Michael brecker sax setup

How many sax players have more than one mouthpiece and change it from time to time. The Answer all of them. Does it matter? Mostly only for the player itself. How does it feel, what do I need these days. Tobias, I always thought he played A Selmer alto ligature on his Guardalas. In my opinion, he played a Selmer ligature on his guardala all the time.

Those ligatures are no longer Manufactured by Selmer. Are you sure about that Richard. I thought it was a Selmer alto ligature. I ordered one a couple of weeks ago………. I believe that he used the Selmer alto metal ligature-for small metal mouthpieces ALC I sound like me and the same on both. The older piece seems a little warmer sounding. It finally broke many years later and order the Tenor There is no such thing as an MB1.

It was an MB. That was lightly engraved on the shank with a number. Yes, great article! I think Jerry M. Zucker hits the nail on the head. A mouthpiece can make a difference and you can search for the holy grail the rest of your life, but the core of the sound is you! Great article, I agree, with a lot of information. Guardala mouthpiece are so different even if they have the same model name.

Take for instance my two Crescent mouthpieces, a 3-digit gold plated model and a 4-digit silver plated model. When you look at the pics I did, you will clearly see the different length of the baffles as well as the different shape of the chambers:.

You would see him very frequently, asking him to tweak your mouthpiece or make a new one with a slightly different inner geometry. I guess this is what Mike did. In other words, he got a number of custom-tailored suits by Armani whereas the rest or at least most other Armani clients got a ready-to-wear suit with a lot of variations that made it a grab-bag.

Totally different mouthpieces. The Physical demands on the body from the schedule of the most in demand player in the world. I sometimes wonder how much this has to do with M. Was it just less strenuous to play his schedule with a high baffle piece, rather than him trying to do this all on an Otto Link. Ricky, Add to that the genetic problem he had with his neck and it makes sense that he had to go with an easier playing piece……….

I might be wrong, let me know if you learn something. Think about Charlie Parker…he played any horn , mouthpiece ,and reed combination and sounded incredible. He was going back n forth between two pieces. I later went to his dressing room and we talked for about 10 minutes. He showed me two Brecker I models he was testing.

I asked about his piece and he opened the case and showed me the piece. It was a studio model with a modified chamber. My buddy Paul Maslin also confirms that he played a studio. I guess Jeff also says he did played a modified studio.. Nobody will know.. Steve, Very interesting article.

Thank you. Perhaps a definitive answer will come about through your questions. It seems logical that the multi mouthpiece use is closer to the truth. Do you have an idea of what the Ace bandages were for? When I first saw the picture my first thought was wondering if he would wrap them around his neck back when he was having neck problems. I saw somewhere on the Internet from reliable source that Mike played a Traditional model which was a prototype MB1 piece.

It looked just like the MB1 but the step baffle drop was smooth instead of a straight immediate drop. Thanks Adrian! Those are exactly the kind of rumors that I am talking about. His mouthpiece in his later years. Very interesting article and comments! To me Mr.

Shizhauo is right. Because his Pilgrimage model sounds really close to a modern MB sound, in my ears anyway. As an example: Listen to the Brecker bros. I have a hard time recognize Mike there, by the sound I mean!

You can hear him in the style and choice of notes and lines, but the sound…. Sounds like a really bad, stuffy Otto link piece in my ears! I remember a rumour going around about Freddie Gregory making him a mouthpiece. Anyway, about years ago I did a big band rehearsal in a Pub in London and Freddie showed up so we all had a drink with him.

I agree with Rich though, probably the best person to ask about all of this would be Andy Snitzer. Yes, I confirm Freddie told me the story himself when he was doing my alto custom mouthpiece. He loved it according to Freddie and had to stop after Guardala told him he was under contract with him. In , Dave Liebman gave me his tenor mouthpiece for a few days to check out.

Dave Guardala made it for him and it was a custom Link type bore, about a size 6. He told me Mike played one I might like more. It was really good. When I saw Mike, he tried mine and I tried his. Mine was a little freer blowing but sounded the same. They were both silver plated original traditional models.

Dave, So was the Traditional model a smooth type rollover edge or a sharp edge? Actually, I like your point that he sounded great on multiple peices over the years.

I would offer that he sounds similar on his Dukoff before he played the Guardala. That being said, I am trying to locate a Bergonzi model Guardala which I am pretty sure Bergonzi never played on any albums i had. I had a friend in College who had one and I really liked it. Know this is an old thread, but just found it searching the web for Guardala info. I really like the clip someone shared of Bill Evans at a clinic in Poland — where he acknowledged he plays a prototype Guardala and has played the same piece for 30 years.

I periodically go on mouthpiece searches, buying, returning, keeping some etc. I remember going to try mouthpieces at a music store and this tenor player was playing that had the darkest most gorgeous sound. I asked him what he was playing on and he said a Ponzol M2 which blew my mind. I had been playing one of those for about 6 months and got the loudest brightest sound out of that piece.

I was amazed that he could sound so dark and old school with it. It was the sound in his head coming out………. I met Mr Brecker on a number of occasions back stage of gigs and also at Freddie Gregorys workshop in Edgeware north London..

I know he had several mouthpieces made.. He sounded the same but with a more robust Tenorness. Nigel Hitchcock got the same model for his alto.. Bob Mintzer was buying a lot and even the Gonz.

I remember Gregory playing me an answer phone message of Brecker virtually begging Freddie to make him another mouthpiece.. They were totally different profile to the DG mouthpieces.. We talked about Bob Malach and Brecker said that at home he plays around on many different set ups including hard rubber.. I said he should make an album on a Conn chu with a wooden mouthpiece playing lockjaw Davis covers..

Only some artists can completely change their sound at such a point in their career and survive the critics.. Unfortunately that was the last time we met. Regardless of Jazz he was a virtuoso and a total gentleman.. I have a hand made Dave Guardala tenor mouthpiece. It says MB on it with a pink bite plate. I bought it from him at his house in Hicksville, LI in August of This was 2 months after I broke my back, and spent the next 10 months in a body cast. My wife drove me to gigs.

The problem was back pain and spasms playing these 2 mouthpieces. I called and setup an appointment with Dave, and made the trek from Staten Island to his house for our meeting. We discussed what I played on, and what I was looking for in a mouthpiece. I wanted the big bottom end, full, even sound through the palm keys as well as easy altissimo to F4 and beyond to infinity.

He grabbed a mouthpiece, had me play on and started working on it, and tweaking it over the next hour and a half to achieve what I wanted. He finished the mouthpiece and 31 years later, it still plays great! It does have the aforementioned long roll over baffle similar to the picture, no step or ledge. The slope is fairly steep though. I also bought the Selmer Alto Ligature for it as well, and some generic plastic cap that fit it.

I tried his Studio pieces during a break on a gig, and they were awesome! As for me, the reason why I met with Dave was to find something easier to play, without causing pain and achieve the sound I like. After all, Brecker is Brecker, and there was only one.

He had his own concept and no matter what mouthpiece he played, he would get his sound. I found it to be a sound defining type of mouthpiece. It is a totally different piece in design and sound compared to my old DG custom mouthpiece. Oh well. Happy hunting and enjoy the ride. George, Thanks for sharing. If only we could go back in time and get pieces for what they sold for back then………Steve. I should have known something was up.

The next time I went to Rod Baltimores, sax players were buying them like crazy before they went to Europe or Puerto Rico. Then Dave said, I can do that too. Susan Brecker generously loaned this iconic instrument for this photo shoot opportunity.

The low B-flat pinky spatula is extended with a black epoxy add-on. There are two left-hand palm-key risers, one an installation and the other an epoxy add-on. The right-hand thumb area is completely customized, in part because Brecker had large hands and double jointed thumbs.

He placed the thumb rest on the second joint of his thumb not the first , and in doing so, rotated his right hand slightly around the horn. This is likely one of the only videos of Michael Brecker playing drums. On studying composition: He was trying to break away from chordal-only thinking and studying traditional composition challenged him to think in voicings created from melodies and tone melodic matrices.

How he handled confusing chords on the Claus Ogerman orchestral album. On balancing practicing, playing and life…and staying healthy both physically and emotionally. On playing with James Taylor and his thoughts on David Sanborn Pay close attention to what he says here. You can also watch him play Oleo during this clinic. In summary: what a legend. Bob Reynolds is a jazz tenor saxophonist and Grammy Award-winning member of the instrumental supergroup Snarky Puppy.

He's toured and recorded with John Mayer and released 9 albums as a solo artist. Bob teaches jazz improvisation and saxophone lessons through his virtual studio and an annual retreat for saxophonists he co-founded. Thanks for the analysis.