CE Winds Feature Artist - Phil French

Phil French
CE Winds Artist
Signed 2008

Bio:

Phils lifelong passion for music started at the age of nine, where he began formal saxophone training in Maryland. He honed his skills while playing in church as a youth and continues to minister with his gift in both the Christian and Secular arenas.

Phil has had the experience of performing with many talented individuals including: the late Grover Washington, Jr., the late Stanley Turrentine, Pieces of a Dream, Marion Meadows, Norman Connors, Brian McKnight, Ollie Woodson of The Temptations, the Clark Sisters, The Winans, Fred Hammond, and Richard Smallwood. He also performed on albums with Ben Tankard, Alvin Nesbitt, and Amos Davis. For four years Phil was a band member and music director for the Grammy Award winner Yolanda Adams. While playing with Yolanda, he also had the opportunity to record on her album “More Than a Melody”. During the same time he was also a band member of the legendary Jean Carne. His experiences with Yolanda Adams and Jean Carne helped him to polish his stage presence.

His first album, “You've Been So Good”, is an expression of God's perfect will being performed in his life. The soothing tones on his second album, "Royal Love Songs", were inspired by a combination of life events.

Phils goal is to use the gift God gave him in music as a language to cross all barriers.

CE Winds Featured Artists are musicians who have the passion and fire to create something more than just a sound. Music is not just something that you hear, it is something real that is created from the heart of the person making it! Music is a release, captures memories, and is a motivator! Music is a gift, and we say EMBRACE IT! If you would like information on how to become a CE Winds Featured Artist, email artists@cewinds.com

CE Winds Feature Artist - Joan Velez

Joan Velez
CE Winds Artist

Signed 2008

Bio:

Joan Velez is an artist with a passion for jazz and latin music, he has a unique, big, sensual, and very percussive signature sound, his music is a new refreshing Experience.

Born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Velez began playing drums at age 11 before migrating to Tenor Saxophone one year later. While a student at the prestigious La Escuela Libre de Música in Arecibo he started listening to artist like: Nelson Rangell, David Sanborn, Miles Davis, Ed Calle, Kirk Whalum, Grover Washington, Euge Groove, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane, Stan Getz, Michael Brecker, and Paquito D’ Rivera which had the greatest impact on his playing. In 1996 enrolled at the Universidad de Interamericana de Puerto Rico with a major in jazz performance under the great teachers Ricardo Pons and Angel David Matos.

In 2000, Joan Velez received the Berklee College of Music “Outstanding Musicianship” Certificate. He has performed in jazz festivals and he has shared the stage witt jazz artists such as Mike Arroyo, Angel David Matos, Ricardo Pons, Nidya Caro, Raymond Rousseu, Jimmy Rivera, Travis Vega, Glen Monroig, Chris Zamora, Nick Schneider, Bruce Oscar, Rodney Reed Zawacki, Robin Watson, Ken Champion and others. He continues to perform regularly with his own band The Velez Brothers. Joan Velez has 2 solo records under his belt (”Everything I Love” & “Up Side Down”) becoming one of the raising stars in the smooth Jazz world.In 2005 he moved to Chicago for a warm reception from critics, music lovers and fellow artists, as he continues to push his style and sound. He continues to perform regularly with his Brother Cristian.

CE Winds Featured Artists are musicians who have the passion and fire to create something more than just a sound. Music is not just something that you hear, it is something real that is created from the heart of the person making it! Music is a release, captures memories, and is a motivator! Music is a gift, and we say EMBRACE IT! If you would like information on how to become a CE Winds Featured Artist, email artists@cewinds.com

CE Winds Feature Artist - John Michalak

John Michalak

Miami, FL - Signed 2008

Bio:

John signed as a CE Winds Featured Artist in July 2008, after CE Winds launched their new line of Pro Series saxophones. John visited us to demo the horns and for a recording session for our "Hear It Being Played" videos, where he quickly realized there was something very special about these instruments. "I though before playing them I would have a good backup horn for my Selmer Mark VI Alto and Tenor, but after playing these powerful horns, I knew they were meant to be no ones backup horn!"

Originally from Annapolis, Maryland, John moved to South Florida in 1989 and began developing his diverse musical abilities through many fantastic opportunities. He has performed and recorded with great artists from every musical genre, from Jazz to Rock, Latin to Reggae. John is often referred to as one of South Florida's most underrated sax players, and his extensive resume includes performances with multi-platinum selling artists such as Gloria Estefan, Julio Iglesias, Engelbert Humperdinck, KC and The Sunshine Band, David Lee Roth, and Raul DiBlasio.

John was most recently on tour with Gloria Estefan, which included a stop at the 2008 Latin Grammy Awards for a live performance, which was also broadcasted live on Univision.

Throughout South Florida, John regularly performs at the top local venues, such as Jazziz Club and Bistro, the VanDyke Jazz Club, Ohara's and others, as well as at the most prestigious Luxury hotels, such as The Breakers, The Ritz-Carlton, The Four Seasons, The Mandarin Oriental, and the Boca Raton Resort and Club.

CE Winds Featured Artists are musicians who have the passion and fire to create something more than just a sound. Music is not just something that you hear, it is something real that is created from the heart of the person making it! Music is a release, captures memories, and is a motivator! Music is a gift, and we say EMBRACE IT! If you would like information on how to become a CE Winds Featured Artist, email artists@cewinds.com

Which saxophone should I buy for my child? Part 5

So what about rental plans for my student saxophone, is this the best option?

Like anything else, there are some good ones and some bad ones. Like I mentioned in the very beginning, my parents got stuck in a bad one, like I know many other parents do.  When I say a bad one, I am referring to the fact that in the end, the student is stuck with a saxophone that is maybe worth $300 - $500 and just spent that last three years paying a total four to fives times the actual value of the saxophone.

The key to finding a good rental program for your student saxophone is to look at the following factors:

- Rentals can be good if they allow you to do buy outs at a reasonable price. Look for rental programs where the end rental price is not even 15% more than what the student would pay for the saxophone when it is on sale.

- Also look for rental plans that are around 24 months or less. Most companies rent for three to four years, only racking up more and more interest.

- Find out if the company allows the students to buy out the saxophone at anytime, and if so, how much is the buy out compared the actual sale price. I know many rental programs will offer a buy out at a 30% discount, but this is 30% off the final payout, which is usually 4 to 5 times more than the actual value of the saxophone.

- See if, you can you return the saxophone at anytime without major restocking fees. Make sure to ask this, because I am sure that most of the major companies do charge this and in the end, you can wind up with a hefty bill after returning the saxophone.

- Check to see if general repairs are covered in the monthly fee? Your student will most likely need to have the saxophone serviced every now and then and this should be covered in the monthly
fee, if not, then you will be held responsible for these fees and instrument repair is not cheap.

- Is your child getting a brand new instrument? Most companies have been around for so long, they are stuck with out dated and over abused instruments that they then use to rent to your student.  The crime here is that you are paying a premium price each month and getting an inferior student saxophone; but it is happening all over America even now as you read this, only because parents don't know any better.

- What is the company that is renting the student saxophone to your child doing to help support your child’s' band program? Many of the top rental companies look at you and your child as one thing, a money sign. They thrive off of your lack of knowledge about musical instruments and the student saxophone industry. I personally recommend that you find a company that has chosen to partner with the local school programs and give back in time, talent or finances. This could include companies that have a local school representative to assist the band with clinics and master classes, that give cash back rebates and free instruments directly back to the school, or provide discounts with related organizations within our network to help reduce the overall costs for the music program.

All of the information in this article has come from my personal experience as a saxophone player who began at age 11 and now almost 25 years later, is one of the owners and operators of a saxophone company in the United States that produces both a student and professional level saxophone. I encourage you to do your own research and find what you feel is the best saxophone for your child.  We hope this article has been informative and will help you to make the wisest decision possible. Thank you and be blessed.

Mark Wigginton

President

CE Winds

Which saxophone should I buy for my child? Part 4

What are my other options for a student saxophone for my child?

When talking strictly ‘country of origin’, Paris, Germany and Japan are not the only great options; Taiwanese saxophones can be great, more affordable options as well. Taiwan has recently become the ‘Lexus’ of the saxophone market.  They aren't necessarily the BMW or Mercedes of the industry but they are producing some very high quality saxophones for both the student and professional level. They are burning the trail through the industry and I believe that within 10 years that they will be manufacturing saxophones for most of the major brands in the entire world.  I can say this with confidence knowing that German and Japanese made saxophones, who are now considered to be some of the best in the world, not even 20 years ago, were wearing the same "cheap sax" label that Chinese made saxes have today. Taiwanese made saxophones have recently broken free from the "cheap sax" label within the last 10 years and are continuing to move closer and closer to taking a spot with what is called, the "Big Four" (Selmer, Yanagisawa, Yamaha and Keilwerth saxophones); and all but one have student saxophone models being manufactured in China.

Now the same is true with Taiwan as any country that manufactured saxophones, you can find some good ones or some bad ones, so there is always a risk. Here is some ‘insider’ information, if a company wants to have a saxophone made for them from a Taiwanese factory, they can spend anywhere from $300 to $2,000 for an alto saxophone with "made in Taiwan" stamped on it. Your risk can be minimized by some doing some good research and investigation.

What are the major differences between high quality Taiwanese and Chinese made saxophones?

From looking at them in pictures you may not be able to tell any difference at all. These differences can only really be noticed once the sax has been played, taken apart and examined.  The major difference is going to be the alloys used to make the keys, and body of the saxophone.  Most Taiwanese saxophones are going to have a higher grade alloy, which in the end will resonate better and have a fuller and clearer tone.  Taiwanese manufacturers also give you more options in the alloys, such as titanium, silver, gold brass, German brass, etc.; which all have been known over the years to be better sounding. Another difference is going to be in the overall quality of the other core materials.  A saxophone is not just brass, but there are other materials such as felt, cork, screws, pads, springs, adhesives, pearls, etc that make up the final saxophone product; and the quality of these materials has a direct affect on the initial playability of the saxophone as well as the longevity of the instrument after being played over and over again.

Even so, a company building a saxophone in China has the option to choose a very high grade material, as well as a lower grade material.

Here are some good points to look for in this area:

- Stainless steel or blue steel springs will last longer, even better, some offer gold plated springs.

- Saxophone pads are a big part as well and look for name brands like Selmer, Pisoni, or even Roo Pads. Everyone says they have Italian leather pads, but see if they can be specific with the actual brand being used.

- Felts vs. cork, some newer sax companies use an abundance of felt where cork has traditionally been used. Personally I prefer cork (or a synthetic cork) to be used whenever there is a key footing touching the body of the sax, or a key touching another key. There are some few exceptions for this, but overall for the longevity of the sax and the precision on the setup and adjustment, a cork, or cork like material, will do better in the end.

- Pearl key touches vs. Synthetic key touches. Personally, when playing it is really not very noticeable if the key touches (the pearls, or jewels placed on the points of the keys where the saxophone player places his fingers) are made of pearl or a synthetic or plastic material but overall, the consensus is that higher quality saxophones come with real mother of pearl for key touches.  Now, Yamaha only uses real pearl for their very top end saxophone and even their very expensive intermediate models that sell for over $2,000 do not have real mother of pearl. I only tell you that because, Yamaha makes a great intermediate saxophone, but it does in fact come with plastic key touches.

- Adjustment screws and post screws are very tiny but important parts of a saxophone.  Screws that are cheap and poorly made will not enable you to keep your saxophone in adjustment or repair over time. This is something to consider and can easily help you determine the quality of a saxophone.

The future of CE Winds in 2011 and beyond!

The future of CE Winds in 2011 and beyond!

2010 was a great year at Christopher Elliott LLC & CE Winds, and the future looks even more promising for our young company. Last year we solidified our partnership and corporate sponsorship of More than Music, a non-profit started by the core members of Dave Lemieux and House of Soul, who’s primary mission is to share joy, demonstrate love, offer hope and build community using the power of music and song.

In January of 2011, MTM launched their nationwide school assembly tour in the Northeast U.S., called At the Table with Dr King, an interactive performance that gives students and their teachers an opportunity to take a journey through the American Civil Rights Movement using the power of music, media, and song. Using the lives and legacies of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other prominent figures from the era as examples, the At the Table with Dr. King presentation invites students to start answering the call upon their own lives and to discover the responsibility they have to their communities.

CE Winds also moved into our new corporate offices in Ft Myers, Florida, which offers a product showroom where our guests can relax and play instruments at their leisure. The showroom also has a private recording room where customers can lay down tracks with numerous horns, and then hear the playback to help select which horn is right for them. Our ‘Grand Opening’ for the new CE Winds showroom is scheduled in the summer of 2011.

With the huge success of the Alpha Series Saxophones that we launched in 2008, we will now release the A2 Series (Alpha II) in February 2011, which offer several upgrades from the current Alpha (A1) model. The new A2's feature a higher grade alloy, real abalone pearl key touches, upgraded Pisoni leather resonator pads, standard A2 saxophone neck, and an additional CE Winds “Power Tone” neck, which is a secondary neck that really increases the “power” and “tone” of the saxophone!


We have also upgraded the accessories on the A2 to include handmade deluxe cases, neck bag, soft leather neck strap, leather ligature, mouthpiece, and end cap. As well, the A2's are finished off here in the U.S. with a professional adjustment process that has been expanded to a 32 point Quality Assurance process.

2010 was the year we released the Alpha flute into the market, and have found huge success with professional players and students alike, who have all discovered that a great sounding, and well built flute, does not have to cost over $1,000.00. The Alpha Series Flutes sell for under $500, and offer the same features as higher grade flutes; including solid silver lip plates, offset G, and split E mechanisms. We’ve even added Gold Plated rollers just to give it a little more class!

This year in 2011, we will officially release the Alpha Series Trumpet line, which will include a Lacquer Model (Alpha) as well as an A2 model with several specialty finishes to choose from. The Alpha Series Trumpets are hand crafted with a high grade instrument alloy to give the trumpets a full, yet focused, tone. They offer a very standard medium-large bore size, and also feature a large bell for better projection. Monel valves and chrome plated pistons complete the inner workings, and real mother of pearl key touches gives the instrument the right feel under your fingertips.

2010 also saw HUGE growth for the CE Winds Rent to Own Payment Plan! In this tough economy we know most people need some help, and our Payment Plan was there to relieve parents and college students from the pressure of having to buy an instrument they could not afford!
We believe we are working to make great strides as a company to change the way people purchase musical instruments, and the one thing we will never lose touch or change is the way we work with our customers. As we continue to grow this year and beyond, we will continue to put your needs at the top of our lists, and provide the best instruments we can at the lowest prices possible. 

We know we have earned our solid reputation for service, quality, and prices because our customers' appreciation and the continual positive and encouraging feedback we receive; and it is a great joy for us to being able to satisfy the needs of our customers. We say, Thank you to all of our customers, for choosing us over and over again to meet your instrument needs.
Blessings and prosperity to you from CE Winds & Christopher Elliott LLC!

Brian Seltz
President
Christopher Elliott LLC

Which saxophone should I buy for my child? Part 3

So, what about other major brands like Conn-Selmer, Buffet, Keilwerth, aren't they better than buying some ‘Chinese’ saxophone?

 

If you do any research or talk to any well advised music store owner you will most likely run into many who tell you to be aware of the saxophones made in china, they are cheap and fall apart, they don't play in tune, etc, etc.  Well, here's a little known industry secret, all of the major brands mentioned above have their student saxophones manufactured in China and have been for years. I know, I know, it can't be true but it surely is, and now they even have "made in china" on them. So, what about all the warnings about Chinese saxophones being cheap or poorly made? Well, here is a question, if I were from somewhere overseas and I traveled to America and stopped off at some small burger shop in some outskirts part of Utah; and after eating a burger, realized that it was horrible,  would it be an intelligent statement to say that all the burgers in America are just as horrible? Of course not! That's just as ignorant as saying that all blondes are ditzy, or that all brunettes like to have fun.

So where did this come from? Well, there are some bad saxophones being made in China, just as there are bad burgers being sold all across America. The good news is that the Chinese have begun to do with the saxophone what they do in every industry the venture into; some Chinese factories have been able to make a high quality saxophone for the price that is fractions of what a typical student saxophone sells for! Now you can only imagine how the general retailers across the nation felt about this when parents could jump online and buy a lesser known student saxophone for hundreds less than the thousands of dollars they are demanding for the major brands in their stores!

Now, does this mean that all saxophones from China are high quality now? 

No, there are still those that are selling very low quality student saxophones at very low prices and I would warn you to be aware of these companies. I am not going to list their names because for the most part, they change their names every so often and reinvent themselves under a new name. They rarely have any real internet presence other than the ebayer's selling them and have outrageous warranty promises of 5 to 10 years, just to get you to bite the hook.

So what should I look for in a Chinese made saxophone company?

Here are some major areas that can help you determine if the student saxophone is worth purchasing:

- The company you choose should have a solid reputation and track record for their product & their customer service. In today's internet ruled world, this will give you a great opportunity to find reviews and testimonies from previous owners as to the build quality and sustainability of the overall saxophone.  I do make mention on this that any good saxophone company is continually improving as time goes by, so be open to the good and the bad reviews. As well, I don't think you can find any saxophone company that does not have any negative reviews, but go with the overall consensus of the product quality and the customer service of the company.

- You should be able to call and speak to someone from the actual company of that makes or distributes the saxophone.  Ask them as many questions as you can, and make sure they are willing to stand behind the instrument 100%.

- There should be a written return policy for a full refund if you are not 100% satisfied.  Your money is yours and don't throw it away to some company that will not stand 100% behind their student saxophone.

- The sax should come with some sort of setup or adjustment work already done to it. For the most part, almost every saxophone made today is made overseas somewhere, and is then shipped to America.  During shipping, it is very easy for the saxophone to get banged around and knocked out of adjustment, as well; many factories do a minimal setup just to make sure the sax plays, but so much can be done to ensure that your student will get a very free blowing and easy playing saxophone.  Any good saxophone company will have technicians on this end that do a post production setup and adjustment to ensure that the saxophone arrives to the customer in the most optimum working order.  Ask the company if they do any post production setup or regulation work and if they do, then ask them to be specific. Remember, this is your money and you want to invest in the best possible saxophone for your student; do not be hustled or talked into a student saxophone that you are not 100% sure about.

- The saxophone should have some samples online of the saxophone being played, preferable videos because audio files do not disclose the saxophone being played and you can't be sure that the saxophone is actually the one being advertised. If the sax is being sold on ebay.com, the manufacturer or label name should have company website or internet presence. If so, check to see that the website is valid; meaning that it has correct and up to date contact information, articles, pictures, samples, reviews etc.. or is it just some website thrown together and posted online to try and fool you into thinking that there is a real company that you can contact and be confident will stand behind the product.

- Check online in forums like saxontheweb.net which is filled with some of the best information about student and professional saxophones from today and over the past 100 years.  Is this company you are looking at, listed in their Saxophone Makes and Models section of the forum? If so, then you can be assured that it would not be listed if there was not a real company behind that product. You can also search the forum for reviews and ask questions.

- Check youtube to see if anyone is playing this name brand student saxophone and posting videos. If so, you can hear many different people playing these saxes and get an overall idea of the sound they can produce.

- The sax should come with all the things your student needs to play the saxophone; mouthpiece, ligature, neck strap & cork grease. Some companies give other care packages as well with the purchase and this is a good idea to help keep the saxophone in good working order. These items include a pad saver, cleaning cloth, and neck swab.

- The sax should come in a good case that will protect your student saxophone for years to come.