Calicchio Artist Series: Walt Johnson Custom Mouthpiece - A Brass Mavens Exclusive!
Walt's amazing career began at age 19, when he played lead for trombonist and big band leader Si Zentner. But about a year into that gig he was drafted into the army where he played lead in the 52nd Army Band, which included a combat tour in Vietnam. Upon his return to the US, he picked up a demanding gig in Las Vegas where he remained for several years.
Throughout his career Walt has done countless sessions for film and television, and sessions with numerous recording artists such as Barry Manilow, Barbara Streisand, the Pointer Sisters, Lionel Richie, The Commodores, Wayne Newton, Johnny Mathis, Melissa Manchester, Tower of Power, Lionel Hampton, Louis Bellson, Mel Torme, Vic Damone, Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach, Henry Mancini, Helen Reddy, Engelbert Humperdink, Julio Iglesias, Tony Bennett, Tony Orlando, Dolly Parton, Joe Walsh, Kenny Rogers, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Andy Williams, Bob Hope, Ann Margaret and others. As if his credits weren't solid and enviable enough, Walt also famously played lead trumpet for Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Chase! A dream career!!
Not only is Walt a fabulous player, he has also written a serious book on the subject, called Double High C in 10 Minutes. Walt is also known for making some of the most durable and sought-after instrument travel cases the industry has ever seen.
Walt has worked with only a handful of mouthpiece makers during his career, including Greg Black. Known today as a master mouthpiece maker, Greg Black learned his craft with the legendary Giardinelli company before heading out on his own. In the early 1990s, Greg’s short-lived but much storied company Black ^ Hill Custom Brass Mouthpieces duplicated Walt’s original handmade Calicchio mouthpiece, which was later scanned by Jim New of Kanstul Musical Instruments. This mouthpiece was selected to be included in the Calicchio Artist Series!
Specs:
0.638" inner rim diameter, falls between 7C and 5C
Cup depth is between Bach E and F
# 28 throat
Commercial backbore
Stamped JOHNSON
Authentic Calicchio blank and stamped name
This fabulous mouthpiece offers an open blow, easy access to the upper register, and a clear, defined sound top to bottom.
Walt's amazing career began at age 19, when he played lead for trombonist and big band leader Si Zentner. But about a year into that gig he was drafted into the army where he played lead in the 52nd Army Band, which included a combat tour in Vietnam. Upon his return to the US, he picked up a demanding gig in Las Vegas where he remained for several years.
Throughout his career Walt has done countless sessions for film and television, and sessions with numerous recording artists such as Barry Manilow, Barbara Streisand, the Pointer Sisters, Lionel Richie, The Commodores, Wayne Newton, Johnny Mathis, Melissa Manchester, Tower of Power, Lionel Hampton, Louis Bellson, Mel Torme, Vic Damone, Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach, Henry Mancini, Helen Reddy, Engelbert Humperdink, Julio Iglesias, Tony Bennett, Tony Orlando, Dolly Parton, Joe Walsh, Kenny Rogers, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Andy Williams, Bob Hope, Ann Margaret and others. As if his credits weren't solid and enviable enough, Walt also famously played lead trumpet for Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Chase! A dream career!!
Not only is Walt a fabulous player, he has also written a serious book on the subject, called Double High C in 10 Minutes. Walt is also known for making some of the most durable and sought-after instrument travel cases the industry has ever seen.
Walt has worked with only a handful of mouthpiece makers during his career, including Greg Black. Known today as a master mouthpiece maker, Greg Black learned his craft with the legendary Giardinelli company before heading out on his own. In the early 1990s, Greg’s short-lived but much storied company Black ^ Hill Custom Brass Mouthpieces duplicated Walt’s original handmade Calicchio mouthpiece, which was later scanned by Jim New of Kanstul Musical Instruments. This mouthpiece was selected to be included in the Calicchio Artist Series!
Specs:
0.638" inner rim diameter, falls between 7C and 5C
Cup depth is between Bach E and F
# 28 throat
Commercial backbore
Stamped JOHNSON
Authentic Calicchio blank and stamped name
This fabulous mouthpiece offers an open blow, easy access to the upper register, and a clear, defined sound top to bottom.
Walt's amazing career began at age 19, when he played lead for trombonist and big band leader Si Zentner. But about a year into that gig he was drafted into the army where he played lead in the 52nd Army Band, which included a combat tour in Vietnam. Upon his return to the US, he picked up a demanding gig in Las Vegas where he remained for several years.
Throughout his career Walt has done countless sessions for film and television, and sessions with numerous recording artists such as Barry Manilow, Barbara Streisand, the Pointer Sisters, Lionel Richie, The Commodores, Wayne Newton, Johnny Mathis, Melissa Manchester, Tower of Power, Lionel Hampton, Louis Bellson, Mel Torme, Vic Damone, Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach, Henry Mancini, Helen Reddy, Engelbert Humperdink, Julio Iglesias, Tony Bennett, Tony Orlando, Dolly Parton, Joe Walsh, Kenny Rogers, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Andy Williams, Bob Hope, Ann Margaret and others. As if his credits weren't solid and enviable enough, Walt also famously played lead trumpet for Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Chase! A dream career!!
Not only is Walt a fabulous player, he has also written a serious book on the subject, called Double High C in 10 Minutes. Walt is also known for making some of the most durable and sought-after instrument travel cases the industry has ever seen.
Walt has worked with only a handful of mouthpiece makers during his career, including Greg Black. Known today as a master mouthpiece maker, Greg Black learned his craft with the legendary Giardinelli company before heading out on his own. In the early 1990s, Greg’s short-lived but much storied company Black ^ Hill Custom Brass Mouthpieces duplicated Walt’s original handmade Calicchio mouthpiece, which was later scanned by Jim New of Kanstul Musical Instruments. This mouthpiece was selected to be included in the Calicchio Artist Series!
Specs:
0.638" inner rim diameter, falls between 7C and 5C
Cup depth is between Bach E and F
# 28 throat
Commercial backbore
Stamped JOHNSON
Authentic Calicchio blank and stamped name
This fabulous mouthpiece offers an open blow, easy access to the upper register, and a clear, defined sound top to bottom.
Domenick Calicchio may best be remembered as a master craftsman and instrument maker, but did you know that he also made fine custom mouthpieces? Dominick used traditional tooling and methods, and did not keep many notes or drawings of these unique pieces, but he crafted fabulous custom mouthpieces - by hand- for the best players of the day.
A few years ago, Calicchio’s owner master craftsman John Duda sought to recreate some of these famous one-of-a-kind mouthpieces as the Calicchio Artist Series, and collect others to be included in the collection. Trusted agents helped track down the owners and asked if they would consider allowing replicas of these hand made custom mouthpieces to be made.
It was decided that the task of recreating these 'Holy Grail' mouthpieces should only be entrusted to the experts at Kanstul Musical Instruments, the pioneer and industry leader in single point mouthpiece scanning and accurate duplication at the time. Zig Kanstul welcomed this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to honor this part of Domenick Calicchio’s legacy and he appointed his master craftsman (who at one time had worked for Domenick himself) to do the work.
These rare mouthpieces were collected and scanned over a period of weeks, and the originals quickly and safely returned to their owners. But John's health began to decline and for a time the entire industry was facing the challenges of a major recession. Later, Zig Kanstul passed, and the factory he founded shuttered. John Duda himself passed away recently, and it seemed the Calicchio Artist Series mouthpieces might never see the light of day after all...until now!
With your purchase, you will have bragging rights that you are directly supporting the effort to not only save Calicchio Musical Instruments, but also to highlight the contributions Domenick Calicchio and John Duda made to the industry.
Kanstul Musical Instruments was a pioneer in single-point scanning and mouthpiece duplication. Before the factory was shuttered, players from around the world trusted Kanstul for their accuracy in duplicating the most valuable and unique mouthpieces, as well as extremely consistent production mouthpieces. It can be argued that Zig Kanstul’s master craftsman helped educate the current generation of mouthpiece makers, and he continues to serve as a resource and consultant to the industry to this day.
