20th Anniversary - A Special Message From Jody
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For this 20th Anniversary Newsletter, I wanted to write a personal letter to you all and express my gratitude to everyone who has had a part in the success of JodyJazz and give you my reflections on this incredible 20-year
journey.
Huge thanks go to our loyal customers, which include professional players, students, educators, and all of our dealers around the world. We could not have done it without you. In February at our most recent TMEA (Texas Music Educators
Conference), I was amazed at how many people are already playing a JodyJazz and were coming back for more. A Band Director well into his career told me that he had bought his first Jazz mouthpiece from me at the TMEA when he was in Middle School, and he thanked me for being so nice to him at that time. He recommends JodyJazz to his students to this day.
The JodyJazz crew is second to none, and they are the secret to our success. Their skill and passion is inspiring to me. I've always said that our goal is to treat every customer as if they were Sonny Rollins, and I believe we do that. I think the crew knows how I feel, but I'll say it here - thank you for everything that you
do.
Another secret to our success is our JodyJazz Artists, whose livelihoods depend on them playing at their best, day in and day out. The fact that they put their trust in JodyJazz means everything to me. Many of us have been discouraged from pursuing a profession in the Arts
(including me). I salute all of the JodyJazz Artists for going against the current of society, following their passion, persevering, and not only surviving but thriving.
I'd like to thank the many companies in the music products industry who have been great friends to JodyJazz over the years. Virtually all of the well-known saxophone companies, Ligature manufacturers, Reed makers, and Magazines of our industry have been very friendly and helpful to us. We have been blessed to make so many friends in the industry.
Finally, and most importantly, I'd like to thank my wife, Brie, and our children, Jordan, Miles, and Lola. They have made a real sacrifice because of my travel schedule over all these years. I'm very, very grateful for their love and support.
Looking to the future, I'm still obsessed with quality control and consistency. I'm still as passionate about designing and making new mouthpieces as I ever was. I'm very excited to begin our third decade with new projects such as Chedeville, which has allowed me to work very closely with an Artist on the magnitude of Milan Rericha of RZ Clarinets. Working with Milan reminds me of working with Kirk Whalum or Michael Brecker, who are people at the pinnacle of their profession and are the most
incredible humans that I've ever met. And that includes Dr. Eugene Rousseau, who I've had the privilege of spending some time with after our recent acquisition of Rousseau Music Products. Bringing in Dr. Rousseau's great mouthpiece designs into our family of companies is one of my proudest moments.
Thanks to all of you, we don't plan to stay still. We plan to continue moving forward with joy and passion.
All my gratitude,
Jody Espina
DV PLATINUM 20th Anniversary Limited Edition Models
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The DV mouthpieces have been an essential part of the JodyJazz story. Early adopters of the DV series include Andy Snitzer, Ed Calle, Jason Marshall, Keith Loftis, Tom Scott, Frank Catalano, and Jeff Kashiwa. Jody himself is still playing his DV after more than fifteen years, and so are all the players
mentioned above.
So when it came to developing a limited edition model to commemorate the 20th Anniversary, the DV series was the most logical choice. The DV PLATINUM 20th Anniversary Limited Edition models are DV series mouthpieces with a spectacular Platinum plating finish and a special emerald green bite plate inlay. They are engraved with “DV PLATINUM” on one side, “20TH ANNIVERSARY” on the other,
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* with production strictly limited to only 100 pcs each.
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.
These one-of-a-kind limited edition mouthpieces are available for purchase now, please contact your JodyJazz dealer for more information.
New HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor Models
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Our new premium line of hard rubber mouthpieces, the HR* CUSTOM DARK series, was launched at the recent NAMM show. The HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor model is the first to be introduced in the series and it received rave reviews at the show including the prestigious Music Inc Magazine “Editors Choice” award.
The new HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor offers a beautiful, warm, dark, traditional, vintage-sounding mouthpiece. With rounded side walls and a large open round chamber, the HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor 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.
The new HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor is the darkest sounding hard rubber mouthpiece in the JodyJazz line up. Constructed from the company's proprietary 'CHR' Chedeville Rubber, the new HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor more warmth and richness of sound than the regular HR* series. 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 this special hard rubber from which it is made.
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 our popular POWER RING® ligature. In the story below Jody explains exactly how that came to be.
A Story From Jody:
“Playing this mouthpiece is as comfortable as putting on a pair of broken in dress shoes as opposed to a brand new pair of dress shoes. What I mean by that is that when you play some mouthpieces it feels like your air and throat are being constrained but when you play the HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor it feels like you are being welcomed into the piece where your air and throat can be comfortable
and do whatever they want.”
“I want to share a funny story about this tenor sax mouthpiece. During the prototype phase, which can typically last from six to twelve months, there was a day when I was sitting in the show room playing the latest versions of the of the HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor. I agonize over these pieces and how bright or dark they are or how free blowing they are or how much resistance they have.”
“So I was sitting at the bar in our showroom and I had the 4 or 5 latest prototypes of the HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor in front of me. There was also a display tray of POWER RING ligatures on the bar. As I contemplated which prototype was playing with the right amount of brightness and darkness, I was looking at those POWER RINGs and I looked at the shank of the mouthpiece and a Soprano POWER RING. I took the soprano POWER RING and I was able to jam it on the end of the shank. When I played the
mouthpiece I instantly noticed that the mouthpiece had more harmonics in the sound the same way the POWER RING ligature adds harmonics to the sound of the mouthpiece. Of course we then designed a ring to fit perfectly on the shank of the HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor.”
Available now, the new HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenors have an MSRP of $395.00 and are available in 5*, 6*, 7, 7*, 8, 8*, 9* & 10* tip openings.
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'.
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. Intonation, resonance, evenness 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 for a warm blending sound for Concert Band, Classical Repertoire, Marching Band and Orchestra. In these tip openings the HR* Clarinet is not a “Jazz mouthpiece” because it blends beautifully with a warm sound that has slightly more projection than the average classical clarinet mouthpiece. This slight extra power gives the player confidence
and comfort, knowing that they will not have to struggle to keep up with forte passages, yet the mouthpiece plays with effortless control at pianissimo volumes.
The higher tip openings (6-10) are designed with a facing curve and higher baffle to enhance projection and a brighter tone for Jazz, Big Band, Banda, Klezmer, Greek, Turkish, Latin, Folk and Eastern European Clarinet styles. In these tip openings the HR* Clarinet is most definitely a “Jazz mouthpiece” because of the increased projection and added
brightness.
In all tip openings however the HR* Clarinet mouthpieces are extremely fun to play due to their free-blowing nature and strong core sound. If you play any style of music where you
would like to have or must have more volume, you will love the JodyJazz HR* Clarinet Mouthpiece.
The new HR* Clarinet mouthpieces are CNC machined from the finest German Hard Rubber bar stock, 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.
Available now, the new HR* Clarinet Models have an MSRP of $189.00 and are available in comprehensive selection of tip openings (1/100th mm): 1 (100), 2 (107), 3 (115), 4 (125), 5 (135), 6 (145), 7 (160), 8 (170), 9 (185), 10 (195).
New Chedeville® UMBRA Series Clarinet Mouthpieces
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Following our revival of the famous Chedeville mouthpiece company last year, we are excited to offer a sneak preview of a completely new range of classical clarinet mouthpieces called the Chedeville UMBRA Series. We are particularly excited about this new series because it
was designed and developed in collaboration with the internationally acclaimed, world-famous concert clarinetist Milan Rericha.
The new Chedeville UMBRA Clarinet mouthpiece creates a beautiful dark sound full of rich colors. It is darker in sound color than the Chedeville ELITE series model and also has less resistance, a combination that is seldom found in a clarinet
mouthpiece. Because the mouthpiece doesn't add resistance, players will have no limits in dynamics, colors, or articulation.
In the words of Milan Rericha himself, “The UMBRA has a rich, warm voice, which allows you to express yourself and have no limits in dynamics, in colors, in articulation, so you don’t have to fight. When you blow into this mouthpiece you feel like, wow, I want to do it, I want to play and I don’t want to stop!”
The Chedeville company was originally founded in Paris in the early 1920's and became particularly famous for their super-resonant premium rod rubber. The Chedeville mouthpieces made prior to World War II are considered to be the gold standard for sound quality and performance. For the creation of the new Chedeville UMBRA clarinet mouthpieces no expense was spared, starting with the proprietary
‘Chedeville Rubber’, a more pure rod ebonite that recreates the great rod rubber of pre war legendary Chedeville mouthpieces.
Also the most advanced form of digital scanning was used on legendary vintage Chedeville mouthpieces to ensure they were starting with a true Chedeville mouthpiece “blank”. The mouthpieces are manufactured from beginning to end in the JodyJazz/Chedeville factory in Savannah Georgia using state of the art CNC machines and the crucial and indispensable hand work
is performed by the most expert mouthpiece craftsman and women.
“With Chedeville mouthpieces our goal is to create products that allow you to express yourself without any limits,” says Jody. “One of the most important things to a player is the setup, the combination of the mouthpiece and reed. The mouthpiece is the first thing that makes your sound or your voice. We encourage you to embrace our ‘Life Without Limits’
philosophy. With the new Chedeville UMBRA Clarinet models we have made a mouthpiece which will not hinder you in any way and allow you to achieve all of your musical goals and beyond.”
The new Chedeville UMBRA Clarinet mouthpieces will be available in a comprehensive selection of tip openings (1/100th mm): F00 (95), F0 (100), F1 (105), F2 (110), F3 (115), F4 (120), F5 (125), F6 (130). The mouthpieces will have an MSRP of $350.00.
More information coming soon!
JodyJazz Acquires E. Rousseau®
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We are very proud to announce the acquisition of E. Rousseau saxophone mouthpieces and ligatures. The world-renowned E. Rousseau mouthpieces were designed and developed by legendary saxophonist and teacher, Eugene Rousseau, and are played by many of the world's foremost teachers and performers today.
Through his playing, teaching, mouthpiece design, and contemporary saxophone design with Yamaha, Dr. Rousseau is considered by many to have had more influence on the saxophone than any living person.
"I am honored and humbled to be able to continue the mission of Eugene Rousseau," says Jody. "Dr. Rousseau designed and created these legendary mouthpieces so that he and his students could achieve the sound and play-ability he knew was possible but didn't yet exist with commercially available mouthpieces. I sincerely thank Eugene Rousseau for allowing me to continue this
mission."
"I can distill our plans for the E. Rousseau brand into three main goals," Jody continued. "To produce the mouthpieces in the same manner and specifications that Dr. Rousseau intended, to be of service to Dr. Rousseau's students and the community at large with the same dedication as the Rousseau family and, lastly, to perpetuate and foster the story and legacy of this great man of
the saxophone, Dr. Eugene Rousseau."
For more information about our plans for E. Rousseau....watch this space!
The NAMM show is the Music Products Industry’s largest trade show. Each year in January instrument manufacturers gather in Anaheim CA to meet with their dealers, distributors, customers, friends and artists from all over the world. And with the Anaheim Convention Center having been recently expanded, the
statistics alone have become truly staggering; over 2,000 companies, roughly 7,000 brands, over 115,000 attendees and 1.8 million square feet of exhibit space!
Exhibitors are allowed to perform short product demonstrations at their displays and Jody always takes advantage of this to lead impromptu performances with the JodyJazz Artists at the show. This year we were really proud to have with us Jason Marshall, Khari Allen Lee, Don Braden, Arno Haas, Brian Miller, Darren Rahn and Laura Dreyer.
You can check out one of these performance in the videos below. That’s Howard Paul, President of Benedetto Guitars on Guitar and Sam Montooth on Bass.
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