Klarinet Archive - Posting 000360.txt from 1996/12

From: "Joie Canada , Jcanada713@-----.com>
Subj: Re: Goodman and classical music
Date: Thu, 12 Dec 1996 14:02:37 -0500

I have a recording of Goodman playing the Mozart and it is beautiful and
interesting but not the one I would choose as my exemplar for that piece. On
the other hand, I don't think many "classical" clarinettists would shine on
Lady Be Good. There is no reason jazz players can't play classical music and
vice versa, but most players seem to be more drawn to one kind of music or
another and do more work on their expression and technic in that style,
neglecting other styles and their work in these other styles is not as strong
as their work in their favored style.

IMHO, this may be at least part of the answer to this question. There are
only so many hours in a day, and if you spend most of them doing one thing,
you won't get in much practice on the other things in life! Goodman was one
of the finest clarinettists of the twentieth century--and he gave us more
spirit and inspiration in both swing and classical than any other
instrumentalist of his era. He played classical music very well, but not in
a way that strictly classical players necessarily appreciated, and not as
well as someone who specialized in classical music exclusively.

Joie