Author: DougR
Date: 2010-03-03 02:39
I have no direct experience with REAL (vintage, serial-numbered) Brilharts, but I have an Ebolin alto mouthpiece from the Selmer era in a drawer someplace, and it is, indeed, junk.
However, I've played many a big band gig with an alto player who was all over the place in the 40s and 50s: baritone with Sammy Kaye, alto & baritone with Jimmy Dorsey, alto with Bubbles Becker (and dozens of other territory bands), and alto with the Les & Larry Elgart band back in the 60s.
Larry Elgart was a major booster of Brilhart Tonalin alto mouthpieces, says my friend Myron (and a perfunctory Google image search confirms this)--Larry used to order them by the crate. Myron always preferred the Ebolin version, though; he didn't care for the Tonalins at all. In fact, he still talks with deep pangs of regret about his favorite Brilhart Ebolin 3 that he lent to someone back in the 60s and never saw again; he claims to have NEVER found a mouthpiece anywhere near as good, ever.
I believe (although it's been a while since I looked at the Mouthpiece Heaven section on Brilharts) that the versions with serial numbers are the ones that command a premium.
|
|
The Clarinet BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
