I just received three new Chedeville Kanter Opera mouthpieces from Tyler Harris, product specialist for Jody Espina’s classical brands, and am no longer surprised that these Chedeville mouthpieces keep getting better and better. They’re all so great that they are very hard to choose between, but I still find each iteration superb and keep moving on. I’m going to keep all three models in my case for colleagues to try at rehearsals.

The Kanter Opera combines the best characteristics of my lovely Umbra F3 and sublime Kanter Cinema. The Umbra has that divine flexibility of colour and amazing versatility, the Kanter Cinema has a sublime focussed clear ringing core. The Kanter Opera has a more open tip rail and longer facing curve, adding the flexibility and buttery warmth of the Umbra. All three of the Operas sounded great, but one just felt perfect for me….something that has happened with all 12 mouthpieces I play from the amazing Jody Espina…selections from the Chedeville, ER 50 Rousseau and JodyJazz brands…all made with CHR Chedeville rubber.

The combination of this amazing glowing golden warm proprietary rubber, world class CNC technology and expert hand finishing always reminds me of the Harry Potter wand selection scene….”The mouthpiece chooses me!”

I do take detailed measurements of mouthpieces, but only AFTER one chooses me, and in this case the Kanter Opera is very similar to my Umbra F3, just a tiny bit more open in each measurement. It’s like an Umbra F3+, which is right in the middle of my sweet spots for soprano clarinet mouthpieces.

I raced up from my studio to write this blog after my favourite Opera chose me. Now…. back to this lovely piece to adjust reeds for it and revel in the fantastic sound and articulation.

By the way, this mouthpiece is supremely suited to the excellent Légère French Cut synthetic reeds, as well as the wonderful thick blank Vandoren V21’s that are my favourite cane reeds.

I’M RICH…. RICH beyond the dreams of avarice!! Thank you, Jody, Jim and Tyler for making dreams I never even had come true!

My second-last post covered my experience with the astonishing design, engineering and sound of the ZAC Gold Plated Sterling Silver ligatures. The shimmering warm purity of the sound, the ease of expression, response and articulation and the “snug without pressure” fit on my classical mouthpieces was unparalleled. Superiour to the most expensive ligatures in my collection. Now I’m equally amazed by the far less expensive Satin Brass ligatures. Only the ZAC ligatures without a resonator plate cost less than this model.

They are the perfect jazz ligature. They have a darker, grainier, somewhat broader sound than the Gold Plated Silver model…a centred dense core along with incredible ease of articulation and response to the extreme highs and lows of the saxophone range at every dynamic. I put them up against a half dozen of my favourite ligatures at every price point….they are about in the middle of the price range ….and they just KILL.

Very affordable…and you cannot afford to be without ’em!

I played a gig last week on Baritone and I gasped at the sound at Hermann’s Jazz Club. Unbelievably full, warm and reverberant even at the softest dynamic.

Now I’ve tried them on all my treasured JodyJazz Custom Dark mouthpieces and they just love each other, as do I!

My advice….GO GET ‘EM! The Canadian Distributor is Massullo Music in Vancouver.

I was the first to comment on Jody Espina’s YouTube announcement regarding bringing the manufacturing of the Rousseau saxophone mouthpieces into his own plant. I made a big deal of it! If you missed that notice, here ’tis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uObbq5dfU_U

You can easily tell how excited I was. Given that, it is really hard to imagine that I could underestimate the importance of this move, but I did. I discovered this when Tyler Harris, who handles the entire classical line for Jody, sent me full sets of the new NC and JDX lines, knowing exactly the facing curves that I prefer.

Ok…well….WOW! How could I not have predicted how big a difference there was going to be between molded mouthpieces and the same design cut out of high quality German rubber with CNC equipment. It is not just the excellence of the quality of the rubber and the consistency of the engineering. These are revolutionary mouthpieces derived much more exactly from the soul and imagination of Dr. Rousseau. The rails, chambers, tips and slight baffles are executed more beautifully and symmetrically. Each mouthpiece’s sound is closer to the platonic ideal of their character….brawnier and denser in the tenor and baritone, sweeter, purer, and richer for the alto and soprano. There is more centre tonally and the rich golden colour and sweet grain of Dr Rousseau’s sound just wants to spring into the hall.

OK…it ain’t just me! I can think of no greater compliment than my dear friend and colleague, Dr. Alexander Richards of the Victoria Conservatory of Music instantly purchasing a new NC3 Alto mouthpiece after trying one out in my studio. Alex did his Masters with Dr. Rousseau and plays a Soprano mouthpiece to this day that Gene hand-made for him. Alex is returning soon to try all the other sizes. Alex is a brilliant teacher and sublime player who does not change equipment lightly.

The Rousseau JDX Jazz models have received an even bigger overhaul, incorporating the V chamber from the Baritone model into the other sizes, and a Soprano model is available for the very first time.

I was expecting to be amazed, but I’m astounded. Thank you, Jody and team, for honouring Dr. Rousseau’s vision and memory so beautifully, and providing this renaissance for all our current and future players.

I was very lucky to click on a link from ZAC Ligatures promoting their booth at the latest ICA Clarinetfest in Dublin. That started a relationship with saxophonist, designer and owner of the company, Alberto Pellizzari. I had been experimenting with ebony resonator plates on some Japanese ligatures and liked the tone colour, but the heavy leather material holding the resonator in place dampened the projection too much. I ordered a ZAC ligature with a sterling silver gold plated mounting and an Ebony resonator….Alberto also sent me a sterling silver gold plated resonator, gratis! It turned out that the sterling silver gold plated resonator was my choice and this is the ligature you see in the picture above. It was so wonderful that I ordered seven more to fit all my saxophones and clarinets!

I will return to this particular model, but want to discuss all the variations available first. There are two different metal resonators available, brass and sterling silver. They are available with a satin finish or plated with Rhodium or Gold. The “mountings” or “machines” as Alberto calls them (the part with the screw that contacts the back of the mouthpiece and the plate that holds the cords) are also available in these metals and finishes. They all have different sound qualities that can be preferable for various kinds of music or any musician’s taste. All the machine and resonator plates come in different sizes for different saxophones and clarinets. Many other manufacturers use the same size resonator plates for every size of reed, which is totally inappropriate.

The cords that hold the resonators can also be used without resonators. These cords are the highest tech available, incredibly strong and supple. Dyneema® fiber is 15x stronger than steel at the same weight, with a tensile strength up to 43 cN/dtex. As well as its extraordinary strength, Dyneema® excels in cut and abrasion resistance and has a high resistance to chemicals and UV.  It was first developed for sailing lines for America Cup competitors. The combination of this cord, an incredibly grippy rubber coating and the high tech washer that contacts the back of the mouthpiece gives us an incredibly secure ligature that lets the reed and mouthpiece vibrate like NO OTHER LIGATURE. The reed is seated nicely with very little pressure whatsoever. No problem tuning your saxophone or moving your clarinet mouthpiece between A, Bb and C clarinets quickly in orchestra. No other ligature is this secure with so much freedom and vibrancy in tone and articulation. In fact, all my previous favourite ligatures needed mouthpiece patches applied on the backs of mouthpieces for secure seating, and still had problems with slipping.

The gold plated solid sterling silver models I chose have great projection of the purist, warmest, most resonant shimmering centred tone I have ever produced, with the greatest ease of articulation I’ve ever experienced. My dear colleague Dr Alexander Richards of the Victoria Conservatory of Music along with Xavier Marican, the winner of last year’s University of Victoria Concerto Competition, spent three hours in my studio a few days ago trying these ligatures on every size of saxophone and were blown away. They’ll be contacting Alberto shortly!

Change your life! Improve your sound and your articulation! Contact Alberto through https://www.zacligature.com/en .

I’ve been using these marvellous instrument stands for decades and recommending them to all my colleagues and students. The strongest and best designed instrument stands on the market! And Hercules “stands” behind their products. I was missing a tiny little part from my baritone sax/tenor sax/clarinet stand and when Hercules did not have the part available, they shipped me an entire new stand gratis!

You can see that stand above, along with the way cool Bass Clarinet/Alto Clarinet/Clarinet stand, the Alto Sax/Clarinet/Clarinet stand and the solo curved Soprano Sax stand. All the alto and tenor stands fit either instrument and include attachable soprano sax pegs, and clarinet pegs that also fit flute or piccolo.

If you are playing in a darkened orchestra pit for opera or musical theatre, the yellow bases help you see the stands. I’ve NEVER had an instrument bumped into or knocked over with these babies.

I just discovered last year that Hercules makes the very best music stands as well, from big conductor’s desk stands to the very best portables. They have a fantastic EZ grip lock that holds the stands firmly at any height and also allows raising, lowering or turning them with ease. The value is terrific….a lower price than the other two well known brands and vastly superiour.

Purchase any Hercules product with utter confidence!

My expectations were extremely high when I tested three of the new Chedeville SAV bass clarinet mouthpieces. Not high enough! I was flabbergasted.

I play nothing but mouthpieces made of Chedeville rubber. Not just my four classical saxophone, three classical soprano and bass clarinet Chedevilles, but four JodyJazz Custom Dark sax mouthpieces that are made of this rubber, plus the glorious Rousseau ER50 Classic alto saxophone mouthpiece. No other rubber provides the rich warm sonority of the Chedeville proprietary brand. I play no mouthpieces without this symbol.

But….Jody Espina also bores out mouthpieces from the very best quality German hard rubber using his CNC technology with expert hand finishing, and I owned many of these before his Chedeville products were released, none finer than this incredible new SAV bass clarinet ‘piece.

I’ve been striving for a rich warm bel canto tone at any volume level on Bass Clarinet with no buzz or raspiness whatsoever for decades now. I play lead in the Pacific Blackwood Bass Clarinet Quartet and need to achieve the liquidity and smoothness of a soprano clarinet in the upper register, while retaining a dark chocolate-covered caramel centre and the power necessary to portray “death” when playing Mahler and Wagner with orchestra.

No other mouthpiece has been able to do that as well as my Chedeville Elite…and now the Chedeville SAV. It is a “SAViour” for those who want this experience at a price as affordable as other manufacturer’s products. I put the SAV up against my four favourite mouthpieces previous to the Chedeville Elite and it blew them away handily. This is the one-two punch that makes a world champion. Free-blowing, complex, rich, and articulate, with an incredible dynamic range.

A SAViour.

OK, I borrowed “sublime” from James Kanter and Jody Espina, plus every clarinetist that has tried this mouthpiece! They’re right! I love my Chedeville Umbra and this mouthpiece is even more lovable. It has that wonderful Chedeville warmth, flexibility and colour and adds a firmer centre, a more contained ringing sound and is extremely easy to control (very important for a doubler like me.)

The flexibility and projection is wonderful! I’m in rehearsals for musical theatre right now and the swing passages and jazz articulation are great! The ‘piece sings and swings and also just shimmers doing the classical stuff.

A “Cinema” mouthpiece must be able to do everything and this one does!

Don’t you think that’s sublime? Just like the Espina-Kanter partnership?

Join the team! This mouthpiece is singing “You’ve Got A Friend in Me!”

I’ve had the greatest luck meeting musicians in Victoria….the very first month I met Don Mayer, Edith Eaton, and Gord Clements at a clarinet choir rehearsal hosted by dear friend and colleague of over three decades, Rhonda Smeds. Turned out that Don is the principal clarinetist of the Meridiem Wind Orchestra (for which I was recruited as the baritone saxophonist before I even left Vancouver) and Edith, a fine clarinetist and bassoonist who played with the Naden Band had attended the same high school and university in Ottawa as I and we had shared the same teachers…I was just four years before her in both schools. Don recruited me for the Island Big Band and Edith recruited me for the Royal Bay Musical Theatre company!

But….I was the one who recruited Gord Clements! I already owned all his recordings and sent him a fan email when I discovered we would meet at that rehearsal. He has now visited the studio with fellow bass clarinetist Dr. Marcella Barz and we had a great time reed-geeking out! Gord plays all the single reeds and flute and is a fine composer and arranger and he re-arranged some pieces he had written for musical theatre for clarinet trio just before he showed up at the studio. We’ll be recruiting others to form the Victoria chapter of Pacific Blackwood!

Gord brought a bass clarinet stand he made for me! WOW! It is SO beautiful and the design is fantastic and it is unbelievably compact. My jaw is still on the floor. Made of gorgeous copper, air craft quality aluminum, carbon steel and hand-sewn Italian white leather. It’s simply gorgeous, light, very compact and incredibly strong! And it’s a steal, going for much less than the larger, heavier and comparatively clunky K&M stand, which has been pretty much the standard for most players…until now. I’m blown away! Here is a larger picture of it….plus a picture of all the other instruments for which it can be used. It’s just incredible. Here’s Gord’s website, so you can inundate him with orders. https://www.gordclements.com There is also a direct link to his excellent recordings on Bandcamp on his website.

The Ishimori Woodstone Kodama II ligature was introduced to me by two dear friends and amazing clarinetists, Jonathan Lopez and José Franch-Ballester. I liked the ligature immediately and since there was no Canadian dealer, ordered a selection for various sizes of saxophone and clarinet directly from Ishimori in Japan. They are very reasonably priced, about $150 Canadian, including very quick delivery within a week via Fedex.

I liked them even more when I realized that the lovely Grenadilla plate rails are not parallel, but are narrower on the bottom side than the top. No-one else playing these ligatures that I have met has noticed that! When you rotate the Grenadilla plate so that the narrower end is up top, the focus, projection and articulation are improved dramatically! I informed Jose of this with a voicemail and he called me back an hour later, saying “Chuck, you’re a genius.” Well, José is the genius player, so you don’t have to rely on my opinion!

….er…another opinion of mine….the JodyJazz Power Ring is the ultimate ligature …but it can be very slippery with Legere reeds and you cannot move the mouthpiece quickly between Bb, A, and C clarinets with a Power Ring ligature. I believe that the Grenadilla plate on the Kodama improves the sound of synthetic reeds, so for use with synthetic reeds and orchestral work, this is the ligature for me….in fact I prefer it to all the other non-Power Ring ligatures in my case…all GREAT ligatures, and three of them triple the price of the Power Ring or the Kodama! Here they are with my lovely Backun Lumiere clarinets. Lots of fun bringing these to rehearsals and reed-geeking out with my colleagues!

Here is a diagram from Ishimori Woodstone.

I’ve been remiss! I own every professional instrument and accessory that Backun Musical Services has ever produced, and my students all play Backun instruments (largely the Cocobolo Protégé) but I was a little late to the party on these!

That is probably because even for beginners, I like to start with professional mouthpieces, frequently the Backun Vocalise G on both soprano and bass clarinets. Moderately open professional mouthpieces are better for beginners on softer reeds than the generally more closed student mouthpieces. They are not stuffy, you can move more air, tonguing is easier and the embouchure and tone develop much more quickly.

For those students who don’t want to make that jump, there is finally an inexpensive student mouthpiece that has all these attributes! These mouthpieces play like professional mouthpieces…a lovely ringing sound and a full rich tone!

For years, I have been recommending a widely distributed inexpensive student mouthpiece at clinics to which students have brought beginner instruments that normally come with “mouthpiece shaped objects.” They were “the best of worst,” and I stocked them in my studio and loaned them to students until they would spring for a professional mouthpiece, usually three to six months after their first lesson. Now this brand is also classified as “mouthpiece shaped objects.”

Since the previous mouthpieces I stocked for beginners are too small for doorstops, I have made room in the studio for Backun Protégé mouthpieces another way!. Thanks, Morrie, for helping all young players sound better, faster!