Resources              

Gear describes the saxophones, mouthpiece, reeds, microphones, drums, gongs and cymbals I use, along with their website links.

I started out in Cleveland and this section links to the websites of musicians I encountered during those formative years.

My Berklee years were also key to my development and these links go to the websites of musicians I first met there, as well as several sites dedicated to the remarkable Berklee faculty.

A lot of the musicians I play with today came from Woody Herman's band and this section links to sites from friends I made during those years.

I've spent the last twenty five years in and around New York so these links reflect my friends and collaborators during this period.

And last but hardly least, links to some of the great venues I've had the honor of performing in, all over the world.

Gear

Saxophones

I’ve been playing Borgani saxophones since 1991 and exclusively since 1999.

They are a very small company with a lot of passion and love for their instruments. It’s a family run business, only twelve people work at the factory, and these hand-made instruments are made with the same care that’s been passed down through the generations, back to the early times of making instruments.

I’ve worked closely with them to produce a series of horns called the Borgani-Lovano series, using Pearl Silver alloy with Gold 24k keys. It’s a really beautiful instrument and gives me such a warm, brilliant sound, with a dynamic range, beyond my wildest expectations. These newer horns are made like an older horn with handmade, hand-pounded brass but with modern mechanisms.

My very special thanks go to Orfeo Borgani, the Borgani family and the Borgani Team. I love playing this tenor because it’s made like the earlier horns were, in the style of a Chu Berry Conn tenor, or an early balanced action Selmer, and more reminiscent of King Super 20.

You can purchase Borgani saxophones from my friend Roberto at Roberto’s Woodwinds.

I also use the straight Selmer soprano and alto clarinet, as well as the LA Sax straight alto. I've also played LA Sax's straight tenor. I like the feeling of the straight horns and I tend to play them with a different attitude because the sound travels through the body of the instrument first, then onto the floor and through the room.

I played the straight tenor on Celebrating Sinatra, and on Flying Colors, the recording I did with Gonsalvo Rubacalvo. I used the straight alto on Trio Fascination Flight of Fancy.

Mouthpiece

I play a Francois Louis wooden mouthpiece which uses their ligature (which holds the reed). The mouthpiece itself is made from Granidillo wood, which is a hard African wood. I've been use these on my tenors since 1985 and on soprano starting back in 1982. Handmade, these mouthpieces are simliar to the Otto Link 10 Star mouthpiece which many musicians have used.

Reeds

I now use Alexander Reeds. Playing Alexander Reeds through the years has simply become part of my natural sound. They give the complete confidence to be myself in any musical setting. Dig my new release, Streams of Expression, and you'll hear what I'm talking about!

Microphones

The hippest wireless mike on the market is the AMT (Applied Microphone Technologies). It's very simple to use and gets a deep, rich natural tone for every player who uses it. I feel like it's just an extension of my sound. I never have to worry about it.

Drums and Gongs

I really enjoy playing drums, cymbals and also gongs.

I have a beautiful set of Slingerland drums that were given to me as a gift by the great Paul Motian. It’s a rather famous drum set, in fact, because it’s the one he used on all the recordings he did with Keith Jarrett, and other sessions, including when he played with Coleman Hawkins.

I have a collection of hand-made gongs that I play regularly. A friend, Steve Hoobeck bought some a laid several on me. They are Wuhan tempered tuned gongs made in China.

I also like Zildjian cymbals, which have lots of fire, as well as Paste cymbals, hand drums and bells.