saxophone mouthpieces

Latin Grammy Award Winner, Dr. Ed Calle,  is one of the most versatile saxophonists in the world.

Having been born to Spanish parents in Caracas, Venezuela, he showed tremendous musical potential at an early age, developing his own distinct sound (which many have said is part of his DNA).

Dr. Calle can be heard on over 1,700 albums, and over 10,000 singles, having performed with such legends as Randy and Michael Brecker,  Gloria Estefan, Arturo Sandoval, Frank Sinatra, Carlos Santana, Ricky Martin, Tito Puente, Donna Summer, The Bee Gees, and numerous others.

Dr. Ed Calle is a Latin Grammy® Award winner for Best Instrumental Album (2015) with Dr. Ed Calle Presents Mamblue,and is also a five-time Grammy® nominee.

The link to his full biography, along with more Resources for this episode, is on our website.

Our Sponsor:

Victory Musical Instruments, the maker of The Growling Sax brand, is one of the fastest-growing instrument brands in the industry.

They supply great quality instruments for beginners to advanced players and have been awarded the prestigious ‘Music Inc. Magazine Editor’s Choice Award’ for three consecutive years at the NAMM Show.

If you’re looking for great quality instruments, make sure to visit their website at www.victorymusical.com.

In this episode:

• Ed shared his personal stories about Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman, John Coltrane, working with The Bee Gees and Barbra Streisand, to name a few

• He gave tips for tone and breathing that have helped him recover from an injury sustained from overblowing

• Advice for all sax players on dealing with performing loud music

• His mic recommendations, and the new mic he is raving about 

• How long it takes for material we’ve worked on to show up in our playing

• His impressions about the new Growling Sax Uprise model for Soprano Sax

• How JodyJazz mouthpieces helped Ed be able to maintain his high performance level even with his injury

• Ed’s views on practicing

• And a ton more!

You're gonna LOVE this episode!

We hope you get so much value that you will want to support the show and become a Patron.

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Just go to www.patreon.com/everythingsaxophone

Everything Saxophone Podcast Host, Donna Schwartz, went on location to the Jody Jazz Factory in Savannah, GA to film a saxophone mouthpiece masterclass by Jody Espina, Founder of Jody Jazz Mouthpieces.

Even if you are not an equipment geek, this episode will answer all your saxophone mouthpiece questions. 

The link to this episode, along with more Resources, is on our website.

This episode was sponsored by Jody Jazz Mouthpieces, world-famous saxophone and clarinet mouthpiece makers.

Visit www.jodyjazz.com to see why artists like Kirk Whalum, Tom Scott, Andy Snitzer, George Garzone, Jeff Kashiwa, Claire Daly, Ed Calle, Derek Brown and so many others play Jody Jazz mouthpieces.

Jody went into great detail about:

• A possible reason for why your low notes do not come out 

• How the facing curve affects your sound

• The best strength reed to play altissimo

• How to choose your tip opening

• How to choose your reed strength

• A common misconception when buying mouthpieces  

• Avoid this massive mistake when trying out mouthpieces

• High baffle or no?

• Advice for self-taught musicians searching for a saxophone mouthpiece

• Should you play the mouthpiece model your idol uses?

• And SO much more!

Want to show your love and support for the show?

Patrons get searchable videos, transcripts, and Bonus content not seen anywhere else, PLUS early access to each episode.

Head on over to our Patreon site for more info and to support the show.

As always, please Like and Share the podcast and video for our episodes with your saxophone-loving friends.

In the 3rd part of our series, A Day in the Life at the Jody Jazz Factory, Donna interviewed Danielle Walker, Manager, Accounts & Relations Artist & Manager.

Along with her other responsibilities, Danielle is the main mouthpiece play-tester at Jody Jazz.

She could be testing up to 300 mouthpieces a day!

In order to be able to do that (and not lose your mind), she follows a simple process.

Find out what that is, along with how to do the "pop" test, and more of her testing tips by listening to our latest episode.

Danielle was featured in our podcast at the NAMM Show in 2022 HERE

She performs regularly with the Historic Savannah Theater in Savannah, GA, and has performed 4000 shows over the years.

Danielle has performed on all saxophones, plus other woodwinds, percussion, and has also acted major roles on stage.

Danielle is endorsed by Legere Reeds, Rovner Products and Sax Dakota.

She has been working with Jody Espina, Founder of JodyJazz Mouthpieces since 2013.

You can catch all of Danielle's links, as well as links for Jody Jazz Mouthpieces and the video for this episode on our site at https://saxophonepodcast.com 

This episode was sponsored by Jody Jazz Mouthpieces, world-famous saxophone and clarinet mouthpiece makers.

Visit www.jodyjazz.com to see why artists like Kirk Whalum, Tom Scott, Andy Snitzer, George Garzone, Jeff Kashiwa, Claire Daly, Ed Calle, Derek Brown and so many others play Jody Jazz mouthpieces.

Want to show your love and support for the show?

Patrons get searchable videos, transcripts, and Bonus content not seen anywhere else, PLUS early access to each episode.

Head on over to our Patreon site for more info and to support the show.

Everything Saxophone Podcast Host, Donna Schwartz, interviewed Jody Espina, President of Jody Jazz Mouthpieces, Live at the NAMM Show 2023 in Anaheim, CA.

One of the biggest releases from the saxophone industry this year has been the new DV HR alto saxophone mouthpiece from Jody Jazz Mouthpieces.

Hear what it sounds like, and get all the latest information from Jody Espina President of Jody Jazz.

The link to this episode, along with more Resources, is on our website.

We also talked about:

1. see which famous band is endorsing Jody Jazz

2. discover the Jody Jazz Band Director Kit

3. how Band Directors can get free t-shirts

4. and more

Wanna support the show?

Become a Patron, and for as little as a $2 donation each month, you get searchable transcripts for the episodes, Bonus videos with extra tips and content, a full Podcast directory, and the ability to suggest future guests.

Go to our Patreon site for more info.

At the NAMM Show 2023, I was able to corner Maxime Carron of SYOS Mouthpieces for a few minutes to get the scoop on the latest happenings with the company.

Every year, their booth is so crowded, it’s almost impossible to get even a couple of minutes with them.

The link to this episode, along with more Resources, is on our website.

We also talked about new places you can find SYOS mouthpieces and more.

Patrons who have shown their love and support for the show get a special bonus clip from this episode.

If you want in on this and so much more Bonus content not available anywhere else, head on over to our Patreon site to sign up!

Donna spoke with Matt Ambrose, Chief Machinist, from Theo Wanne Mouthpieces, at the NAMM Show 2023 in Anaheim, CA.

The link to his full biography, along with more Resources for this episode, is on our website.

All the NAMM Show 2023 episodes are sponsored by Rovner Products.

We spoke about:

• the updated Theo Wanne mouthpiece models - Brahma, Shiva and Ambika
• Matt's advice for finding the best mouthpiece for you
• Comparing the Gaia 4 to the Brahma 4

Be a Patreon!

Patrons get early access to all Everything Saxophone Podcast videos, plus searchable transcripts and lots of Bonus content not seen anywhere else. Go to www.patreon.com/everythingsaxophone to get access now!

This was a super-fun interview with 2 people at the top of their game in music.

Mindi Abair has performed with Aerosmith, the Boneshakers and was the saxophonist on American Idol a few years ago.

You can read more of her Bio on her site below.

Theo Wanne has been studying and designing mouthpieces for many years, and some of the world’s greatest saxophonists play his mouthpieces.

When I was walking the floors of the NAMM Show, I caught part of Mindi Abair’s performance of her new single, Forever, at the Theo Wanne mouthpiece booth.

Theo designed not 1, but 2 mouthpieces for her.

The link to their full biography, along with more Resources for this episode, is on our website.

In today’s episode, you get to hear some stories about that process, along with:

🎷Making great music vs okay music

🎷 Mindi’s tip for how to approach playing a powerful mouthpiece - this is GOLD!

🎷The real goal of choosing a mouthpiece - advice from Theo Wanne

🎷The real goal of choosing a mouthpiece - advice from Theo Wanne

🎷The “Mindi Effect”

🎷How to add more resistance to your mouthpiece in a healthy way - tip from Theo

🎷and more

If you want to keep the great interviews coming…

Did you know you can get a complete listing of all our shows, Bonus videos and searchable transcripts, and get access to the episodes earlier than everyone else? All you need to do is become a Patron!

Patrons play a huge role in helping to defray the costs of storing each episode’s video and audio, and producing and hosting the show.

And, with their small monthly donation of $2 or more, they help keep the great interviews coming. If you want to become a patron and support the show, head on over to our PATREON site.