Introduction It’s always exciting when you stumble on a player you hadn’t heard of before. Recently, when I was checking out the Chris Jazz Cafe live stream showcasing the Tim Brey Quintet, I discovered Jonathan Ragonese. After doing some further research, I didn’t realize how many players Jonathan has played with, his number of compositions, [read more…]
Introduction When it comes to a modern player who has been developing his own sound while also capturing so much of the essence of Trane, I think of Ben Solomon. Since seeing videos of Ben playing through his various etude books, I reached out to Ben who was nice enough to sit down with me [read more…]
Introduction Since checking out the line of BetterSax products at the 2025 NAMM show, I was able to re-visit the BetterSax Burnin’ Ligatures at the 2026 NAMM show as they are now in production for alto and tenor saxophone. I have always been interested in finding a quality two screw ligature that fits my alto [read more…]
Introduction Steve Wilson is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist that if you are into playing or listening to the alto saxophone, you have definitely heard of. With Steve celebrating the release of his latest album “ENDURING SONANCE“ out on Smoke Session Records on May 1, 2026 I had the opportunity to sit down with him to [read more…]
Introduction Over the past few years, I have tried many neck straps in an effort to find one that offers the perfect balance of comfort, ease of adjustment, and durability. Most importantly, I needed a strap that alleviated the pressure put on my neck, whether I was playing tenor or alto saxophone. Recently, I visited [read more…]
Introduction Selmer has released a number of notable products in recent years; including the Supreme and Signature alto and tenor saxophones, the Jazz Flow alto mouthpiece, and a reintroduction of its premium cane reeds. Today, I’m taking a closer look at one of Selmer’s newest offerings: the Jazz Tribute metal tenor saxophone mouthpiece. At first [read more…]
Introduction Since seeing Jay at NAMM 2025 just a few months ago, Jay and his team were nice enough to send me BetterSax Classic saxophones, BetterSax Burnin’ and Classic mouthpieces, and BetterSax Jazz Reeds for tenor and alto saxophone to further play test. I will be sharing a product overview, my thoughts, and sound clips. [read more…]
Introduction I remember seeing Tim play at Jamey Aebersold’s jazz camp when I was in high school, and have been following his playing ever since. Luckily, I was recently able to see Tim play at Jazz Chez Hanny in San Francisco and Tim was nice enough to meet with me to further share his story [read more…]
First, the Usual NAMM Mea Culpa… Ok, so perhaps the title of this article obscures the fact that this is yet another, incredibly belated report from the ancient history that is NAMM 2025. What seems to be the pattern for BSWE each January after NAMM is that there is just so much to share from [read more…]
Introduction Theo Wanne has expanded its saxophone mouthpiece lineup with the new Essentials series, offering “Concert”, “Contemporary”, and “Jazz” models for soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones. These affordable mouthpieces aim to provide options for diverse playing styles. Bryan Vance, the company’s COO, sent me an Essentials Jazz Tenor 7* and Essentials Jazz Alto 5 [read more…]
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