeds as well as traditional cane reeds.
The D’Addario Venn reed is the first advanced synthetic reed offered by D’Addario that attempts to combine the longevity and durability of a synthetic reed without compromising on the sound and play-ability of a cane reed (which is, of course, the shared goal of all synthetic reeds) .
The Venn is a combination of different synthetic fibers with resin and also some cane particles. It will be coming out in April of this year for tenor, alto, and Bb clarinet, and offered with 5 different strengths.
Ligatures
JLV ligature
There are so many ligatures on the market today that it has gotten harder and harder for me to keep track of all of them. At this year’s NAMM, I was able to test play the JLV ligature, which I had heard about in the past but had not had a chance to test play myself. The JLV ligature was invented by Jean-Luc Vignaud who is a well-known French saxophonist and teacher at CNSM of Paris.
The JLV ligature
100% made in France
Designed to offer a centered and even sound across all registers as well as a resurfacing feature to prevent air leakage between the reed and the mouthpiece.
Comes in 5+ finishes: Polished, Brushed, Silver Plated, 24k Gold Plated, Platinum Plated, and Black Edition (New!)
I had a chance to meet Jean-Luc Vignaud as well as his team who showed me the different finishes as well as how to put the JLV ligature on my mouthpiece. The finishes I tried were the Silver-Plated, Gold-Plated, and Platinum Plated finish to compare to my Ishimori Sterling Silver ligature.
The overall build quality on the JLV ligature was very sturdy even though from first looks its appeared quite delicate. Putting on and taking off the JLV ligature does take a little bit of time to get used to as well as making some simple adjustments once you secure the ligature on your mouthpiece.
Once you get the hang of putting on and taking off the JLV ligature, it is quite easy to use. What’s unique about the JLV ligature besides the very few contact points between the mouthpiece and the reed is the four point bottom bar. 2 of the bottom bar’s feet sit on the reed stock while the other 2 feet sit on the vamp below the heart. Having two feet sitting on the vamp is what Jean-Luc Vignaud and his team told me will help prevent air leaks between the reed and mouthpiece.
The JLV ligature worked quite well with my mouthpiece setup. I found the reed vibrated evenly across all registers and the response was great. Between all three finishes, I mainly noticed a difference in the responsiveness as well as resistance/back-pressure with the Platinum Plated finish, which ended up being my favorite.
Overall, I was happy I had a chance to test play the JLV ligature and meet the JLV team. My recommendation is if you are in the market for a ligature, definitely check these out. That said, I would spend some time getting comfortable with taking the ligature on and off your mouthpiece as well as making minor adjustments to see if this is easy for you or not.
In addition, The JLV ligature is on the high end from a price standpoint (similar to Ishimori, Silverstein, etc.) so if you are on a budget for a ligature, I would recommend considering other ligatures before test playing the JLV ligature.
Theo Wanne this year released 4 updated/revisions to his current line of pro mouthpieces. These mouthpieces include: the Ambika 3, The Durga 4, The Gaia 3, and the Shiva 3. I had a chance to test play all but the Ambika 3. I will be sharing my thoughts test playing these new models as well as some of the updates Theo has made.
Ambika 3
Overview
Shark Gill Baffle.
Newly designed baffle and chamber.
Sonically: Even freer blowing than the previous model with more dynamics.
Timbre: Darkest mouthpiece.
Material: Comes in Metal as well as Hard Rubber.
Target: Aimed at those players who enjoy playing on those vintage mouthpieces from the 1940’s -50’s but want a fuller sound with more projection and wider dynamics.
The Durga 4 is probably one of the most free blowing and responsive mouthpieces I have ever played. The Durga 4, when pushed can really project and sonically leans towards the brighter side of the sound spectrum. It’s quite flexible and has a wide dynamic range.
Personally, I think more contemporary players will enjoy the Durga 4 while other players coming from vintage links or who are use to a different level of resistance will prefer one of Theo’s Wanne’s other models. I think those players who want an incredibly free-blowing mouthpiece that responds instantly and leans towards the bright side will enjoy the Durga 4.
Gaia 3 (7*)
Overview
Shark Gill Baffle
Thin body, Rounded inner side walls, large chamber, and roll-over baffle
Sonically: Theo’s goal was to recreate the sound of a great Vintage Florida Otto Link as well as the sonic characteristics you hear from the great tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon
Coming from a hard rubber slant link, the Theo Wanne Slant Sig 2 is probably the closest mouthpiece Theo offers to what I am playing on today. With that being said, The Gaia 3 was incredibly free-blowing (like many of Theo Wanne’s mouthpieces) with a dark sound that was easy to articulate. I found the Gaia 3 had a great dynamic range which was, overall, easy to control with the sound leaning on the cleaner side instead of being very edgy.
Shiva 3 (7*)
Overview
Shark Gill Camber & Step Baffle.
Ideal for Rock n’ Roll or R&B.
Sonically: This is Theo’s brightest mouthpiece offering.
Compared to the Durga 4, Gaia 3, and Theo Wanne’s other models, The Shiva 3 is as Theo describes, his brightest mouthpiece offering. Although quite bright sonically, I did not find the Shiva to have a thin or shrill sound when pushed (especially in the palm keys). The Shiva 3 was incredibly responsive (similar to the Durga 4, but the Durga 4 is a bit more responsive) from low Bb to high F# and whether I was playing soft or loud, the Shiva 3 was quite easy to control.
Although I prefer a darker-sounding mouthpiece (more like the Gaia 3 or Slant Sig 2), I understand why many players who play Theo’s mouthpieces like the Shiva model. If you are looking for a bright mouthpiece that projects as well as cuts, the Shiva 3 might be the right model for you.
I would like to thank Matt Ambrose (Chief Machinist and CAD Designer) at Theo Wanne for taking the time to let me try the new models Theo Wanne was showcasing at this years NAMM.
At this year’s NAMM show I had a chance to stop by the JodyJazz booth and test play the new JodyJazz HR* Custom Dark in a 7 tip opening. Due to the popularity of the JodyJazz HR* mouthpiece, Jody wanted to offer a mouthpiece that embodied a warm dark sound with more spread. The Custom Dark model utilizes the Chedeville hard rubber with rounded side walls and a much larger chamber which helps achieve a darker, warmer, and more spread sound in comparison to the JodyJazz HR* mouthpiece.
I found JodyJazz HR* Custom Dark mouthpiece to do exactly as Jody described. The HR* Custom dark was responsive with sound that was more spread as opposed to having a tightly-defined core. The dark and warm sound I could obtain on this mouthpiece made me think of Joe Henderson.
In terms of projection, the HR* Custom Dark did well, but if you are looking for mouthpiece with more projection and one that can cut, I would recommend one of JodyJazz’s other models. Overall, I am really impressed with the new JodyJazz HR* Custom Dark mouthpiece which is now my personal favorite model of Jody’s mouthpiece lineup.
Retro Revival- “Stubby” Replica 1945 Bob Dukoff Short Body Tenor
At The Retro Revival (R.R) booth this year, I had a chance to test play the new Retro Revival “Stubby”, which is a replica of a 1945 Bob Dukoff Short Body mouthpiece. I believe this mouthpiece was based off a vintage Dukoff “Stubby” that Bob Sheppard played on for years.
Those of you have played an original Dukoff “Stubby” in great condition know these mouthpieces play extremely well, but are quite hard to find. I have played a few Dukoff “Stubby’s” in past and always thought of them as the direct competitor to the vintage metal Otto Link.
The Dukoff “Stubby” has a large chamber with deep rounded inner-side walls (similar to a vintage link). What makes the “Stubby” different is it has a higher floor which I found allows for greater projection. The Retro Revival “Stubby” mouthpiece played great from top to bottom.
This mouthpiece was easy to subtone and embodied a warm dark tone that had a nice edge when pushed. I personally prefer playing on hard rubber mouthpieces, but the R.R “Stubby” was incredibly comfortable to play on, and is now my favorite metal model that R.R. offers.
If you have not tried the R.R “Stubby”, I highly recommend you do so and if you can, compare it to the R.R “Super D” and see how each one plays.
I remember visiting the Gottsu (founded by Masahiko Goto in 2005) at my very first NAMM show. That year, I had the opportunity to test play the Sepia Tone VI line of mouthpieces which I quite liked. After my first NAMM show, I had not seen Gottsu return to future NAMM’s until this year (Am glad he did).
At this year’s NAMM, Gottsu showcased an extensive line of mouthpieces which included the Sepia Tone VI, Jazz Soloist, Jazz Metal, Master (based off a vintage Master Link), Studio Metal, and Hibiki.
Since first meeting Goto, I found out that he purchased a CNC machine and has been working to further refine his line of mouthpieces – and it shows. After play testing each mouthpiece model for tenor (all played great), what stood out to me was the Gottsu Jazz Soloist.
The Jazz Soloist is not an exact copy, but more a modified version of an original vintage Selmer Soloist which was made popular by such players as Kenny Garrett, Joe Henderson, Rich Perry, and others. The tip opening I landed on was a “G” opening – which is equivalent to a 7 or .100. The piece has a horseshoe chamber like you see on the original Selmer Soloist.
I found the Gottsu Jazz Soloist had a nice dark sound with a clear core that could project and did not feel stuffy or have a nasally sound that you might find on an original Selmer Soloist. In addition, the Gottsu Jazz Soloist was very responsive and easy to play at various dynamic levels.
If you are in the market for an original Selmer Soloist, I would highly consider checking out the Gottsu Jazz Soloist because personally I think it plays better than the originals in sound, projection, dynamics, etc.
2020 NAMM was an exciting show filled with exhibitors showcasing their new and existing line up of saxophones, ligatures, mouthpieces, reeds, necks, neck straps, sax stands, and a seemingly never-ending list of saxophone products. This year in particular, I saw a further focus on the classical saxophonist (mainly mouthpieces), which was similar what I saw in 2019, but what stood out was a clear emphasis on improvements to many existing product lines.
I also saw more and more vendors expanding their product lines to essentially become a one-stop-shop. Although I think this can be a solid approach to assembling a product line, generally speaking, I’d prefer seeing manufacturers really focusing on what they do well, and refine their current products as opposed to trying to expand into offerings that they may not excel at to the same degree.
Unfortunately, as is always the case, I was not able to visit every booth at the show that I wanted to and spend the amount of time I would have liked to test play various products.
To Exhibitors…
If I did not include you in this list, please know that it is not a reflection on your product, it just came down to time. If you would like me to review your product or have any questions, please feel free to contact me using the information from my author bio below.
There are more and more talented saxophone players hitting the scene today. With so much talent and fewer gigs, you really need to hone your skills as a saxophonist, but most importantly as a versatile musician. One player I really see making strides towards not just being accomplished on his instrument, but also becoming as a musical artist is Chase Baird.
For those of you who do not know Chase, here are some key details to note:
Chase is a saxophonist and composer who can be best described as “part experimental rocker, classical romantic, and hard-bop devotee”
Described by Randy Brecker as “the future of jazz music and the saxophone”
Born in Seattle and raised in Salt Lake City, Chase picked up the saxophone at age 10
In 2003, Chase was discovered and mentored by tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker
From 2007-2009 Chase attended California State University-Long Beach and later transferred and finished at The Juilliard School in N.Y.C where he studied with Ron Blake, Joe Temperley, Steve Wilson, Frank Kimbrough, and Rodney Jones to name a few.
Chase has had the opportunity to play with such jazz greats as Mike Stern, Antonio Farao, Thana Alexa, Christian McBride, Julian Pollack, as well as popular artists such as Chaka Khan, Matthew Morrison, Jakob Dylan, Chloe Agnew, and Diana Degarmo.
Over the past few years Chase has been an active member of virtuoso drummer and composer Antonio Sánchez’s band as well as the multi-generational progressive jazz quartet Venture (featuring vibraphonist Mark Sherman, bassist Felix Pastorius and drum legend Mike Clark).
January 2017, Chase performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center celebrating the life and music of Michael Brecker, playing his own original, “Ripcord”–with former President (and sax player) Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton sitting in the front row.
Chase recently released his album A Life Between with a band comprised of Antonio Sanchez (drums), Brad Mehldau (piano), Nir Felder (guitar), and Dan Chmielinski (bass)
CHASE’S NEW ALBUM: “A Life Between”. I’ve also included the liner notes to (A LIFE BETWEEN) which provides further context what went into putting this album together, as well the challenges and rewards of life in music.
Interview
ZS: Why did you choose the saxophone?
CB: My dad had been a semi-professional trumpet player when he was younger. He also doubled on saxophone, flute, Rhodes, synths and percussion in the different bands he worked with. I wanted to play trumpet like him, but he had a really nice trumpet (Bach Stradivarius) and a mediocre alto saxophone (Vito student model), so I was given the saxophone to start learning. I would love to be able to say that I had some sort of passion or interest from the get-go but I really didn’t. My parents asked me if I wanted to take lessons, and I thought, “ok sure”. I was always good about practicing and would practice at least 15 minutes a day but it wasn’t something I was really into. What really got me interested in music was going to middle school and finally playing in band. The feeling of connection with other people while playing music was something I really enjoyed.
I first started taking lessons from a saxophone player named Nick Falcone at the local music store. After studying with Nick, I studied with Alan Braufman for 2 or 3 years. In retrospect, I should have continued to study with Alan for longer, but I have a thing in my life where I tend to want to do things my own way—sometimes to a fault. At the time, I felt that I had assimilated a lot of information from Alan and the next step was to begin transcribing a lot and getting the material under my fingers. I switched to tenor in middle school as it was more of the soloist instrument in big band and I wanted to get more into improvising. I also switched to tenor because the players I was listening to were all tenor players.
The first player I gravitated towards and still listen to is Gato Barbieri. Throughout high school I took one-off lessons from various teachers (including Jerry Bergonzi). At the end of my sophomore year of high school, my family moved to the (San Francisco) bay area and started taking a few lessons with saxophonist Mike Zilber. If I could go back, I wish I would have also taken some lessons from Dann Zinn which I believe would have further helped my playing.
ZS: What are your thoughts on music education and what was your experience studying at California State University Long Beach versus Juilliard?
CB: When I finished high school, I stayed in the bay area for a year and studied at Diablo Valley College. I actually wanted to be a psychology major at the time and wanted to do something completely different from music. After Diablo Valley College, I decided I wanted to study at California State University (CSU) Long Beach because Eric Marienthal was on the faculty and I thought it would be cool to be in L.A. I was at CSU Long Beach for 2 years and studied with Sal Lozano my 1st year and then Eric my 2nd year. I also didn’t directly study with Jay Mason but took a saxophone ensemble with him. After 2 years at CSU Long Beach, I dropped out and eventually moved to New York where finished up my undergraduate at Juilliard.
While I was at Long Beach, I felt that if I wanted to be a top call studio musician, I would need to further shed flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, etc. and I realized that there are really only about 10 studio guys doing all of that work at this point—it’s a tough scene to break into. I felt I could invest 20 years in Los Angeles shedding all these instruments and playing someone else’s music, or I could to come to New York and give it a shot doing my own thing, which is what I had always wanted to do.
Thinking back, I had my frustrations with both programs, but always had a great interactions with the individual faculty members. I felt at Long Beach, my training as a saxophone player was more solid than my experience at Juilliard. Juilliard placed a lot of emphasis on improvisation and historical styles, but there was not as much emphasis on sheer proficiency. I think this has to do with the faculty at CSU Long Beach being studio musicians; there was a strong focus on technical precision—studio players tend to favor precision over artistic individuality. (For example, L.A. studio saxophonists tend to want equipment that facilitates near-perfect intonation, whereas N.Y. jazz saxophonists tend to opt for equipment that makes them sound unique.) At Long Beach, I remember studying classical saxophone pieces from the Marcel Mule book with a tuner set to a drone to really dial in my intonation. Jeff Jarvis (the head of the jazz program at CSU Long Beach) really pushed for ensemble playing where everything was played in tune, as a section, and with perfect dynamics. This honestly is not something players in New York think about on the same level as players in L.A., because what is required for professional studio musicians.
ZS: Which saxophone players influenced you?
CB: I was influenced by players like Gato Barbieri, Stan Getz, Bob Berg, Charlie Parker, Paul Desmond, Kenny Garrett, Sonny Rollins, and especially Michael Brecker (whose solos I started transcribing a ton of around age 13 or so), but there was a time and place where I was into almost everyone.
ZS: How were you introduced to Michael Brecker? What was that experience like?
CB: I had gone to a master class with Jeff Hamilton, and Jeff made a point of saying “who do you want to meet?” and I said Michael’s name and Jeff said, “Well Michael was a guest of mine at the Hollywood Bowl and now you know me so that is really only one degree of separation from me.” Jeff was trying to make a point that, “musicians are more accessible than you think, reach out to your heroes and connect with them.”
I ended up not meeting Michael through Jeff Hamiliton, but through contacting Michael’s manager Darryl Pitt. I had made a short recording at the time that my parents then helped me put together with a letter. We sent it to Darryl Pitt, who then forwarded it to Michael. At a certain point, I remember Michael calling my house which was pretty incredible. I wanted to take lessons with Michael but he didn’t want to teach so we ended up hanging out when he came through Salt Lake City and I spent an afternoon with him.
Brecker was very unique in the sense that I am sitting in the presence of a master and I think he knew it at some level too but he did not feel it himself. When I told him that I listen to him, Coltrane, and Joe Henderson, he sort of shrugged his shoulders and suggested “Why listen to me?” His vibe was more like “listen to Coltrane”.
ZS: What do you find most challenging about being a musician today?
CB: The sheer unpredictability of getting any gig. You can try really hard for something and it doesn’t pan out, then something else completely wonderful falls into your lap—it’s tough to feel like you have much control over the trajectory. It’s also feels like you’re doing a lot of different types of gigs and getting pulled in all directions. It can be very difficult to keep your relationship to music pure in the context of having to do things you don’t want to do or deal with aspects of the community that you don’t like. You have to survive and work which means you will bump into things you don’t like, and it can sometimes feel difficult to keep the joy of playing music.
While I’m fortunate to work with some incredibly talented and open minded people, those people are surprisingly hard to find—I think the jazz community as a whole can be a very judgmental and, ironically, I feel it’s often not very conducive to free-flowing expression and creativity. Just trying to find people that you match with musically can be very difficult since there are so many different sub-genres and ideas of how the music should go.
ZS: If you could give high school and college players one piece of advice for making a comfortable living as a professional saxophone player, what would that be?
CB: If you can survive playing professionally, that is a huge accomplishment in itself. You have to get into it knowing that it is an inherently difficult field and compensate for that through diversifying your skill set. So, being able to play a variety of styles on the saxophone really well and hopefully enjoying playing those styles and connecting to them. I would also suggest learning music technology and production as soon as possible—get a working understanding of a DAW, like Logic, early on. In this day and age, I think there’s a case to be made for being a multi-instrumentalist and having the ability to play keyboard, bass, guitar or something that will allow you to do more work on pop and commercial gigs.
I also would advise young saxophonists to avoid learning to double on flute or clarinet, unless it is something that they explicitly have a passion for. When I was younger, my teachers told me to learn those instruments so that I could work. Truth be told, I have barely recouped the money I invested in the instruments and lessons—the payoff just wasn’t there for me. I spent a quite a few hours shedding those instruments—I’m actually a decent clarinet player—but I wish I had invested the time into learning music production and recording. Again, if it’s a passion for you, go for it. I have friends who have made a career of it and it can be done. If it’s not your passion, put your time into learning music technology, synthesis, production or an alternate instrument (like piano, bass, guitar or drums).
ZS: Given the current environment, any tips or tricks you’d recommend for musicians looking for additional sources of income?
CB: In the current environment, e-books seems to be a good option. At the moment, a friend of mine is putting together a transcription book that we are going to release and maybe an educational book down the road. The transcription book is going to be five or six solos of mine. I feel like Chad Lefkowitz-Brown really nailed the e-book concept, and Bob Reynolds did a great job with his online course & community. Having a strong social media presence is really important for promoting yourself as an artist. I use social media but this is something I need to be doing more of ultimately.
ZS: How do you approach practicing and is there any material you have been working on?
CB: Honestly, I haven’t really been practicing saxophone lately. Because of the coronavirus lockdown in New York, everyone is trapped at home and don’t want to bother everyone in the building—my saxophone playing can be loud. I also was starting to feel a little burnt out on saxophone in the last few months and have been wanting to do something completely different musically, for a while. I’ve been taking vocal lessons and guitar lessons which has changed my perspective; I’m putting most of my time into that at this point and am basically shedding guitar 3 to 4 hours a day. It has me thinking more melodically with less focus on the instrument—saxophone has become more fun to play also as a result.
When I was younger, I used to practice diatonic patterns a lot with a metronome (sometimes for four to five hours a day during the summer break) which really built up my dexterity and speed. These days, when I practice saxophone, it’s a combination of three things: time, pitch/harmony, and facility. I want every exercise I do to be a combination of all three, so that I can maximize my efficiency. I practice everything with a metronome because I am always working on time—the concept is to unite both technical things I need to work out on the instrument with harmony, ear training, and rhythm.
To practice this concept, I created some Logic files with a bass playing different bass ostinatos (or claves) in odd meters. Over the ostinato (say it’s 5/4), I will start playing a scale pattern that’s grouped in a number different than the base meter—if I’m in 5/4, the over-layed grouping would be in 3, 4, 6, 7 or beyond. I’m basically trying to work out something like a diatonic pattern grouped in 7’s, while keeping track of where I am in the 5/4 and extending the scale practice into the altissimo. The goal is to get used to playing over the bar line in an odd meter, while getting my altissimo and intonation together. I practice this concept very slowly because it allows me to tune each note to the bass. It allows me to work on my sound, ear training, facility, and rhythm all at one time.
ZS: What is your current setup and your thoughts on the importance of equipment?
CB: I believe equipment really makes a huge difference. Different mouthpieces with different facings and reeds and saxophones will all sound and respond totally different. I also really advocate for using larger chamber mouthpieces. The truth is you can’t get the same spectrum of harmonic complexity out of a smaller chamber than you can get out of a large chamber.
Setup
Saxophone: Selmer SBA 50,xxx
Mouthpiece: Florida No USA (.106-.108”) that was refaced by Stephan Kammerer. I also have a Double Ring that Stephan also refaced and a piece from Bill Evans that is a Guardala-style mouthpiece. I spoke with Chris Potter & Ben Wendel and they both confirmed that .108 tip (7* to 7**) seems to be a fairly ideal opening for most vintage Otto Links, both metal and rubber
Ligature: Vintage Link ligature from a tone master
CB: I am in a phase where I am exploring a lot of different things so I am not sure what the next project will be. I am very excited about the possibility of writing and playing music with lyrics, so there will be something where I sing and play guitar on the horizon—it will be more pop/rock, but will obviously kind of integrate in my jazz background. I think there is a lot of possibility for something really exciting and original in that arena. I am also thinking of doing a video recording where I write something for a string quartet and saxophone—maybe a combination of originals and a cover.
Melissa Aldana to put it simply is one of the premier young saxophonists who has been hitting the scene and really making a name for herself. For those of you who don’t already know or listen to Melissa (in which case I highly encourage you to do ASAP), here are some key details on her background:
Melissa was born in Santiago, Chile where she began playing the saxophone when she just was six years old.
Melissa learned the saxophone from her father Marcos Aldana, also a professional saxophonist.
She started on the alto saxophone and was influenced by artists such as Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderley, and Michael Brecker. However, once Melissa heard the music of Sonny Rollins, she decided to switch to tenor.
Melissa began playing at various jazz clubs in Santiago, Chile and in 2005 was invited by Danilo Pérez to play at the Panama Jazz Festival.
After auditioning at multiple music schools in the US, Melissa decided to attend Berklee College of Music, where she had the opportunity to study with Joe Lovano, George Garzone, Frank Tiberi, Greg Osby, Hal Crook, Bill Pierce, and Ralph Peterson.
Once graduating from Berklee in 2009, Melissa decided to move to New York City where she began studying with saxophonist George Coleman.
Her first album, Free Fall, was released on Greg Osby’s Inner Circle Music imprint in 2010 followed by her second album, Second Cycle, which was released in 2012.
In 2013, at the age of 24, Melissa became the first female musician as well as first South American musician to win the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition (her father had been a semi-finalist in 1991).
Her most recent album Visions, Melissa connects her work to the legacy of Latina artists who have come before her; creating a pathway for her own expression.
Interview
ZS: What was your original inspiration for starting the saxophone?
MA: My father is a saxophone player and my grandfather was a saxophone player as well. I grew up having saxophones at home when I was very young. When I was six, my dad was doing a group lesson and they needed one more saxophone to play some harmony (very basic), so he gave me the saxophone and I ended up falling in love with it. My father was very strict – I used to wake up early and practice 7 to 8 hours and transcribe Charlie Parker solos by heart, but I don’t have any hard feelings with that, I just really remember enjoying the process. I am very thankful at a very early that I was taught how to practice right. My dad played alto and tenor and my grandfather also played tenor but he mainly was a baritone player. I started on alto for many years and my process for learning was very interesting because my father never taught me how to read. My father really believed that it was very important for me to memorize everything and really learn from the transcription – not just the notes, but the concepts, language, and sound.
I would spend hours and hours with him using the radio and the cassette, and then would play one phrase many times and really focus on the articulation and the spirit behind every note. I studied with my father until I turned 15 and my dad thus far taught me about scales, theory, and made me transcribe hundreds of solos by Charlie Parker and Cannonball (but still didn’t teach me how to read). When I was 12, I heard Sonny Rollins for the first time and really fell in love with the sound which made me decide to switch to tenor and I never went back to alto.
After graduating high school, I was accepted to Berklee College of Music. When I got to Berklee, I realized there are other players that want to do the same thing as me and they are all kicking my ass, which was my first experience with other young players wanting to do the same thing as me.
ZS: Who were your influences growing up and what players do you listen to today?
MA: I have transcribed a lot of players growing up such as Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Don Byas, Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, Lucky Thompson, Michael Brecker, and Mark Turner to name a few. Right now I have been really focused on listening to myself and focusing on the areas I want to improve and further explore.
ZS: As you developed your own sound and technique, who did you try to emulate the most and what was your process?
MA: Every time I had a question about how to play, express myself, and develop ideas, I would listen to someone that I liked and started to analyze their playing. I think I have written out maybe 3 transcriptions in my life. As I have gotten older, I have gone through the process of transcribing and analyzing players over an extended period of time. I transcribed and analyzed Sonny Rollins for 4 years, then went to Mark Turner for about 4 years, and then 3 years on Don Byas, and then checked out Lionel Hampton and Bud Powell.
My process is basically transcribe until you get it. I was not focused on transcribing a lick in all 12 keys, but was more focused on learning the spirit of their playing. For me, after transcribing a player for about 3 years, I got it. This happened to me when I was transcribing Mark Turner. I could hear it and understand what he was playing, but never actually analyzed it.
I really find the process of practicing is very important. For me when I transcribe, I play very slow. I go phrase by phrase, and I memorize it until it sounds exactly the same as the recording. I would have to say that the biggest influences on my sound and technique would have to be Sonny Rollins, Don Byas, and Mark Turner.
ZS: Have you run into any challenges as a woman pursuing jazz, as well as the music scene in general?
MA: First of all, I always wanted to deny that people would treat me different or people were bagging on me at the jam session because I am a woman. To me it was always like, “no, it’s because I can play, not because I am a woman.” I remember going through this process when I was at Berklee and feeling a little bit insecure when I was at jam sessions, and everyone is bagging but then I realized that everyone is bagging everyone anyway.
With that being said, there are people that have paved the way for me to be here today and not experience these things, like Chris Davis, Ingred Jensen, Terri Carrington, and Anat Cohen to name a few.
I will say the most awkward thing for me was when I won the Monk Competition. I started hearing that I won it because I am a female and that made me mad because I was like, “why do I have to feel and play different because I am a female?” or “why do I have to play different because I am from Chile?.”
When I am playing, I am just expressing myself as an individual. I think my role is to try to be the strongest I can and let the music speak for itself in a way that transcends gender and culture, and is focused solely on the music, but I also understand that this is not everyone’s personality. I want to be known because I am an outstanding musician, and without receiving preferential treatment.
I know many great female and male players who but have not gotten the recognition I think they deserve. I also have seen journalists write about and festivals book various musicians based on their name recognition and not on their music or ability. This simply comes down to not a lot of people truly knowing about the music. For me, I am really focused on pursuing my own path and touring with my band and my own original music because although other events may help grow my name recognition, it needs to be meaningful for me because life is simply too short.
ZS: How have you adjusted to the challenge of COVID-19’s impact on the music industry thus far?
MA: I am in a very privileged situation because I have always been smart about money and saved, so I am fine at the moment, but I do feel bad for my friends who have lost weekly restaurant gigs and are struggling and scrambling to put together different types of content to generate some sort of income.
The first few months I was posting things on Instagram and being present. I noticed a lot of musicians were posting live streams, and for me, instead of posting live streams, I felt it was better for me to take the time to practice, and most importantly take, the time to get to know myself and to deal with some personal as well as family issues I had never addressed.
One reason for putting these things off was that I was traveling quite intensively over the past 2 years;. I think I was in NYC for maybe 5 days total, so I never had the time to really deal with these issues. I feel that since being quarantined, I have taken the time to address what I have been dealing with, and now getting back into focusing on my music and simply playing, which has made me feel much better.
ZS: Once things return back to normal, or as close to normal as they can be, what changes do you anticipate?
MA: I sort of have a tour in September, but how things are going I really doubt anything is going to happen until next year. I think there will be fewer outings, and as for the gigs I have booked, there are only going to be 2 shows because of the social distancing and the limited number of people that can be at any given concert.
For myself, I will say that I am more at peace with myself as a person as well as with people around me, the scene, and my relationships, which has resulted in me simply enjoying playing music even more.
ZS: Is there something you would like to share that you believe many people don’t know about you?
MA: I am a very good cook. During this quarantine, I have really gotten into cooking and taking the time to explore cooking which is so similar to music in the way you follow a recipe and handle challenges, etc. I am really into long walks and hikes, and also have been working on playing piano to compose music.
ZS: When it comes to practicing, what is your process, and do you teach your students this process?
MA: With my students, I don’t give them exercises. I teach them how to practice and what it means to achieve something. I share my process on practicing and how you can practice topics such as long tones and scales. You need to think about what you need to practice because it is very personal. You know what you need to work on and your weaknesses. I talk lot about playing voicings, which I find is very helpful because when you practice intervals you can focus on many areas like: how is your time, how is you intonation, how is your ear, how is your balance with your air, how is the jump from one note to the other, etc.
Another topic I like to discuss with all my students is patience. With the metronome set to 40 bpm, I talk about patience and how you need to be able to make the most basic things such as scales and long tones sound and feel good before pursuing odd meters.
Finally, we talk about transcriptions and I explain my process when transcribing, but the student ultimately needs to dive in and figure things out for themselves like I did. My goal is to give my students the tools to think on their own and choose what they want to practice, while understanding what it takes as well as the process.
ZS: What are your thoughts on the importance of the equipment? Do you find yourself changing much or sticking with the same gear?
MA: I am playing on a Matt Marantz mouthpiece and just switched to playing on Boston Sax Reeds, which are amazing, and the best reeds I have ever tried. I believe the sound is in your head and once you understand what you are looking for, then you can start switching.
At the end of the day, I don’t go crazy with equipment, and typically play on the same equipment for quite some time, but I understand both sides.
Equipment
Saxophone: Selmer Super Action (SBA) tenor: 45,xxx
This article will deal with various aspects of playing the saxophone in jazz ensemble, concert band, rock bands, and show bands both as the only sax player and within a small horn section. I will discuss tuning, the responsibilities of each member of the section, suggestions for mouthpieces, reeds and ligatures. These are mostly my opinions gained through years of playing in both military bands and civilian groups. However some of this information represents commonly accepted practices. Where I do present information from other sources, they will be duly cited using American Psychological Association (APA) citation practices.
The information presented will be useful to the following groups. Non-sax players, sax players of all levels, band teachers, and other music educators who may have to interact with sax players will find this article useful.
Tuning
If you go to your search bar and type in “tuning the saxophone section” you will come up with dozens of articles. Some will be similar and others will be completely different. This is my take on tuning.
First off, I teach studio saxophone in Old Dominion Universities Community Music Division. This is like a Prep Division. It is a Non-Credit enhancement course. As such I have gotten students of all ages. However most of my students have been elementary, middle school and high school students with a sprinkling of college students who were Non-Music Majors. I also taught saxophone studio for Music Majors at Tidewater Community College until I ran out of students.
From the very start after my students have the embouchure down and after I explain how to put the reed on and tongue I have students matching pitches with me. First on the neck and mouthpiece. Then on middle “B” on the saxophone. Remember at this point the student is a raw beginner. Once the student has a firm grasp of playing in the upper register then we start to tune to Concert “A”. So for altos it’s F# in the upper register. For tenors it will also be F# until they have a firm grasp of high “B”.
If you happen to teach middle school band and you are able to have the saxes either for a sectional or for a small class I would do the following. Yes tune to Concert “A”. However spend some time playing scales in unison/octaves. Try to get the students to lock in on the pitch, to listen to each other. You may want to play the scale with the students on the piano so the students can hear the pitch. Next, play intervals of fourths and fifths. If the altos play F# (concert “A”) and the tenors play F# (concert “E”) then you are setting the section up for intervals of fourths and fifths. Play those intervals at the piano so the students can hear what it is supposed to sound like. Also if you have a bari sax have the bari start on low F# or concert “A”.
Once you are satisfied that your students can play fourths, fifths, and unison/octaves in tune then move on to playing some Bach Chorales. Finally you can go over the band music.
Why Concert “A”, why not Bb or even F? After all concert “F” is the fifth of a Bb chord. It has that five to one relationship. Well my main objection is that when transposed it becomes a middle “D” on both the alto and bari saxes. Middle “D” is one of the sharpest notes on the sax. Concert Bb is okay but when transposed it becomes high “C” on the tenor which is also not one of the best notes on the sax. So I prefer Concert “A” because it works great on both alto, tenor and bari.
Once the students are in high school and/or college they should be able to tune to concert “A” without a problem if they are practicing, taking lessons etc. At this level playing in a sax quartet, combo with an electric keyboard and play-alongs will greatly help the students develop a sense of where the pitch is. Do not be afraid to have the students use a tuner. However do not let the tuner replace listening.
Concert Band
At its zenith John Phillip Sousa had a sax section with two 1st altos, two 2nd altos, two tenors, one bari, and one bass saxophone. Today most concert bands will have a section of one 1st alto, one 2nd alto, one tenor sax, and one bari sax. This section is very common among the military bands in Washington DC. Thus you have four saxophonists who work together every day and who also form the Sax Quartet as a stand alone unit.
The goal is to get a very warm blend, not to be able to play over the brass but to blend within the band. Sometimes I feel that the saxes in concert band are almost invisible. So at various times altos are blending in with the french horns and trumpets. The tenor is blending in with the euphoniums, the trombones, and sometimes the trumpets and french horns. The whole idea for the sax player is to reinforce the sound of the other instruments. Thus you need to use a warm sounding setup. Listening is the key.
I remember one very cold day when my Navy Band was playing a ceremony outside but under a tent. It must have been just above freezing when the leader called up The Klaxon by Fillmore. The second strain has the melody in the French horn and tenor sax. I was playing tenor sax and my colleague MU2 Kathy Davis was playing French horn. Despite the cold we nailed the intonation on this strain. The reason is we were both listening to each other and we both understood our roles in the ensemble. My role was to support the french horn which I did. Also neither of us had the attitude that I’m right and your wrong. We both had the pitch and melded our parts into one blended sound
Jazz Ensemble, Show Band, and Rock Band
For jazz ensemble, this is what the sax section should look like if you were standing in front of it. The 1st alto is in the center. The 2nd alto is to his/her right. The 1st tenor is to the right of the 2nd alto. The 1st tenor needs to be close to the rhythm section during solos. The 2nd tenor is to the left of the 1st alto. Finally the baritone is to the left of the 2nd tenor.
For Jazz Ensemble the sound concept is different than concert band. The section as a whole must have a brighter sound. “The sound must have direction. The players must focus the sound and keep the air moving through the saxophone” (Seckler, 2001, p. 7). Projection is a good word to describe the sound. They must not be drowned out by the 8 to 10 brass players in the band.
1st Alto
This person must have a strong sound with some edge and projection. Think Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Phil Woods, Johnny Hodges, Marshall Royal, Med Flory and today players like Dick Oatts, Bobby Watson and Vincent Herring. He/she must be very familiar with the different styles of jazz, swing, dixie, bebop, cool, bossa nova, ballads and the non-jazz styles of rock and funk. For dances you will also encounter the Latin dance styles of the rumba and cha-cha-cha. If the choice in your school is between a player with a weak sound but who played the audition well and a person with a strong sound who knows how to phrase and use inflections, but who made some mistakes on the audition, go with the person with the strong sound.
This person must be a leader, be able to guide the section while playing, giving cutoffs with their horn. They must use their horn to direct the section when to come in if there is a doubt. Because of the jazz education and publishing industry, the alto solos are usually on this chair. I believe they figure that the 2nd alto player isn’t up to it. However during the Big Band Era and after, the alto solos were on the 2nd alto part. When Art Pepper played with Stan Kenton in the late 40’s – early 50’s, he played 2nd alto and was the jazz alto player. Bud Shank played 1st alto and only got a few solos. In the Basie Band Marshall Royal played 1st alto and he almost never soloed. However with the music published today, your 1st alto should be able to solo. If they can’t, then pass the solos to someone else in the section.
The person playing 1st alto should be able to phrase and blend with the 1st trumpet and 1st trombone players during ensemble/tutti sections of a tune. This player must know how and when to use vibrato and must have a sound that can project over the sax section.
The 1st alto often has to play soprano sax, flute, piccolo, and clarinet.
2nd Alto
This person must be able to play up to the lead alto player. They must match the time, style, vibrato, and intonation of the 1st player. Many times the intonation problems in a section are because the 1st and 2nd alto players cannot agree on the pitch. For young bands, have the altos tune first on concert “A”. Then have your tenors tune, and finally the bari player. Then everyone together, maybe play a chord and listen to the blend.
Jay Branford, the 2nd alto player of the newly reformed Artie Shaw Orchestra circa 1985 had this to say about the early rehearsals when Artie rehearsed the band -“Artie Shaw was always there as leader, teacher and coach for all of them. Being the 2nd alto player on the band; one of the things that impressed me, and emphasized by Artie, was the role of the 2nd alto saxophone. He kept telling me to play out more, and that the saxophone section needed that support from me. In some ways, I think the intensity of my playing even surprised Mark (the 1st alto player) when he first came on the band. But with the efforts of Artie and Dick Johnson (the leader of the band, handpicked by Artie Shaw), they developed us into a true sectional sound” (Viola and Wagner 1985, p.45). The 2nd alto must be able to jump in and play 1st alto in the event that the 1st player is absent. If the 1st alto player cannot solo, then the solos should be passed to the 2nd alto player before you give the solo to the tenor or bari players.
The doubles on the 2nd chair are clarinet, soprano sax, flute, and piccolo. When you are playing Glenn Miller-style charts with clarinet lead, traditionally that part has been in the 2nd chair. So I suggest that the 2nd alto player listen to the way Wilbur Schwartz played the clarinet lead over the sax section on the Miller Band. Study his phrasing, his sound, and the way he projected.
1st Tenor
Like the 2nd trumpet and 2nd trombone, the 1st tenor is seated next to the rhythm section so he/she can hear the chords during solos. This is the chair in the sax section that requires improvisational skills. This player should exude confidence and have no trouble standing up to play a solo. Following the solo, and at all other times, the 1st tenor player must follow the lead alto player during sax solis etc. Sometimes this player is written in duets or trios with either a trumpet, trombone or another sax player.
I dislike the current practice in jazz education circles of calling this chair the lead tenor chair. There isn’t a lead tenor chair unless you are playing in a “Four Brothers” style section of three tenors and one baritone. Then you have a lead tenor. By the way, in my opinion that is a beautiful sound. just listen to the Woody Herman Band playing the ballad “Early Autumn” or the uptempo “Four Brothers”. Another example of this sound is in the middle of Bill Holman’s chart of “Yesterdays”. In the middle of the chart the solo tenor player plays lead over the sax section during a brief sax soli. In other charts that feature a lead tenor sound, the part is clearly marked lead on the tenor part and tenor lead on the 1st alto part. Otherwise this player is part of the section playing an inner voice. Doubles on this chair are clarinet, flute, sometimes soprano sax or bass clarinet.
2nd Tenor
This chair can be very hard to play. The person playing this chair can often have the craziest parts ever conceived, especially during a sax soli. The musical acrobatics required can be daunting. Also this person must be able to sub tone well to play softly in the lower register at times. The 2nd tenor aides the bari player in supporting the bottom of the section. Many times the 2nd tenor and the bari player are written in fourths or fifths. If the 2nd tenor player solo’s then he/she should be provided the chance to split the solos with the 1st tenor player. As the bandleader you should play to your strengths. For example suppose the 2nd player is better at playing the funk style than the 1st tenor player. Well then, let the 1st player have the swing/bebop and ballad solos and let the 2nd player have the funk solos. Actually in the better bands, all the sax players get the opportunity to solo. Examples would be The Big Phat Band, The Navy Jazz Commodores, The Airmen of Note, The WDR Big Band etc. Doubles on this chair are clarinet, flute, and sometimes bass clarinet.
Baritone
This chair is multi-faceted. Do not put your weakest player or a timid player on the bari chair. Put the person who has the best bari sound on this chair. You need an independent thinker on this chair. At times the bari will be doubling the lead alto in sax solis. Then there are times when the bari is doubled with the bass trombone or the string bass or electric bass. There are other times when the bari part will be totally different from the rest of the saxes. Bear in mind that the bari wants to speak a little later than the smaller alto. So the bari player must not hesitate while playing. The bari’s notes must line up with the 1st alto players notes. Doubles on this part are bass clarinet and clarinet.
If the bari player can solo then they too should be give that opportunity. Blues solos sound really nice on bari as do ballad features. Good examples are Bob Florence’s chart of “Auld Lange Syne” and Dave Wolpe’s chart on “Sophisticated Lady”. Both charts feature solo sections for the bari player and bari lead during a sax soli. Bruce Johnston had a really nice bari feature on”Got The Spirit” on the album “MF 4 & 5 Live At Jimmys”. I suggest that your bari player listen to Harry Carney on any Duke Ellington tune, Charlie Fowlkes with the Count Basie Band, and Bruce Johnston with Maynard Ferguson’s Band. Jeff Harrington is an excellent bari player in the Hollywood studios today. He is the voice of Lisa Simpson when she is shown playing bari sax on TV. All of these players have huge sounds and are the supporting rock of their respective sections.
The Doubles
Many arrangers will write for the sax section woodwind doubles as follows.
The 1st Alto on either flute or piccolo. The 2nd alto on flute. Both tenors on clarinet and the bari on bass clarinet. This gives you a very nice woodwind section sound. Now there are times when all the players may be playing flute or the top four chairs are on clarinet and the bari is on bass clarinet.
If your sax players do not play clarinet or flute I suggest that you encourage them to take lessons on either clarinet or flute. In the meantime in order to play charts that involve woodwinds encourage your better flute and clarinet players from either concert band or the orchestra to get involved with jazz ensemble. This experience will benefit both the flute and clarinet players and your jazz ensemble.
A Side Note
During the Swing Era up to some time in the middle to late 60’s the sax section was named and voiced as follows from top down:
1st alto
2nd tenor
3rd alto
4th tenor
5th baritone
The seating was the same as it is today though. You will encounter this voicing and labeling when you play charts from the Swing Era up to the mid or late 60’s.
However, it was taught to me at both the Stan Kenton Jazz Workshop in the mid 70’s as well as the Navy School of Music (where I was told that they were following the model from Berklee School of Music) that the section should be voiced named and voiced as follows:
1st alto
2nd alto
1st tenor
2nd tenor
baritone
Anyone who has played in a big band at any point in the past 60 or so years will obviously recognize the latter format.
Rock Band and Show Band
I was the tenor sax player in a Navy Rock Band called Four Star Edition. The other horn player was a trumpet player who sang 97% of the time. However when we had lines that we played together it was important for us to get a nice blend and be in tune. Most of what we played together were lines from Blues Brothers tunes. Other than that I was pretty much on my own. This mainly consisted of playing the sax lines and improvising solos on tunes like “I Feel Good”, “Mustang Sally” and others. On the Bob Seger tune, “Turn The Page” I had to play the line that Mr. Alto Reed played on the original recording. Alto Reed played the sax part on alto sax. The Navy did not have an alto sax to give me, so I ended up playing the sax part on tenor sax. Instead of the alto part which started on a high “E” going to a high “Eb” I had to play altissimo “A” going to “Ab”. When I played this tune I was channeling my inner Lenny Picket. Finally with about one month to go before they rotated assignments I got an Selmer Series II alto.
As far as tuning goes, I found it best to tune about two to three cents sharp. The reason being was that the guitar and bass played so hard that they were almost always high. So if I started at A=440 I soon found that I was flat. If I tuned to A=442 or 443 I found that I was right in the pocket.
Unfortunately this band used these clip on mics that were like toys. If you are playing in a rock band as part of your living, invest in either a really good clip on mic or a really good stand mic. Also make friends with the sound person. Give them a set list and put a star next to the tunes you play on. That way you will have plenty of power when you play. Do a sound check to make sure you can hear yourself and the bass in the monitor.
As far as mouthpiece setups, I do not know anyone playing an HR mouthpiece in a cranking rock band and not getting buried. You need a mouthpiece/reed combination that will project and have some edge or highs to the sound. I knew guys that used metal Dukoff’s on tenor sax. However the band’s Dukoff was checked out. So I used my trusty metal Otto Link 8* with a # 2.5 Rico reed. This is what I used for big band and combo and it proved to be quite good as long as I had sound support.
“Charts – what are those?”
Most of my parts I either learned from a recording or they were passed down from player to player. In a lot of bands they may give you a tape or CD and have you learn the parts that way. On rare occasions you may have someone who writes charts.
When I was in my Army Band I played in a top – 40 band that had a horn section of alto, tenor, bari, trombone, and trumpet plus vocals, piano, bass, drums, and guitar. For that band we did have charts that were written in-house by the band leader.
A year after I joined the Navy I was placed in the U.S. Navy Show Band which toured outside of America to West Africa and South America. Our sax section was cut down to three saxes. One alto, tenor, and bari sax. The brass section was a full section of four trumpets and four trombones. We did have good mics to play through. The Assistant Leader wrote charts to our instrumentation. We did not play big band charts with missing sax parts. So basically, on this setup, where most of the time the band was written tutti, you followed the lead trumpet player. We did have some charts where the saxes stood out by themselves, but nothing like a sax soli on a Don Menza or Thad Jones chart. One thing that I will say about our charts – they were written thick with plenty on tension tones and extended harmony. So kudos to our arranger.
However for the most part, you played as you would play in a big band. I was the bari player and I used the band’s HR Berg Larsen 95/1 with a LaVoz hard reed. However it more than did the trick for providing a solid bottom to the section and the band. I can still feel those forte low “A’s” vibrating through my body.
In the Navy Band in Orlando I played in what was called a “Show Band”, but in reality it was a big band. However, all of our performances were a show, as opposed to an actual concert. We did steps and the music was all part of a show with vocals that were supported by the “Show Band”. For example, the boss had this whole elaborate 50’s show that he wrote and was the star of. After he gave the band to a MU 1 we still did a show but it changed. On occasion, the Orlando Show Band would function as a Jazz Ensemble like the time we played at a Jazz Festival in Melbourne, FL.
Mouthpieces/Reeds/Ligatures
Classical Setups
The go-to mouthpieces seem to be the Selmer S-80. However I prefer the sound of the Larry Teal mouthpiece. For alto, I have had students use the Vandoren V-5 Series. Right now one of my students is using the A-17. For tenor I have used the Larry Teal mouthpiece with great results. I just prefer the round chamber of the Teal mouthpiece over the square chamber S-80 mouthpieces. Again for tenor, the Vandoren V-5 Series are good choices. I have a tenor student using the T-20 with very good results. The key is to try different mouthpieces and see what works for you. For concert band, just be able to blend in and not be bright. Darker sounding mouthpieces seem to work the best in this setup.
Jazz Ensemble Setups
Altos
The go-to alto mouthpiece has always been the NY Meyers 5M or 6M. Good luck finding one. Be prepared to pay a lot of money. Fortunately there have been knockoff versions made today. Theo Wanne has a version called the NY Bros. CE Winds has a version and the Babbitt Company which owns the Meyer name and mouthpiece has recently come out with their own Retro 100th Anniversary Model which they claim is like the old NY Meyer.
Other mouthpieces to try are the Vandoren HR V-16, the current edition Meyers 5M, 6M or 7M and the Beechler HR 5,6, or 7. Currently I am using a White Brilhart Tonalin 3* that I lucked into. These mouthpieces play really great, and if you can find one it will not break your bank. Most of the ones I see are going for about $200.00 on e-bay. If you look at photos of sax sections from the late 1940’s you’ll see that a lot of guys played the Brilharts. Charlie Parker, Benny Carter, and Stan Getz played them. Today Dick Oatts of the Village Vanguard Orchestra plays a 6* with a Rico Royal 3.5 reed. My Brilhart has replaced my Meyers 6M. I use a LaVoz medium hard reed and a Rovner original ligature on it. The Rovner seems to take some of the edge off. If I want more edge, I have a Selmer Brass gauge 2-screw ligature that I can use.
Tenors
To me, the Otto Link metal has always been my go to mouthpiece. I lucked into a metal Florida Otto Link 8* back in 1990 before E-bay and before the internet took off. So I got it for a very reasonable price that would be unheard of today. Barring that, the Babbitt Company recently came out with their New “Vintage” Otto Links. The metal ones seem to be based on the Tone Master from the 1940’s. The HR ones are based on the Slant Signature from the 1950’s through early 1960’s.
These mouthpieces have gotten great reviews. Babbitt also has the current edition Links which are different from the New “Vintage” Links in both metal and hard rubber. Again try them out and see what works for you.
Other mouthpieces to try are the Vandoren V-16 in both HR and metal. For years many people liked the Berg Larsen HR and metal mouthpieces from a 100/1 or 2 up to a 115/1 or 2. Lawton was another popular mouthpiece in the more open facings of 7B or BB up to 10B or BB. They were made in the UK and are now made in Belgium. CE Winds also makes Link knockoffs in HR and metal. I have one called the “The Sig”. It plays nice, but I prefer my real Florida Link. For rock band playing, a lot of players seem to like the Bobby Dukoff metal D-7 through D-9. Other more expensive tenor mouthpieces are the series from Theo Wanne and the Jody Jazz mouthpieces. However be prepared to pay a lot of money for those mouthpieces.
Bari
I never owned a bari mouthpiece. However what I borrowed worked really well. At one point I borrowed a Berg Larsen 120/1 that worked really well. The same can be said for the Runyon Custom Spoilers I borrowed. At one time a #6 then a #10. The Yanigasawa HR stock mouthpiece also worked very well for me. Other choices would be the Otto Link HR or metal 6 through 8*, the RPC, and the current Berg Larsen from a 105/1 through 120/2 tip openings.
Reeds
Michael Brecker said to use what works and do not fall for the hype. In 2003 when he visited my Navy Band, he was using a LaVoz medium reed which is a Rico/D’Addario product. I, myself have always been partial to Rico reeds. On tenor I use a Rico # 2.5 or a Rigotti Queens 2.5 reed. On alto it is a LaVoz medium reed. On bari at times it was either a Rico Royal 2.5 or a Rico Jazz Select 3M unfiled reed.
Remember the reed should offer some resistance and play equally well up high and down low. Be wary of a reed that plays too easy when you first put it on your mouthpiece. Other reeds that are getting good reviews are Roberto’s RW reeds and the Rigotti Gold reeds. I personally like the Rigotti Regal Queen reeds. I prefer reeds that give me some highs/edge to the sound with a good sub tone. Many people like the D’Addario filed and unfiled reeds, and the Hemke reeds, both Rico/D’Addario products. Other people swear by the Vandoren reeds in it’s many sub-types. You have the Vandoren Blue box, the Java green box, and the filed Java Red box. Then Vandoren has the V-16 reed and the ZZ reeds.
Try a bunch of different reeds and see what works. play them for your teacher and see your teacher thinks. If possible record yourself playing different reeds and setups and hear what works best and sounds best to you.
Ligatures
There are as many opinions about ligatures as there are ligatures to choose from. To me a ligature is something that holds the reed to the mouthpiece. In my opinion, no one needs a super expensive ligature. On www.bettersax.com, Jay Metcalf plays about ten different ligatures. I was listening to him play and he sounded the same on every ligature he used. He said so himself after he played them using the same reed and mouthpiece for every ligature. The basic requirement is that the ligature should hold the reed to the mouthpiece so the reed will not slip if you have to adjust for tuning.
This is what I use and like. On my tenor I play a metal Florida Otto Link 8*. For several years I used the Link ligature it came with. It worked but I never really got the “pop” during the suction test. I read about the metal Silver Selmer ligatures for metal mouthpieces in an advertisement for USA Horn, so I decided to give it a try. But first I tried out the Selmer ligature a friend of mine had. I liked it and it seemed to hold the reed better than the Link ligature. Plus to my ears the sound was brighter and the response was better. So I bought one and having been using the Selmer ligature since about 1994 on my metal Link.
I also have a Rovner Dark ligature for my Link that Phil Rovner sent me years ago. It seems to take the edge off the sound a bit. Sometimes I’ll use it in the house when my wife is working upstairs and I’m downstairs practicing.
On my alto, which is a Cannonball Big Bell with Bare Brass, I use a White Brilhart Tonalin 3* which may on may not be a true 3*. I couple it with a LaVoz medium-hard reed (another Rico/D’Addario product) and an old Rovner Dark ligature. I also have a Selmer Brass gauge two-screw ligature that also works really well. The Selmer seems to give me more edge/highs. The Rovner seems to take the edge off some. Who knows, it may all be in my head. I use my alto mainly for teaching, as most of my sax students play alto.
Wrapping Up
So there you have it. Remember that the greats did not have all of this “fancy-schmancy” equipment. Ben Webster used the Link ligature as did Coleman Hawkins and Georgie Auld etc. Charlie Parker used what ligature came with the mouthpiece. Lester Young, Zoot Sims, and Stan Getz used a basic two-screw Selmer-type ligature. All of these guys got great sounds.
Remember this is my take on these subjects that I gathered through years of playing in both military and civilian bands, talking to other players, and observing what they do.
Nice hanging with you, stay safe and sane. Above all else, keep your reeds slightly moist and keep practicing.
References:
Seckler, Stan. (2001). Part I Developing the jazz sax section. (p. 7).Denton, Texas: Harold Gore Publishing Company.
Viola, Joe., Wagner Paul., (1985). The all-new Artie Shaw saxophone section under the direction of Dick Johnson. Saxophone Journal, p. 45
From touring with Christian Scott to working on and producing his own music, Braxton Cook is not your average saxophone player. His high level of execution on the saxophone as well as business-savviness is something many young and experienced musicians should strive for. For those of you who are not already checking out Braxton, here are some key details to get you up to speed:
Upon moving to NYC, as a freshman at The Juilliard School, Braxton had the opportunity to meet Christian Scott and ended up becoming a long-term member in Christian’s band.
In addition to touring with Christian Scott, Braxton can be seen playing with Christian McBride Big Band as well as Marquis Hill, among many others.
Braxton was selected as a semi-finalist in the 2013 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition.
In 2014, Braxton released his debut EP Sketch and upon graduating from Juilliard he released Braxton Cook Meets Butcher Brown (2015) garnering attention from Fresh Selects label which launched his solo career.
In April of 2017, Braxton released his debut album Somewhere In Between(Fresh Selects), which allowed Braxton to tour both nationally and internationally.
Braxton’s album Somewhere in Between/Somewhere in Between Remixes & Outtakes have amassed millions of streams and downloads on Spotify and Apple Music, and has been praised by peers, musicians, and critics alike.
Most recently, Braxton was listed as Top Five Jazz Artist To Watch (alongside Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington, Butcher Brown, and Kris Bowers) in the 2018 June Issue of Ebony Magazine.
Outside of the jazz realm, Braxton has been scene working alongside Rihanna at the 2016 VMAs and Solange Knowles.
Braxton toured with Tom Misch and performed at Coachella in 2018.
In 2018, Braxton released his sophomore album entitled No Doubt (Independent) which debuted at #2 on iTunes Jazz Charts.
Most recently, Braxton released his third project on March 27th, 2020 called Fire Sign.
Interview
ZS: How Did You Become Interested In Playing The Saxophone?
BC: I grew up in a musical family. My mom played classical piano and my dad sang a good bit (especially extra loud in church). Piano was my first instrument around 4 or 5, just learning classical pieces by Beethoven such as Für Elise and Moonlight Sonata. I started playing the saxophone around the age of 6 or 7 when my mom first rented my dad a saxophone for his birthday. My dad was down in the basement practicing and I heard the saxophone and wanted to try it. Me and my two brothers (my baby brother wasn’t born at that time) all had a chance to try the saxophone but I was the only one who got a pretty good sound on it. In 4th or 5th grade I was playing sports but had the opportunity to choose band or orchestra. I chose band and the three instruments I was interested in playing were saxophone, trumpet, and one other. I ended up picking the alto saxophone because of my size (I was really short).
That was the very beginning of the saxophone for me. In addition to playing the saxophone, I was interested in drama and was singing and doing theater. I was a part of productions such as Les Misérables and Willy Wonka. I remember I wasn’t really into jazz and my dad would put on John Coltrane, but more of his avant garde stuff and I wasn’t really interested in that sound at the time. I really gravitated towards R&B and funk with Grover Washington being one of my early influences.
In 8th grade, I remember there was an assembly where some high school students came to my middle school and it was the first time I saw young players playing bebop and that is when it all really clicked for me.
In 2006, we ended up moving back to Maryland (lived in Atlanta from 2000 to 2005) where I was originally from, and during that summer, before starting 9th grade, my dad enrolled me into this jazz camp at Spring Brook High School in Montgomery County. The jazz camp was called “Everybody Can Play Jazz” and it was a 2 week intensive with a few instructors that really got me improvising pretty early. While at this camp, I met a saxophonist named Morgan Russell. Morgan Russell was a saxophonist who worked at Dale’s Music and also taught at that jazz camp at my high school, so I ended up taking private lessons with Morgan.
Through studying with Morgan, I ended up meeting a bunch of other players that Morgan was teaching, one of those being Elijah Balbed who was a good friend and person that really pushed me early on in my career. Elijah was working at Dale’s Music at 15 or 16 and told me that I should also take lessons with his teacher Paul Carr. Paul Carr is a great tenor saxophonist and also mentor who taught so many great players. I don’t end up getting into jazz band in 9th grade since I was told Jazz Band was for 10th-12th grade but I started taking private lessons with Paul Carr as well as doing his Jazz Academy to get ahead. Paul had the Jazz Academy going on throughout the year which gave me more experience playing and performing early on. Come 10th grade, I am finally able to join the jazz band and at that point, I had grown so much as a player studying with Paul which just pushed me to another level. In 10th grade, I ended up making all county as well as all state but why 10th grade was another pivotal point for me was because Wynton Marsalis visited my high school to conduct a masterclass. I happened to be playing lead alto in our big band and we were playing a bunch of Duke Ellington charts. I remember soloing on “It Don’t Mean a Thing” and Wynton was comping on piano and telling me to keep playing and complementing me. After the masterclass he talked to me one on one and told me I was really swinging and to keep practicing which really lit the fire under me with that positive affirmation to keep going in that direction. At that point, everything went into high gear.
I started putting in 12 hour days during the summer and life for me was basically school and practice. I also auditioned and made the Grammy band, which really opened me up to all those schools in New York such as Juilliard, The New School, and Manhattan School of Music which made me seriously consider pursuing music after high school.
I was always focused on academics and my grades as well, so I applied to and was accepted to NCCU, Howard, University of Maryland, Georgetown, New School, and Manhattan School of Music but I didn’t receive enough scholarship money to the music schools out of high school. My dad was fine with me pursuing music but didn’t want me to take out a bunch of loans to pursue it which was hard to hear at the time. He recommended that I attend Georgetown because as professor of law at Georgetown, my tuition would be covered if I was accepted (which I was).
I decided to go to Georgetown University and remained an undecided major for a while because I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I ended up settling on a major in English with an African American studies minor which actually was very helpful with understanding the historical context of jazz/post-bop/avant garde from the 50’s and 60’s and what was going on during that time.
All during this time, I am still playing in D.C. and meeting a lot of incredible musicians who I ended up touring with later. While playing in D.C. a lot of my friends from the Grammy band and other groups I played with were telling me I needed to get to New York and check out the scene.
My sophomore year at Georgetown, I decided that I wanted to transfer at the end of the year to Juilliard. I end up going through the audition process and getting accepted to Juilliard with a similar scholarship that I had at Georgetown which made the transition easy for me as well as my parents.
My freshman year at Juilliard, I end up meeting Christian Scott through my friend Tyler Ginsberg who was a trombone player from New Orleans that studied at Berklee College of Music. Tyler was a great friend of Christian’s and asked me if I wanted to check out Donald Harrison’s show at Symphony Space. I ended up taking the train to go see the show and after, Tyler asks if I want to meet Donald and Christian after the show. I remember going back stage and hanging out with a bunch of people and end up meeting Christian which we hit it off. We ended up exchanging information and Christian says I might have some work for you. It turns out, that I wouldn’t hear from Christian for about 3 months but then all of a sudden the summer going into my sophomore year at Juilliard, Christian hits me up that there is this TV show he wants to do called The Eddy; which funny enough just came out on Netflix. Christian ends up flying me to L.A. to record a bunch of demos for this pilot and all of us (myself, Christian Scott, Luques Curtis, Joe Dyson, Lawrence Fields, and Matt Stevens) end up hitting it off, and Christian then sends me a bunch of tour dates.
Touring with Christian started my sophomore year at Juilliard and that’s when the juggling act began. I used to have to meet with the Dean and all my teachers to find out how much class I could miss because I wanted to do the tour, but also not fall behind in school. I had to get tutors, redo classes, and make up some work, but it was all worth it in the end to go on tour.
In 2015, I graduated from Juilliard and can now do all the tour dates and focus on releasing my own music. I had already released my first EP Sketch but then not too long after that, I decided to do an album with Butcher Brown. Through that Butcher Brown project, I end up getting a connection with this label Fresh Selects, where I send them early demos of Somewhere in Between, and they wanted to sign that project. We end up setting a date for early spring 2017. As soon as Somewhere in Between came out, my Spotify started to really grow organically separate from what I was doing with Christian. During this time I started to write more and create my own music that I envisioned my 12 year old self wanting to listen too because as much as like bebop, I really gravitated toward players like Grover Washington and combining elements of bebop, post-bop, R&B, soul. etc.
ZS: Who were your influences growing up and has your interest in players changed over time?
BC: Grover Washington was one of my first influences (R&B records) but then I looked at Grover Washington’s influences, and I started checking out Cannonball Adderley, Hank Crawford, etc. At 14, Cannonball was my guy; I started learning as many of his solos as I could find by transcribing them and then learning them in all 12 keys. I listened to Charlie Parker and studied the Omnibook, but I really gravitated more towards Cannonball and still do today.
From Cannonball around 17 or 18 I started checking out Kenny Garrett (same process as learning Cannonball) and also Sonny Rollins. I am still putting my students onto Saxophone Colossus because everything about that album is so perfect. I did enjoy early Trane quite a bit, especially his prestige recordings.
Outside of the jazz realm, I definitely listened to D’Angelo and really got into neo-soul and Motown records. I always loved listening to singers like Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, etc.
While I was in New York for my particular era, I would say it was the Mark Turner era (2011-2015). So many players (including myself) were emulating Mark’s approach to the saxophone as well such great musicians such as Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, and Lennie Tristano.
ZS: As you have worked to develop your own sound and technique, who did you try to emulate the most and what was your process?
BC: During my first couple of years in New York, I was influenced by some of the more modern players so I remember trying to emulate Mark Turner (more so his altissimo), Alex Lore, and Ben Van Gelder when it comes to technique and sound because these were the artists that my peers were listening to. When I think of my sound, I would say some players that have influenced my sound today are Kenny Garrett, late Cannonball Adderley, Lee Konitz, and maybe someone contemporary players like Gerald Albright or someone in that field. My process to develop this sound and technique was playing more into the altissimo, playing harder reeds, and I started to play with a more airy sound.
BC: I had to shift my focus for sure, but there were a few things I always wanted to do. For my 2020 goals list, I am glad I finally finished my e-book: Braxton Cook’s Favorite II V I’s because if I was touring like normal like last summer, I don’t know if I would have ever gotten to finishing this e-book. I am starting to create my catalog of students and lessons and creating more e-books and templates which I realized takes time but isn’t that hard once you set it up. I hope to and will come out with some additional e-books in the future for players as well as my fans to check out.
ZS: Is there something you would like to share that you believe many people don’t know about you?
BC: I have never driven a car and am getting my license this week (just got my permit). I grew up taking trains and buses in D.C. and New York so I am finally getting my license since moving to L.A. Been focusing a lot on some life stuff at the moment.
ZS: When it comes to practicing, what is your process for honing your skills, and do you have any tips you recommend for all players from beginner to advanced?
BC: I think overtones aren’t looked at enough. I have been focused on singing every solo and learning more off of the instrument so when I get to practicing long tones and overtones, it is easier for me. For overtones, I like to play them at a very soft volume which I think has helped me extend my range and further improve my altissimo. Working on bridges that I find hard is what I like to work on and really pinpoint the areas were the transition is not smooth. I work quite a bit on the chromatic scale and tonal matching to make sure, for example, that the C# and D tonal colors aren’t too different (avoiding having one be too bright or the other too dark).
ZS: What are your thoughts on the importance of the equipment? Do you find yourself changing much or sticking with the same gear?
BC: I change my equipment way too much. My goal is to be able to get my sound on anything. I think equipment is important in terms of being comfortable.
ZS: What current projects are you working on?
BC: Right now I have been working on some music for a new Netflix movie coming out. I am also looking to work more on my writing and scoring as well as a few more e-books. One book I am working on in particular is on being an independent artist and teaching musicians how to get your music out to the world all by yourself. In addition to the saxophone, I have also been learning the bass and guitar via YouTube videos.
Equipment
Saxophone: Selmer Mark VII (1975) and just bought another Conn New Wonder
I have been following Jack Finucane at the increasingly-popular Boston Sax Shop for quite some time. Since the introduction of the Balam Back Strap, Jack has expanded his product line to include his own necks (Heritage Neck), neck-straps (Newbury Street & Deluxe), cases (Ambassador Case for tenor and alto), reeds (B.S.S.), and most recently his new B.S.S Superlative ligature. In this article, I will be providing an overview as well as my experience thus far using all of these products over the past few months (excluding the Heritage Neck-currently on back-order).
Boston Sax Shop Custom Tenor Reeds
Product Overview
Jack informed me that he decided to design his own line of reeds because although he mainly focuses on repair work, he is a player and like many of us, was frustrated that he could not find the perfect or close to perfect reed. For the reed design, Jack was looking to create a cut that offered the player a well-balanced reed (even-sounding lows, mids, and highs) with a warm sound and a good amount of projection so you could cut when needed. Jack found the current jazz reed options available today were either too buzzy or bright, while the classical reed offerings, on the other hand, had the core and depth that many players are looking for, but they would not cut through the noise when needed. Through Jack’s research, the Boston Sax Shop reed was born. The B.S.S reed is a combination of both a classical and a jazz cut, resulting in a reed that provides a warm and dark tone while providing the player with a reed that can project when pushed instead of thinning out.
Verdict
I have been playing a wide assortment of different jazz-cut reeds for some time, including brands such as Rigotti, Lupifaro, Vandoren, D’Addario, Ishimori, Roberto’s, Alexander, and the list goes on. Generally speaking, these have been working well for me but I, being a bit of a gear enthusiast (with the descriptor, “enthusiast” being an understatement), was curious how the B.S.S. reeds would perform.
I decided to order a box of five reeds in 2 strength, and five more in 2.5 strength. Since Jack informed me that the B.S.S reed is an unfiled cut with a thicker tip, I might find the 2.5 to play a bit harder than other 2.5 cuts. When I received the B.S.S reeds and started playing the 2 and 2.5, I realized the 2 was, naturally, a more free-blowing reed, but overall, I preferred the level of feedback and buzz I got when playing the 2.5 cut.
Just as Jack described, the B.S.S reeds had a dark and warm tone, but with a brighter setup, you could get a lot of edge in your sound. I did find that the five 2.5 B.S.S reeds played consistently overall, but due to their thicker tip, I decided to use my ReedGeek to further flatten the table and clear up the tip so it would play a bit less resistant.
Since playing these reeds over the past few months, I will say if you maintain these reeds (Reedcase or ReedGeek), you will see quite a long shelf life on each reed (one in particular I have been playing for 3.5 months and it has been holding strong). If you, like me, are currently a fan of Rigotti cane, then these B.S.S reeds are a must-try.
Some of the high-profile players using B.S.S Custom include Ben Wendel, Melissa, Aldana, Braxton Cook, Jeff Coffin, and Joel Frahm, to name just a few players who have made the switch. I am looking forward to checking out the alto, soprano, and baritone reeds in the future to see how they compare.
There are so many neck straps on the market today that it can be challenging to decide which one will work best for you. At the 2019 NAMM Show, I had the chance to check out the Balam Back Strap which I quite liked in terms of look, feel, and support, so I decided to pick one up. I later learned that in addition to the Balam Back Strap, Jack also offered his own line of neck straps which included two models: The Newbury Street Strap & The Newbury Street Deluxe Strap. I have seen various vendors offer similar neck-straps but, I found Jack’s neck straps to include all the features many of us horn players are looking for.
The Newbury Street Deluxe neck strap offers two different types of leather, both of which don’t stretch or bounce when you attach your saxophone, and also contain a wedge of memory foam for comfort and support. The string is a 550 paracord, which is more than strong enough to support double the weight of the saxophone. The slider is cast in brass with a powder matte black finish and provides easy adjustment depending on which saxophone you are switching too. Finally, the hook (very important) is a combination of metal and plastic. The metal hook is covered in industrial strength tubing which will prevent wear on your saxophone neckstrap ring, which means you do not have to be concerned with some of the issues a plastic hook faces (bending or not fully closing over time).
Verdict
Overall, I am very happy with the Newbury Street Deluxe neckstrap. I am currently playing on a Saxholder strap which I still feel provides me some additional neck support over the Newbury Street Deluxe but, the Newbury Street Deluxe is easier to adjust and simply more aesthetically pleasing while playing standing up or sitting down. I really enjoyed the adjustment slider which made it easy to adjust back and forth without it getting caught or stuck at certain spots – which is an issue I have run into with other neckstraps. The coating on the hook is a great idea and something I wish more manufacturers offered.
Although the neckstrap is seen as a simple piece of equipment, I really think it is important to invest in a good quality strap because it will save your neck in the long run (pun intended). I would recommend choosing the Deluxe version if you prefer the slider but, if you want a more traditional neckstrap (similar to a Oleg, Just Joe’s, etc.), then the Newbury Street will work just fine.
I recall trying one of the first prototypes of the Superlative Ligature back at the NAMM show a year ago, and was impressed with the prototype’s design, material, and construction. Jack informed me that the Superlative ligature actually started as a midnight sketch on the back of a cocktail napkin at the 2018 NAMM Show. Jack told me he really wanted to create a simple but solid, practical, and vintage-inspired ligature that he felt was missing on the market today. The design concept drew from some of Jack’s favorite ligatures, which were the: Selmer ‘2 Screw’, Magnitone and Harrison.
After 2 years of prototyping and gaining feedback from players, the Superlative ligature was born. The Superlative ligature features: “a single piece body design made up of 3 distinct radiuses that allow for plenty of reed/mouthpiece vibration while being solid and stable fitting on the mouthpiece.” The reed contact plate (see picture above), grips evenly while giving the middle section of the reed room to breathe. Jack discovered while designing this ligature that this was a common area where a new reed would swell which resulted in a non-optimal seal. The two screw inverted orientation over the traditional two screws at the bottom was for simplicity and easy adjustment.
In addition to the bare brass finish which will age over time, Jack also offers a ‘hand finished’ option which involves adding a jewelry technique finish called “stippling” to the outside of the ligature. Each one is individual and personally done by Jack. The ligature comes in three finishes: bare brass, silver plate, and gold plated. The Superlative ligature fits a wide variety of hard rubber mouthpieces but if you don’t see your mouthpiece listed, feel free to reach out to the Boston Sax Shop and they will be able to confirm if the ligature is a fit or not for your particular mouthpiece. I would also like to give a quick shout out to Derek at SaxSpy who did a great overview of the Superlative ligature if you have not already checked it out.
Verdict
Before picking up the Boston Sax Shop Superlative ligature, I was playing on an Ishimori Sterling Silver ligature (which has been working great for me) for my hard rubber slant link. When I received the Superlative ligature, it was just like Jack described and reminded me of a combination between a 2 -crew Selmer ligature, Ishimori (in terms of screws and bottom plate), and the Aidu ring ligature.
The overall construction of the Superlative ligature was great. I did not find the brass ring or screws to be thin and bendable, but instead, solid and machined well. The Superlative ligature fit my Link very nicely, and was easy to adjust – in no small part due to the neck plate design. I noticed that the ligature held the reed intact when tightened, but did not overly constrain, as the reed with the bottom left and right side showing a little bit of space to allow the reed to vibrate.
When I started to play, I noticed the Superlative ligature really allowed the reed to vibrate which I believe contributed to a bit more projection and volume in my sound. Sonically, I found the low, mids, and highs to play even, but noticed my highs popped a little bit easier. I found the Superlative ligature allowed me to obtain a nice core sound even with the further vibration which I thought would have made my sound more spread.
Overall, I am really happy with how the Superlative ligature came out, from the material, to design, to fitting, to the impact on my sound. If you are looking for a ligature and have a budget of under $100 dollars, I would definitely consider the Superlative ligature (mind you, only the brass finish is under $100, the other finishes are a bit more). Its simple design, solid construction, and overall playability is something I think many hard rubber tenor players will enjoy.
In the time since I first saw the Ambassador alto case at the 2019 NAMM Show, Jack has released a tenor version. Similar to the alto version, the tenor version is made from a composite structure and wrapped in a hard wearing automotive interior grade synthetic leather which results in lightweight but very durable case. The hardware is made up of all steel and utilizes a full length piano style hinge with four butterfly latches that require a two stage locking operation (this helps prevent the latch from accidentally opening).
The interior of the Ambassador case features a medium firm, memory style foam which delivers a tight and proper fit so your saxophone is not moving while you go from gig to gig. You have the option to go with or without the exterior pouch, but if you go with the exterior pouch option, you will have extra space for storing your reeds, mouthpiece, ligatures, and other accessories. One final feature which I know many of us saxophonists will enjoy is the ability to add padded backpack straps with locking carabiners in addition to braided steel wire loops that act as a failsafe for the unlikely event of strap failure.
Verdict
I was currently using a Bam Softpak case which served me well from high school to post-college, but it was showing signs of wear with the foam as well as interior starting to deteriorate. I had always heard good things about the Walt Johnson case, which does provide solid protection, but after seeing one up close, I found it to be quite heavy and not as compact as my Bam case. When I received the Ambassador tenor case, I felt I got the best of both worlds. The Ambassador tenor case provided me the compact and slim profile that I was looking for (especially when taking my horn on an flight), but also the protection that the Walt Johnson could offer. I decided to get the Ambassador case without the exterior pouch for a slimmer profile, but will say that if you carry lots of extra reeds, neckstraps, mouthpieces, or other accessories, you will want the pouch for the extra storage. The four butterfly latches that come on the Ambassador case really provide a secure lock so you don’t have to worry about a latch accidentally coming undone.
What’s also great is that if you latch one or two butterfly latches but forget to close the third and fourth latch by accident (obviously not recommend) the case won’t pop open with your horn unfortunately falling to the ground. The interior foam fit my tenor snug and securely, but I would recommend also using an end cap or even the GapCap by Key leaves, as either of those will further help take up the little bit of space left so your horn will not move.
The velvet bag that comes included with the Ambassador case does provide enough space for you to put your neck and mouthpiece securely within the bell and even, depending on how you store your reeds, a little space above to put a reed case (this is where the pouch comes more in handy).
Overall, I am really happy with how the Ambassador tenor case came out since checking out the alto version. I think Jack’s case is a great option for players who are looking for an off-the-shelf case that provides solid protection, is comfortable and light to carry around (backpack straps also help), and most importantly, provides a slim profile so it’s easy to travel when needed.
It is not often to see an independent music shop producing a full line of products that so many musicians are using and excited about. Since attending multiple NAMM Shows and searching the web for new products, I am seeing a further consolidation with more and more manufacturers who previously specialized in just one type of saxophone product, be it a saxophone manufacturer, a reed manufacturer, a neckstrap manufacturer, etc. (mainly talking about the large players) starting to brand themselves as a one-stop shop for all saxophone related products. Although this would seem like the right move, I have seen many manufacturers dive into producing a full product-line without the right amount of R&D and artist feedback, so some of their new products end up being a copy of an existing product, or a sub-par offering that does not help strengthen their current brand and position. Since seeing Jack introduce his own line of neckstraps, cases, reeds, and most recently, his ligature, I have come to realize that it is possible (even as a small shop), with the right R&D and artist feedback, to produce a unique, high-quality product line that can further evolve and grow over time.
I have had the opportunity to try every product that the Boston Sax Shop offers, and my overall experience, as well as what I’ve gathered from speaking with others that are also using B.S.S. products, has been overwhelmingly positive. In fact, I am now using Jack’s reeds, ligature, and his Newbury Street Deluxe Strap, and am very happy with all three.
For those players who are interested in exploring new sax gear, I would highly recommend the Boston Sax Shop line of products because the attention to detail, quality, and overall value is simply hard to beat.
I would like to thank Jack Finucane for sharing further details on each of his products, and am eagerly awaiting the return of the Heritage Necks, which happen to be out of stock at the time of this writing.
Introduction
Introduction
At this year’s NAMM show I had a chance to stop by the JodyJazz booth and test play the new JodyJazz HR* Custom Dark in a 7 tip opening. Due to the popularity of the JodyJazz HR* mouthpiece, Jody wanted to offer a mouthpiece that embodied a warm dark sound with more spread. The Custom Dark model utilizes the Chedeville hard rubber with rounded side walls and a much larger chamber which helps achieve a darker, warmer, and more spread sound in comparison to the JodyJazz HR* mouthpiece.
Biography
This article will deal with various aspects of playing the saxophone in jazz ensemble, concert band, rock bands, and show bands both as the only sax player and within a small horn section. I will discuss tuning, the responsibilities of each member of the section, suggestions for mouthpieces, reeds and ligatures. These are mostly my opinions gained through years of playing in both military bands and civilian groups. However some of this information represents commonly accepted practices. Where I do present information from other sources, they will be duly cited using American Psychological Association (APA) citation practices.
The kinship and love in the room was something you just had to witness. I got to share the stage with so many incredible black artists of our generation and got to speak with THE 
@quincydjones!! I’m so very grateful. 
by @dmanuel09 
Styled by. @mikeystyles #theshed
The kinship and love in the room was something you just had to witness. I got to share the stage with so many incredible black artists of our generation and got to speak with THE ?@quincydjones!! I’m so very grateful. ????Thank you so much @theshedny for having me be apart of this night and s/o to @controlisamirage @tankandthebangas @iamkelseylu @duckwrth @jadenovah for being the incredible artists you are // ? by @dmanuel09 ? Styled by. @mikeystyles #theshed