Klarinet Archive - Posting 000607.txt from 1998/04

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: Goodman and the Clarinet in Jazz (was The Infinite vs.
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 1998 05:53:09 -0400

At 11:15 PM 4/12/98, Lee Hickling wrote:
>Well .... Goodman was undeniably great, but there were and are so many
>great jazz (and legit) clarinetists that I would never venture to call
>anyone the greatest. Edmond Hall, Buster Bailey, Peanuts Hucko (I defy you
>to tell him from Goodman with your eyes closed)...

Actually, it is easy to tell. Although their styles are quite similar,
Hucko never had Benny's near-flawless technique. Did you know that Peanuts
was fired from his spot playing tenor sax with Will Bradley's band because
he couldn't play clarinet well enough? He got better, of course.

...And I
>always liked Shaw better than Goodman. That great tone, his fine feeling
>for the beat, and the architecture of his solos ....

I am inclined to agree, especially as regards tone, but Benny gets the
longevity award.

>Here's a question that bothers me -- why is the clarinet so rare in modern
>jazz? The trumpet and saxes survived into today's jazz idion, or idioms,
>but the clarinet was for a couple of decades almost the defining sound of
>exciting swing music, and now it seems to me it's been all but abandoned.
>
I don't think the clarinet carries well enough over the din of amplified
guitars, basses, drums, etc. It lost it's place back in the bop era.
Outside of Buddy DeFranco, nobody played that style on clarinet.

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html
ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.