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Vandoren V21 Saxophone Reeds “The New Standard For Classical”
Vandoren V21 Saxophone Reeds Introduction I have played on almost every type of Vandoren reed on the market today except for the V12’s. Currently, the Vandoren Java Red box 2.5 has become my favorite...
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Was It A Mistake to Sell My Mark VI?
(Originally titled, “The Sound, The Trane, and All The Rest”) Photo courtesy of daisy.r I’d played a Selmer Paris Mark VI tenor since 1975, when my teacher and I hand selected it from among a...
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Can a Thumb Hook Really Affect Your Sound?
Introduction I have seen new accessories hitting the market to address or improve upon specific areas on the saxophone that are seen to be lacking resonance or feel not as comfortable when playing....
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The A.L.E Reed Balancer. Does it Work?
Introduction With musicians continued frustration around the consistency of cane reeds from brand to brand, there have been more reed tools hitting the market designed to help address this common...
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Corry Bros. “Tone Tablet” Can such a small piece of equipment make a difference?
Introduction I was recently contacted by Paul and Jim Corry who design and manufacture their own line of mouthpieces and asked me to review one of their new pieces of equipment I had never seen before...
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Vandoren’s New V16 A5S+ and A6S+ Hard Rubber Alto Mouthpiece
Introduction I have and still play on Vandoren products from reeds to mouthpieces to ligatures, and the list goes on. In the past, I had reviewed Vandoren’s line of products (Vandoren Product Review)...
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Bruce Williams Shares His Practice Routine & Sound Development
Biography Bruce Williams hails from Washington, D.C. and has performed, toured, and recorded with a long roster of jazz legends such as: Little Jimmy Scott, Frank Foster, The Lincoln Center Jazz...
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Ochres No. 5 Professional X Series-Vintage “Zen” Model
Introduction While at last year’s NAMM show (NAMM 2016 Gear Roundup), I had the chance to test play a few new saxophone brands which I had not seen at the 2015 NAMM show. One saxophone manufacturer...
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NAMM 2017 Saxophone Gear Roundup
Introduction This marks my 6th year attending NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) and the show keeps getting bigger and better every year. Similar to the 2016 NAMM Show (2016 NAMM Show...
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NEW: The D’Addario Select Jazz Tenor Mouthpiece
Introduction While attending the 2017 NAMM Show (2017 Saxophone Gear Roundup), I had a chance to briefly test play the new D’Addario Select Jazz tenor mouthpiece 7M tip opening. A few weeks after...
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NEW: Phil-Tone Line of Mouthpieces
Introduction I have seen various saxophonists playing on Phil-Tone mouthpieces as well as vintage mouthpieces refaced by Phil Engelman for sale on eBay and Craiglists but have never had the chance to...
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Morgan Mouthpieces: Are they right for you?
Introduction Morgan mouthpieces have been around for over 30+ years and have been quite sough after as a viable alternative to the highly desirable and expensive vintage Meyer and Otto Link hard rubber...
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NEW: JodyJazz SUPER JET Alto Mouthpiece & POWER RING Ligature
Introduction JodyJazz has continued to expand upon it’s line of saxophone mouthpieces over the years and most recently has introduced a new model called the SUPER JET. Today, I will be discussing the...
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Légère Signature Series Reeds: Are You Ready to Go Synthetic?
Introduction Légère Reeds LTD, has become one of the most popular synthetic reeds on the market today. More and more saxophonists have made the switch to Légère due to the many common problems and...
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NEW PRODUCT REVIEW: The Echobrass & Aidü Ligature
Introduction With the demand increasing for vintage mouthpieces, ligatures, saxophones, neck’s, and other accessories, many manufacturers have decided to make a copy or produce their own version of...
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Joe Lovano and Tim Price Share Musical Wisdom and Talk Straight Tenors
(Left: Tim Price, Middle: Roberto Romeo, Right: Joe Lovano) Introduction Since reviewing the Sax Dakota Straight tenor and alto saxophones (Sax Dakota Straights) about a year ago, I recently read a...
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JL Woodwinds Tenor Saxophone
Introduction With the influx of more saxophone brands entering the market, it has gotten more difficult for the consumer to figure out which brand and model is worth checking out. Due to the rising...
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SYOS MOUTHPIECES: What Sound Are You Looking For?
Introduction The quest to find the right mouthpiece can seem like a never ending process. Once you find the mouthpiece that you believe suits you best, the next step (or at least for myself) is to...
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Jazz/Blues Saxophonist Tucker Antell Shares His Story And How He Approaches...
Official Bio Tucker Antell is a New England native, but being raised in various states across the US, began his career in Sarasota FL. He started honing his musical craft by sitting in with retirees...
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My Day with Michael Brecker – His Tips and Wisdom
Michael Brecker’s Visit to the USN’s Atlantic Fleet Band Michael’s one day workshop came about through the hard work of MU2 (Musician 2nd Class) Jeremy Bustillos and the permission of LCDR (Lieutenant...
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