Introduction Over the past few years, I have tried many neck straps in an effort to find one that offers the perfect balance of comfort, ease of adjustment, and durability. Most importantly, I needed a strap that alleviated the pressure put on my neck, whether I was playing tenor or alto saxophone. Recently, I visited [read more…]
Introduction Selmer has released a number of notable products in recent years; including the Supreme and Signature alto and tenor saxophones, the Jazz Flow alto mouthpiece, and a reintroduction of its premium cane reeds. Today, I’m taking a closer look at one of Selmer’s newest offerings: the Jazz Tribute metal tenor saxophone mouthpiece. At first [read more…]
SPOILER ALERT: There really aren't that many melodic and harmonic "tricks" you need to know to play great solos. After going through just a few of these etudes and their brief analysis, you'll be well on your way to having a rock-solid "improvisational arsenal".
INFINITEMUSICIAN.COM
20% Off Limited Time Sale!
Introduction Since seeing Jay at NAMM 2025 just a few months ago, Jay and his team were nice enough to send me BetterSax Classic saxophones, BetterSax Burnin’ and Classic mouthpieces, and BetterSax Jazz Reeds for tenor and alto saxophone to further play test. I will be sharing a product overview, my thoughts, and sound clips. [read more…]
First, the Usual NAMM Mea Culpa… Ok, so perhaps the title of this article obscures the fact that this is yet another, incredibly belated report from the ancient history that is NAMM 2025. What seems to be the pattern for BSWE each January after NAMM is that there is just so much to share from [read more…]
Introduction Theo Wanne has expanded its saxophone mouthpiece lineup with the new Essentials series, offering “Concert”, “Contemporary”, and “Jazz” models for soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones. These affordable mouthpieces aim to provide options for diverse playing styles. Bryan Vance, the company’s COO, sent me an Essentials Jazz Tenor 7* and Essentials Jazz Alto 5 [read more…]
Mea Culpa OK, so, maybe this article is based on an event that, at the time of this writing, happened about 5 months ago (aka NAMM 2024). And maybe we were a bit embarrassed to mention that in the title of this article. However, what you’re about to read most certainly lives up to its [read more…]
Introduction It’s been over five years since I last visited John’s shop and much has changed since then. Besides having a large assortment of modern and vintage saxophones, John has expanded his line of products to carry Ted Klum’s mouthpieces, Ishimori ligature & reeds, and an assortment of vintage mouthpiece, ligatures and some neck-straps. While [read more…]
Introduction I had the opportunity to review Marc Jean’s original ligatures , (see picture below) back in 2014 for alto and tenor saxophone. Although I have play tested many ligatures over the years for alto and tenor saxophone and tend to switch from time to time, I have stayed with the original Marc Jean ligature [read more…]
Introduction Back in May, I finally made the trip to visit my sister in Boston. While in Boston, I knew before I left I needed to check out the music scene as well as any music shops that focused on saxophones (problems of a gear head). Even though I was only visiting for a couple [read more…]
Introduction One of the first saxophone-centered stores I ever visited was Roberto’s Winds. I remember when I first visited, the Vandoren V16 hard rubber line of mouthpieces for tenor and alto sax had just come out, in addition to Roberto’s Reeds and earlier versions of their wooden ligatures Quite recently, in addition to reeds, ligatures, [read more…]
Tips and Techniques from the pros PLUS free access to the Sax Lessons with the Stars archive - 10 years worth of interviews and exercises featuring the likes of David Liebman, Bob Mintzer, Ben Wendel, Bob Reynolds, and many more!
