Klarinet Archive - Posting 000529.txt from 1995/06

From: John Baetens <JSBtens@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: mouthpieces
Date: Fri, 23 Jun 1995 00:28:07 -0400

Susan E. Pontow wrote:

>But I thought I had read on the back of one of his albums
>that Eddie Daniels actually started on sax and had picked up
>clarinet as a secondary instrument.

It is true that Eddie's first instrument was an alto sax that he
got from his father at age nine. But he switched to clarinet as
a pre-teen, studied clarinet at the High School for the Performing
Arts in New York, and earned an MA in clarinet at Julliard. He
did play sax from time to time during this period, but I think it
is clear that he developed as a musician on clarinet. As a
young jazz musician, he often was 'coerced' to play the
sax rather than clarinet because clarinet wasn't considered
a 'cool' instrument. When he played with Thad Jones, Thad
told him he did not want him to play clarinet.
But Eddie perservered in the end. Rather than letting his
preference for clarinet hold him back in the world of Jazz,
his talent broke through many barriers and his playing
seems to be reviving the clarinet as a jazz instrument.

John Baetens