Author: seabreeze
Date: 2021-09-13 05:57
If "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" then the Chedeville mouthpieces of the 1920s and 30s are the most flattered in the clarinet industry. More mouthpiece techs and companies have tried to copy some model of Chedeville mouthpiece than any other brand. This is no myth but rather a procedure repeated generation after generation. Both Frank Kaspars preferred to use Chedeville blanks in their own famous mouthpieces. Just a few mouthpiece makers who have openly tried to copy cheds are Otto Link (for Gigliotti), Iggy Genusa (and Ben Redwine), Jim Pyne, Paul Durksmeyer, Vandoren (in their M13, M13 lyre, and M15) with the help of Donald Montanaro), Brad Behn (Vintage model and the later Epic), Walter Grabner, Dan Johnston, Michael Lomax, Greg Smith, Chris Hill and Guy Chadish, RetroRevival, Ramon Wodkowski (in his Philadelphia Model), Charles Bay, Omar Henderson, and most recently Jody Espina in his Chedeville Elite and Umbra models. Anyone willing to do the investigative reporting on this can check historical records for all these makers and easily verify that at one time or another, they openly advertised clarinet mouthpieces that were "of Chedeville design" or "inspired by Chedeville," or a "creative interpretation of Chedeville." The fact that all these mouthpiece producers bothered to attempt an emulation of Henri and Charles Chedeville pieces in itself makes the Ched name a big deal. They would not have bothered except that the market contained clarinetists who would be attracted to mouthpieces somehow having claim to the Chedeville lineage.
The reputation of the Chedevilles in America was partly established by a generation of clarinetists that included Ralph McLane, Ignatius Genusa, Anthony Gigliotti, and Harold Wright. They all preferred Chedevilles to other mouthpiece brands and tried to pass on that estimate to their students, many of whom spend long hours canvassing pawn shops and collectors' attics, in search of old Henri and Charles Chedeville mouthpieces.
One contemporary mouthpiece maker who has delved deeply in the Chedeville history and lore is Ramon Wodkowski. His Facebook entries and webpage entries provide considerable information on who the Chedevilles were, and their possible connection to other famous names in the clarinet world such as
A. Lelandais, Alexander Robert, Henri LeRoy, Bettoney, and Eugene Bercioux, that makes for fascinating reading.
Post Edited (2021-09-14 07:43)
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The Clarinet BBoard
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