Klarinet Archive - Posting 000219.txt from 1996/06
From: Warren Pugh <wcpugh@-----.COM> Subj: Re: Jazz Clarinetisits? Date: Fri, 14 Jun 1996 21:11:12 -0400
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
> ***************************************************
**************
Ed Lacy
You are absolutely correct.
Would the school orchestra director allow a saxophone
to play in the orchestra, say doubling the clarinet
part??
As a woodwind doubler, and jazz big band player for
over 25 years, I am tired of people who think the jazz
big band format is a less than serious form of musical
expression. If a clarinetist is serious about playing
in the jazz big band, they should begin doubling on
saxophone as soon as possible.
Warren Pugh - The Jazz Police - Alto sax, doubling
clarinet, flute, oboe, english horn, piccolo and alto
flute.
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