Vandoren sent me samples of these a few weeks ago, and I just received my subsequent order of 16 boxes!  Possibly the best cane reed of all time!   Incredible core sound due to the conical cut!  So…here is my cane reed collection now, available to all students for trial!

Legere recently released the European Cut clarinet reed.  I wouldn’t have believed we could have improved upon the Signatures, but I ended up exchanging all my Signatures for European cuts!  Julie  at Legere noticed I still had some of the old clamshell packaging on my display wall in a photo I sent her, so she also exchanged all of those for ones in the new packaging and sent one more of the new wall racks….so here is my new Wall of Legere!

A day so anticipated that it felt like it would never come…and it was worth the wait!   Baritone saxophonists struggle with reeds more than any other single reed player.  Many have the opinion that there are no good bari reeds made, period.  Not me…there were Legere Classic bari reeds!  I stock every premium cane reed in the studio and keep trying them all from time to time, but always go back to Legere.  However, as a Legere Signature player on every other size of saxophone, I have been longing for the Bari.  It’s here and it is already selling very well in Vancouver.  One more nail in the coffin for cane baritone reeds!

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.