Klarinet Archive - Posting 000547.txt from 1995/04

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Jimmy Guiffre
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 1995 17:07:10 -0400

On Fri, 28 Apr 1995, Lee Callet wrote:
>
> When was Jimmy Guiffre principal clarinet with the Dallas Symphony???
>
Your question sent me on a frantic search for a reference. I think I
remember originally seeing it in the liner notes of one of the albums he
put out in the 1950's, but I can't remember which one now. I have heard
this mentioned several times over the years in discussions of Giuffre,
but perhaps it is part of the legend about him, and may not have much
basis in fact. The "New Grove Encyclopedia of Jazz" mentions that he was
born in Dallas and that in 1942 he received a music degree from North
Texas State University in Denton, about 40 miles or so from Dallas, but
doesn't say anything about any symphonic experience. Perhaps his
playing in the Dallas Symphony was a situation where he was "gigging" as
a college student. (In the 1940's the Dallas orchestra would not have
been as highly developed as it is today.)

However, some jazz history textbooks say that Giuffre sometimes claimed
that the fact that so much of his playing was in the lower register was
due to some technical deficiencies in his playing. If this is true, that
would seem to make it less likely that he had a great deal of orchestral
experience.

Can anyone else help with a reference on this? I'll keep looking.

Edwin Lacy
el2@-----.edu