Klarinet Archive - Posting 000216.txt from 1996/06

From: Everett Austin <austine@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Jazz Clarinetisits?
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 1996 18:06:16 -0400

Amen to Ed Lacy's comments below. His comments about the saxophone are
to the point as well. The saxophone is a very worthwhile "double" but
also needs to be approached as a saxophone. Despite the deceptive ease
of the instrument suggested by its relatively simple fingering scheme,
tone production and airflow is different to produce good tone and
intonation and the altissimo range requires persistent study to play
musically, albeit the standards of pitch and timbre are rather looser in
the jazz than classical idiom (where high-spirited honking does not pass
muster!)
I would suggest that some help from a "legitimate" saxophone teacher to
get the fundamentals of tone production right would go a long way for the
clarinetist who wants to add the saxophone as a double. This is probably
the most elusive part of saxophone playing for most. Finger technique on
clarinet however has excellent carry-over to saxophone, since the open
holes of the clarinet demand so much more precise control of the fingers
and since there are many similarities in fingerings between the two
instruments.

Everett Austin Fairfax, California

On Fri, 7 Jun 1996, Edwin V. Lacy wrote:

> On Sat, 1 Jun 1996, Gene Keyes wrote:
>
> > I think there is an another important here, beside the obvious ignorance of
> > your band director.
>
> OK, I can remain silent no longer. I am a woodwind doubler, and a jazz
> band director. I have seen many messages in this thread similar to this
> one, which have described the offending director as ignorant, unfeeling,
> uncaring, and perhaps many worse adjectives.
>
> Let's suppose for a moment that the student who posted the question
> played the banjo, or bagpipes, or the sitar. Imagine that she goes to
> her school's orchestra director and announces that she wants to play in
> the orchestra. No doubt, the reply would be that there are no parts for
> her instrument in the orchestra. Would that make the orchestra director
> such a lowlife as the ill-fated jazz band director of this discussion? I
> rather doubt it.
>
> There have been many replies pointing out that Benny Goodman, Woody
> Herman, Artie Shaw, etc., played in jazz bands. This is technically NOT
> true. They LED jazz bands, and for the most part, they stood in front of
> the band and played solos on the clarinet. They were not integral parts
> of their own bands. Jimmy Hamilton, clarinet soloist of Duke Ellington's
> band _was_ a member of the band - on tenor sax! Wilbur Schwartz, lead
> clarinet with the Glenn Miller band, did play the lead woodwind parts on
> the clarinet, but the Miller band had private arrangers who wrote those
> parts expecially for him. He also played saxophone.
>
> Also, the fact that the clarinet is used in Dixieland jazz is irrelevant
> here - unless the school has a Dixieland band rather than a standard "big
> band" jazz ensemble.
>
> It's not the director's fault that jazz has evolved to the point that
> there is now a widely accepted instrumentation for jazz bands. (5 saxes
> - 2 altos, 2 tenors, baritone; 4 trumpets; 4 trombones; and a rhythm
> section consisting of piano, guitar, bass and drums) There are
> exceptions to this, but probably 95% of published arrangements are for
> this instrumentation. Jazz composers write their music with the
> expectation that it will be played by this instrumentation, and by only
> one player per part. And, this is how it sounds best. Of course, one
> can transpose some of these parts for other instruments, but the sound
> will be something other than what the composer/arranger intended, and
> probably something other than the sound that both the composer and the
> jazz band director have in mind as a concept of jazz sound. It was
> probably necessary for jazz to progress to this point in order for it to
> continue to mature as an art form. After all, no one seems to consider
> it such a crime that the orchestra and the concert band also have a
> generally accepted prescribed instrumentation.
>
> Also, don't forget that there are 17 other people to take into
> consideration here - the 17 members of the band. The director has a
> certain obligation to them, as well. He is probably trying to teach them
> something about jazz, too, so that they will have the necessary tools and
> skills to be able to play in other jazz bands later in life. Please
> consider how they are affected if parts designed for certain instruments
> are played on other ones. All considerations of blend, balance,
> intonation, and tone quality are now changed.
>
> The solution for the student who originally posted the question is to
> stop setting up a situation of conflict with the director over something
> which is not within his control, and learn to play one of the instruments
> which are customarily used in jazz. It would be a relatively simple
> matter for her to acquire the necessary skills to play the saxophone in a
> jazz setting. It is _not_ true, as some have suggested, that learing the
> saxophone is "easy" - that is, if the intention is to learn to play it well.
>
> Certainly, jazz improvisations can be done on any instrument, and
> probably have been done on most of them. This is a different question
> from the one of the instrumentation of the group.
>
> Theoretically, woodwind players in jazz bands should be able to play
> saxophone, clarinet and flute. When "doubles" are called for, it has
> become customary to assign them as follows:
>
> Sax I: (alto) - flute, piccolo and clarinet
> Sax II: (alto) - flute and clarinet
> Sax III: (tenor) - flute and clarinet
> Sax IV: (tenor) - clarinet, occasionally flute
> Sax V: (baritone) - bass clarinet and alto flute
>
> Obviously, there will be many exceptions to the above. Also, in
> arrangements designed for young players and bands, doubles are usually
> not included at all. There are a very few parts for oboe, English horn,
> or bassoon, but for the most part, these have been designed for specific
> players.
>
> In summary, I would like to suggest that before we are so quick with the
> "knee-jerk" reaction of castigating the jazz band director that we
> consider the situation in more detail, and in light of existing customs
> and practices in jazz.
>
> Ed Lacy
> *****************************************************************
> Dr. Edwin Lacy University of Evansville
> Professor of Music 1800 Lincoln Avenue
> Evansville, IN 47722
> el2@-----.edu (812)479-2754
> *****************************************************************
>

   
     Copyright © Woodwind.Org, Inc. All Rights Reserved    Privacy Policy    Contact charette@woodwind.org