[bari_sax_diva]

I play my R13 and Jim Cantor mouthpiece in both settings--the only change I make to my setup for jazz playing is to the barrel, which I'll swap out with a slightly shorter (65mm) Chadash. It lets me project over some pretty loud big bands, so I'd say go with whatever you're comfortable with and then just practice your butt off.

 

[bari_sax_diva]

Just to follow up on this thread, the Lakey 5*1 arrived four days after my order with WWBW(!) but the 1.5 and 2 Fibracell Premier reeds took nearly 10 days (from fibracelldirect.com). I use fibracell exclusively with sax but have not liked them with clarinet -- until now. I'm getting an nice big sound, easy to tone down for softer passages, in the chalumeau and clarion registers. But the altissimo is very weak and extremely flat overall. I'm thinking that I need to progress to a stiffer reed to overcome this. Any thoughts about that?

Stiffer reeds should help, but don't jump there all at once, or you're liable to end up with a nasty biting habit. Just be patient, practice your long tones, and step up when you can.
Oh, and when you go up in the range, think about tightening the corners of your mouth to help you hit the high notes in tune. Remember, though, not to let your air support slip.