Klarinet Archive - Posting 000651.txt from 1996/12

From: William Strother <billrut@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Don Byron's BUG MUSIC
Date: Fri, 27 Dec 1996 14:57:31 -0500

On Fri, 27 Dec 1996, John Verity wrote:

> I'd like to recommend Don Byron's new record, called Bug Music (after
> a Flintstones episode that laughed at the Beatles fad), which
> features early music by Ellington and two lesser-known "30s-'40s
> bands, those of John Kirby and Raymond Scott--and one piece by Billy
> Strayhorn, called SNIBOR. Scott wrote many novelty pieces that got
> used in cartoons, but Byron points out that he and Kirby were actually
> quite sophisticated composers who built on Ellington's early
> ideas--and whom contemporary critics misunderstood.
> Particularly hot is this
> band's performance of Ellington's The Dicty Glide, from 1929. (Anyone
> know where that title came from, or where E.'s original can be heard?)
>
> As usual, Byron plays his (Buffet) clarinet magnificently. I
> really wish I'd made the effort to see him and his band do this music
> recently at the Bklyn Academy of Music.
>
> John Verity/NYC
>
The Dicty Glide is a lovely piece. The original recording is on one of
those RCA/Bluebird CDs, and I'm sure it's not hard to find. Beautiful
solo by Arthur Whetsel, whose playing was always such a pleasure. If you
have trouble finding it, bug me about it and I'll supply the Catalog #.
It happens to be upstairs, and I'm downstairs. Lazy.

Bill S