Klarinet Archive - Posting 000001.txt from 1996/06

From: juliek@-----.ORG
Subj: Jazz Clarinetisits?
Date: Sat, 1 Jun 1996 02:54:29 -0400

To: INTERNET: Jay630@-----.COM

I played clarinet in the high school jazz band for 4 years.
All I played were the trumpet parts or tenor parts. For a year I
played some saxophone and it isn't too difficult to learn to
play sax. My teacher had me play a feature on St. Louis Blues
this last spring. He rewrote the trumpet arrangement and had me
play it on clarinet an octave higher than originally played. It
was a lot of fun. We have played "The Mooch" with 3 clarinets
and that was really exciting.
There are plenty of clarinet features, look at some of Benny
Goodman's tunes. In the high school I attended it was very
difficult to get the "standard" jazz band setup. This past year
we had 3 trumpets which was the most in the last 8 years. The
sax section is never a problem, trombones are. This year we had
a soprano sax, flute, 2 clarinets, saxes, 2 trombones, a french
horn, 3 trumpets, and rhythm section with 2 pianists, 4 guitars,
and 2 basses. It worked out well.
Ask your band teacher if he would give you a chance to play
in the jazz band. Tell him you'll play some trumpet parts or
tenor parts. Even the Alto parts aren't that difficult to
transpose. Just take them down a perfect 5th. I did that a lot
this year. Wasn't too difficult once you get the hang of it. Or
learn one of the saxophones, tenor preferably because it is the
same key but alto is fine too. I played Bari for a year and had
a lot of fun, of course coming back to clarinet was always difficult.
Remind him of bands like the Miles Davis Nonet. Artie Shaw,
Benny Goodman, Pete Fountain.
I hope I have helped you a little bit. Good luck.
Julianne Kirk

IJ>Anyone on this mailing list ever play clarinet in your high school
IJ>jazz band?
IJ>My band teacher is convinced a clarinet has no place in a Jazz Band.
IJ>

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* UniQWK #2178*