I’ve never been so proud to be a Conn Selmer artist.  My talented young student, Lauren Breakel bought my lovely Bliss clarinet from me when she first started lessons.  I gave her a great deal, but unfortunately the instrument developed an unrepairable crack.  I was prepared to get her another clarinet at my cost but Brian Engstrom and Conn Selmer replaced the instrument gratis even though the warrantee period was long over.  The instrument just arrived from the factory and we still cannot believe the generosity and support of this wonderful company.

I own over 100 ligatures, totalling around $7000, and have articles on ligatures printed in Canadian Winds and  Saxophone Today.  So trust me when I say that the $2500 I just invested in 16 Silverstein ligatures is well spent!  All the good things seem to go together in a fine ligature such as this.  Smooth warm enhanced response, more clarity and presence, ease of articulation, greater density of tone and startling projection.  One can also “play” with the tone and projection by adjusting the side bars to various positions.  Silverstein ligatures are guaranteed for life, are available for everything from Eb Clarinet to Baritone Saxophone and they will make a custom ligature for any mouthpiece!  Change your life today!

This just arrived in North America and I got the first one in Canada, along with the Focus (which is a smaller tip opening…more of  a chamber mouthpiece.)  It is unbelievable…the most beautiful round warm smooth bass clarinet sound I have ever heard, with incredible ease of articulation and altissimo.   Can’t stop playing it, except to pick up my new MoBa cocobolo A clarinet!  I’ve got a gig with Pacific Blackwood on Sunday and it will blow the other bass clarinetist’s minds!

It’s hard to believe that I can be twice blessed like this.  Due to my long friendship with Morrie Backun, Joel Jaffe and Jeremy Backun, I now have the very first Cocobolo A Clarinet off the production line at Backun Musical Services.

So, it is a matched set with the very first Cocobolo Bb clarinet they made.

“A dream come true” is really an overused phrase, but not in this case!

OK, I know that sounds like it just about me!  However, it is a revolutionary new reed adjusting tool.  I’ve got two for me and one each for a couple of students who are learning reed adjusting.  It is the only tool I know where you can flatten the table of the reed and also work on incredibly fine detail or on wider areas on the surface of the reed.

Easy to use with good instruction videos on their site.  You can’t cut yourself and you can leave it in your case when traveling by air!  I used to use the Vandoren Reed Stick for most of my adjustments, but it will not flatten tables, loads up with dust quickly and wears out in 6 months or so.  In addition, the ReedGeek will do a more aggressive adjustment when necessary.   I used to have to use sandpaper and a reed knife and a reed stick, now one tool does it all!  Read more at http://www.reedgeek.com

I just got the first 3 Selmer Concept mouthpieces in Canada. As a Conn Selmer artist I was first in line! One of them was chipped on the left rail, but the other two are magnificent and finally Selmer is using modern technology. These are drilled out of hard rubber by CNC equipment and are extremely consistent.  Selmer mouthpieces have always been well-designed with great rubber, but have had so much handwork that they have been inconsistent up until now.

I bought them both and have another on order!  Claude Delangle designed these mouthpieces. He has largely been using Vandoren mouthpieces until now, mostly Optimums. I’ve always loved his playing and feel he is one of the great wind players and teachers of his generation. The mouthpiece is warm and rich, with great projection…brilliant without any edginess and very good response and articulation over the entire range.  My new favourite classical mouthpiece!

So far offered only on Alto with one facing. I sincerely hope they expand this line through all saxophone models!

Just picked mine up last week.  A resin clarinet that plays like a pro horn.

OK, I’m a fanatic.  I also picked up a cocobolo Protege bell to put on it, and already have a full set of 4 Protege Cocobolo and Grenadilla barrels in 65 and 66 mm length.  Morrie (bless his generous heart) gave me an amazing back-pack case with lots of extra pockets for these accessories, and of course I also added a MoBa 66+ Cocobolo barrel and a Moba Cocobolo bell.

It is great to add better and better barrels and bells to the instrument in a clinic and watch peoples faces as the sound changes.  I would rather play an Alpha with a MoBa bell and barrel than any other brand of professional clarinet.  Period.

Julian was here to do Master Classes in Victoria, Vancouver, Richmond and Langley.  We met 10 years ago and it was a treat to see him again. We had dinner with Brian Engstrom of Conn Selmer and I audited his master class at UBC, which was phenomenal!

Julian had said he would like to try a bass clarinet so I brought one of mine.  He explored it for about 1/2 hour after the class. It was amazing to hear someone go from novice bass clarinetist to accomplished in half an hour.  Talent isn’t everything, but when you have that kind of affinity for the clarinet it is really something!   Julian is incredibly  accomplished of course, but it is his charming personality and his understanding that classical music is still show business that puts him in a league of his own!  Next time he visits, dinner at my place!

I just received a new bass clarinet neck from Martin Suter of Das Blashaus in Switzerland. It was made to order (since he offers 18 models!) and took a couple of months. Well worth the wait! It makes the two stock Selmer necks (the best two out of 8 that I tried when I bought my instruments, and then had gold-plated) seem like pieces of tin.

This model is the HH2-SA-SG, meaning Heavy Heavy Steep Angle Selmer Gold Plated.   Heavy is not an understatement.  It is 72% heavier than the stock necks.   The inside of the neck is smooth as glass, unlike any stock neck and it is heavily reinforced from bending.   It sounds as beautiful as it looks….just like Morrie Backun’s barrels and bells.  The tone is firmer, richer and more resonant, especially at the extreme ranges of the instrument; intonation and articulation are also enhanced.

I’m ecstatic!

Jiwon You (clarinet), Belinda Wu (alto and tenor sax) and Fraser Jang-Milligan (alto and bari sax) all auditioned successfully for the Greater Vancouver Youth Music Academy Wind Ensemble.   Jiwon and Fraser are just in grade 8.  Jiwon just had six lessons and Fraser won her audition on bari, which she has only played for four months!   Fraser and her parents and I are now shopping for her own baritone sax!

These fine young players have beautiful tones and impressive musicianship that will be enhanced by participation in this fine ensemble.