Jeff Kashiwa
on the JodyJazz ESP Soprano
and Tenor DV Mouthpieces

Jeff Kashiwa on the JodyJazz Tenor DV Mouthpiece
"After playing the Jody Jazz Tenor DV mouthpiece for a few seconds the first thought that came into my head was, "Oh, so there's my sound!" This piece makes playing fun again. It has a very rich and powerful sound that enables you to play the entire range of the horn, from low Bb through the altissimo with ease. It gives you the freedom that you're looking for in a mouthpiece."

 
Jeff Kashiwa on the JodyJazz ESP Soprano Mouthpiece
"The Jody Jazz ESP Soprano mouthpiece has a wonderful smooth, warm and even tone through all the registers. I am able to produce enough volume to cut without compromising the tone of the instrument. You can hear the soprano mouthpiece featured on my new CD Peace Of Mind on Native Language Music Label. For this CD I wanted to produce a very soothing yet compelling sound and the Jody Jazz soprano mouthpiece helped me to achieve this."

Jeff Kashiwa's Bio
Jeff Kashiwa is best know for his tenure with the Rippington's from 1989 to 1999.

Kashiwa's renown in smooth jazz became secure in those ten years, playing hundreds of gigs all over the world while appearing on Ripps' recordings such as "Welcome to the St. James Club," "Curves Ahead," "Weekend in Monaco," "Sahara," "Black Diamond," and "Live in L.A." Kashiwa has also appeared on recordings by Mark Portmann, Steve Reid, Dan Siegel and John Tesh's "Sax All Night," and Russ Freeman's solo album "Holiday."

Many smooth jazz fans were taken by surprise in early 1999, when Jeff Kashiwa left the Rippingtons to devote more time to develop his career as a solo artist, but in truth, the popular saxophonist has always had his eye on striking out on his own.

Before becoming famous Jeff studied jazz at Berklee College for two years which was a mind blowing experience both creatively and culturally, moving from Seattle to Boston. The love for straight ahead he cultivated there is something he sneaks into pockets of his smooth jazz tunes on occasion, "just to keep listeners challenged."

While at Berklee, Jeff auditioned for, and won, the second alto spot in Disney's All American College Band and fell in love with Southern California after playing a summer at Disneyland. While working on his Bachelors of Music at Cal State Long Beach, he hit the road for a while with the ska/reggae/R&B outfit The Untouchables, which played MTV's first Spring Break. Guitarist Richard Smith was a teacher at Long Beach at the time and hired Kashiwa to play with his band and record on his first three albums, the saxman's first professional experience playing smooth jazz.

Kashiwa was paying major dues working for a grocery chain by day and playing weddings on the weekends when he met then-Rippingtons bassist Steve Bailey, whom he hired for a gig. Bailey introduced the saxman to Russ Freeman, and later when the group's original sax player, Brandon Fields left, Kashiwa was hired for one gig in Racine, Wisconsin during the Tourist in Paradise tour. He played so well that Freeman hired him full-time.

Kashiwa can be heard on a number of soundtracks for movies and television, including the main theme for ABC's All My Children. He has also donated numerous recordings to charitable causes and his commitment to education has made him a popular clinician at many public schools and universities nationwide. For the past six years Disney has hired him as an alumnus teacher for its College Band program.