2020 - JodyJazz 20th Anniversary
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The year 2020 marks the 20th Anniversary of the founding of JodyJazz Inc. and the company will be acknowledging this special milestone throughout the year.
The birth of JodyJazz may be traced directly to when company founder Jody Espina met the legendary saxophonist and mouthpiece maker Santy Runyon. This fateful meeting took place in 1999 in New Orleans. Runyon was an acclaimed saxophonist and teacher, and owner of the Runyon mouthpiece company. Jody was at that time a professional saxophonist and Jazz educator in New York
City.
"When I first met Santy Runyon I had no idea that encounter would lead me in to the mouthpiece business," says Jody. "I look back on those days fondly. Santy was the teacher of my boyhood teacher Junie Ferrell. I instantly recognized this unique energy and spirit in Santy and I think he could feel my passion and thirst for knowledge."
After meeting Runyon, Jody started playing a Runyon mouthpiece. After a couple of months he asked Santy to customize the mouthpiece to his own specifications. Jody fell in love with the mouthpiece and was fascinated by how the mouthpieces was transformed by Santy’s custom handwork. As word about this special mouthpiece spread around New York, Runyon proposed to Espina that he
start selling them and suggested he call it the JodyJazz mouthpiece.
Soon saxophonists from far and wide were flocking to Jody's New York loft to buy the mouthpieces. Although fully occupied as a player and teacher, Jody saw the potential in a real business in mouthpieces and in 2000 JodyJazz Inc. was formally established. Over the next few years Jody worked tirelessly to create numerous new models and develop the line, travelling to the Runyon
factory in Louisiana at least seven or eight times a year. In 2008 Jody moved the operation to its current home in Savannah, Georgia greatly expanding his manufacturing capabilities and capacity.
Today JodyJazz is considered one of the world's preeminent mouthpiece companies. JodyJazz mouthpieces are played by many of the world’s leading saxophonists and are sold in over 50 countries across the globe.
In celebration of our 20th Anniversary, JodyJazz will be offering some very special limited edition products and we have developed a special 20th Anniversary Logo which will adorn the packaging of all our products throughout the year.
DV PLATINUM 20th Anniversary Limited Edition
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To commemorate our 20th Anniversary we are very proud to introduce the DV PLATINUM 20th Anniversary Limited Edition models. These exquisite and very special Limited Edition 20th Anniversary models will be on display at the Winter NAMM show in January and then should be available generally for purchase
later in February.
The JodyJazz DV PLATINUM 20th Anniversary models are the company's acclaimed DV series mouthpieces, featuring the patented secondary window design, with a spectacular Platinum plating finish. They also feature a special Emerald green bite plate inlay. They are engraved with “DV PLATINUM” on one side, “20TH ANNIVERSARY” on the other side, and each one is engraved with its serial number on the shank.
Only two models will be available, the DV PLATINUM Alto 7 and the DV PLATINUM Tenor 7*.
Production will be strictly limited to only 100 pcs each. Serial Numbers will be 001/100 through 100/100 for each. The mouthpieces are very unique and look stunningly beautiful.
The mouthpieces come with a Rovner Platinum Series Ligature and Cap, a Deluxe Leather pouch, a Certificate of Authenticity with serial number signed by Jody Espina, and each is specially packaged in a unique bamboo wooden canister. MSRP is $995 each for both the Alto and the Tenor. As stated the limited run will be just 100 pcs of Alto and 100 pcs of Tenor
only.
George Garzone Great New Recording
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George Garzone’s wonderful new recording “3 Nights in L.A.” has been receiving rave reviews from the Jazz press across the globe. Recorded live in January 2019 at Los Angeles’ new jazz club "Sam First", the recording features an all-star group with Garzone on Tenor, Peter Erskine on drums, Alan Pasqua
on Piano and Darek Oles on bass.
All four musicians have long histories together and you can hear that special empathy and almost telepathic interplay in the music. The group played across three nights, two sets per night, and the 3-CD recording includes the music from all three nights.
George’s performances on this recording in particular have received universal acclaim with Downbeat Magazine for example saying,
“Garzone seldom has sounded more inventive and impassioned than on this new three-CD collection"
and
"Garzone is in rare form, radiating minor-key modal lyricism, emotionally charged balladry, angular up-tempo blues and straight-ahead bebop teeming with tenor toughness—as only he can."
This is a truly first class recording with all four musicians at the absolute top of their game. It should be a part of any serious listeners’ music collection.
"3 Nights in L.A." is available to purchase now at petererskine.com and everywhere good music is sold.
(Band photos courtesy of Tom Ranier)
The Music China show in Shanghai continues to grow every year and the 2019 edition was the biggest one so far. Housed at the massive Shanghai New International Expo Centre, this enormous Trade Fair has now expanded to 13 exhibition halls with over 2,400 exhibitors. The organizers confirmed attendance
at the 2019 show at over 122,000, that's an 11% increase over last year. With 145,000 sqm of exhibition space, the show truly covers the spectrum of the music products industry with instruments ranging from classical pianos to acoustic and electric guitars, woodwinds, brass, drums and percussion, traditional Chinese instruments and every other musical instrument you can imagine. The show increasingly features live music and seminars with many on-booth performances and concerts on the outdoor
stages in the exhibition center forecourt.
For 2019 we expanded our booth to include a dedicated section for the Chedeville products. This was their first showing in China and the Chedeville Mouthpieces and Accessories received a great response. Chedeville Artist Dr. Scott Litroff performed regularly at the Chedeville display and his elegant classical playing garnered much attention from the public.
There were also several JodyJazz Artists appearing at the show including Darren Rahn from the USA, Germany’s Arno Haas, the great Tran Manh Tuan from Vietnam and also our newest Endorser Diogo Pinheiro, who though hailing from Brazil now lives and works in Taiwan. Each day they would join Jody for
various performances at the JodyJazz booth throughout the day.
For many of these performances Dr. Scott Litroff, who is also an accomplished Jazz musician, would often join in. Needless to say these performances at the booth would draw huge crowds of appreciative listeners. We must send a shout out to excellent local musicians Giovany Chaton on
keyboard and Fred Grenade on bass who provided wonderful musical support for these performances.
In addition to the regular booth performances, Jody also performed two concerts with all the Artists on the Expo Center’s outdoor stage right in the middle of the fair grounds. For these concerts the rhythm section was expanded to include a drummer and under Jody’s leadership all the Artists performed
together for some truly impressive performances. Each show was greeted with rapturous applause from the large crowds which assembled for each concert.
We will be introducing two new models in 2020. Both are extensions of our ever popular HR* Series mouthpieces.
HR* CUSTOM DARK
The new HR* CUSTOM DARK series offers a beautiful, warm, dark, traditional, vintage-sounding mouthpiece. The first model to be introduced is the HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor mouthpiece. The HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor will be available in 5*, 6*, 7, 7*, 8, 8*, 9* & 10* tip openings.
"The new HR* CUSTOM DARK is the darkest sounding hard rubber mouthpiece in the JodyJazz line up," says JodyJazz Founder & President Jody Espina. "With rounded side walls and a large open round chamber, the HR* CUSTOM DARK still delivers plenty of projection with a surprising ease of altissimo. Like all JodyJazz mouthpieces, its incredible free-blowing response is due to a superior
facing curve and expert hand finished tip rail, baffle and table," he continued.
The regular JodyJazz HR* series is renowned for its warm and beautiful sound and has long been among the company's most popular and best-selling models. The new HR* CUSTOM DARK builds on that legacy but introduces a number of important new design features. The HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor offers more warmth which comes from the company's proprietary 'CHR' Chedeville Hard Rubber from which it
is constructed. This exclusive special hard rubber formula, which was developed for the company's Chedeville brand of Classical mouthpieces, imparts more warmth and beauty in the sound due to its purity and density. As with the Chedeville mouthpieces, the new HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor bears the ‘CHR’ mark to identify its construction from this special hard rubber.
The new HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor also features a heavy stylized ring on the shank of the mouthpiece. The profile and heft of this ring was inspired by JodyJazz's popular POWER RING® ligature. With significantly more mass on the shank of the mouthpiece the HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor enjoys a boost of body and increased harmonics.
The company recommends pairing the HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor with the JodyJazz POWER RING Ligature which according to company President Jody Espina, "gives you an unbeatable combination of a dark, warm mouthpiece with enhanced presence, body and power due to the increased mass of the stylized ring on the shank combined with the POWER RING Ligature.”
The new HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor is truly a brand new sound option in the JodyJazz line up and is ideal for players who want to 'Shape Their Own Sound'. As with all JodyJazz mouthpieces the HR* CUSTOM DARK is individually play tested to maintain the highest consistency and quality. The new HR*
CUSTOM DARK Tenors have an MSRP of $395.00 and will be available February 2020.
HR* CLARINET
Also new is the JodyJazz HR* Clarinet model. Responding to overwhelming requests for a JodyJazz Clarinet mouthpiece, we have introduced a clarinet model to the HR* series of hard rubber mouthpieces. The new JodyJazz HR* Clarinet model is a free-blowing, warm-sounding and versatile mouthpiece, very much in the tradition of the entire HR* saxophone mouthpiece
series.
"I really thought long and hard about the sound and performance characteristics of a Clarinet mouthpiece that I would want to introduce to the JodyJazz line," said Jody Espina, Founder and President of JodyJazz Inc. "I'm really delighted with the result. The intonation, resonance, even-ness of scale and articulation are all superb."
Though the JodyJazz HR* Clarinet mouthpieces share many of the same characteristics of the HR* saxophone models, a major difference is that the models in different tip openings have been specifically designed with different musical settings in mind. The lower tip openings (1-5) are designed to blend in Concert band, Marching band, Symphonic, Chamber and Pit Orchestra settings while the
higher tip openings (6-10) are designed with a facing curve and higher baffle to enhance projection and brightness for Jazz, Klezmer, Latin, and Eastern European Clarinet styles. In all tip openings however the HR* Clarinet mouthpieces are extremely fun to play due to its free-blowing nature and strong core sound.
The new HR* Clarinet mouthpieces are CNC machined from the finest German Hard Rubber bar stock which is the same material used in the JodyJazz HR* saxophone models giving them their characteristic warm, rich clarinet tone. The mouthpieces are meticulously hand finished and then play tested. Consistency from mouthpiece to mouthpiece has always been a long standing obsession of JodyJazz
owner and designer Jody Espina and a distinguishing feature of the entire JodyJazz line. The new HR* Clarinet mouthpiece will be no exception.
The new HR* Clarinet models have an MSRP of $189.00 and will be available February 2020.
With the Holidays now upon us it’s a good time to remember that the best gift for the saxophone player or clarinet player in your life is something that relates to that passion. Mouthpieces are a great idea but it can often be difficult to pick out a mouthpiece for someone else if you don’t know what they want
exactly or what they normally use. So other items such as accessories or promo-wear can make a better gift and both JodyJazz and Chedeville offers a great range of options.
Our new beautifully handcrafted solid wood saxophone stand makes the perfect gift. Each stand is unique in color and grain pattern and has a beautiful hand rubbed natural oil finish. This is a furniture-quality stand that will last you a lifetime.
At both JodyJazz.com and Chedeville.com you’ll find a great selection of T-shirts, Caps, Cleaning cloths and other accessories and you also might want to consider JodyJazz’s range of instructional DVDs and CDs.
And if you can’t make your mind up from all those choices then you might want to consider a JodyJazz gift certificate! You can choose the value you want and the gift certificate is redeemable for any products sold on
the JodyJazz and Chedeville sites including mouthpieces, DVDs, CDS, Accessories and Gear.
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