Klarinet Archive - Posting 000147.txt from 1996/03

From: niethamer@-----.BITNET
Subj: Re: Jimmy Hamilton (was Intro)
Date: Tue, 5 Mar 1996 22:22:13 -0500

You wrote:

> My fave jazz clarinettist is Jimmy Hamilton, followed closely by Barney
> Bigard. It's too bad there isn't more discussion about these players on
> this list.

Not that I know much about jazz, but I'll throw in my two cents. I grew
up in the '60s, when JH was probably well past his prime as a player, but
I heard him in the Ellington band, by then mostly on Tenor Sax.

I keep up with popular culture through my students, and a few years ago
one of my students brought me the first "Clarinet Summit" album (an LP on
India Navigation - not sure if it's still available in any format). He
was interested in David Murray and John Carter and their avant garde
improvisations. I was blown away by JH and Alvin Batiste doing
"Honeysuckle Rose" - seven minutes of improvisation with an incredibly
solid beat, all with no drums, bass, or keyboard. It's still one of my
all time favorite jazz tracks. JH was lured out of retirement for this
concert and recording, so from a purely technical point of view, one
might find fault with JH's clarinet technique. But what glorious musical
expression!

Not long thereafter, one of my orchestral colleagues loaned me a CD
re-issue of some Ellington Suites - among them the Ellington take on
"Peer Gynt" and the "Nutcracker" (which we were doing ad nauseum that
month). These recordings, made in the 50's (I think) show JH to be a
really first rate clarinetist, with a beautiful well controlled sound, a
clean technique, and expressive range to interpret "classical" repertoire
like it was his main gig. What a player!

I'm glad to see all these CD re-issues coming out, so that we can hear
the great (if unsung) players of the past and learn more of our
instrumental heritage. Just for instance, I was in Tower yesterday, and
saw three or four Johnny Dodds CDs. Just a few years ago, most people
would have said "who??"

David Niethamer