Klarinet Archive - Posting 000060.txt from 2003/11

From: AnneLenoir@-----.net (Anne Lenoir)
Subj: Re: [kl] Sax, jazz/blues....tone?
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2003 01:15:39 -0500

Dear Rupert,
Periodically, people write letters to the list asking for advice
about "How to Select a suitable Jazz Mouthpiece". Several times I have
written back, that to some of us, there is no such thing as a "Jazz"
mouthpiece. I love to bend notes and play with some vibrato, sometimes.
However, I was trained classically and did not get into jazz until I
graduated from Oberlin over 30 years ago. I am happy with the sound I
got then, and I still enjoy the same sort of sound, only with a vibrato
and the ability to bend notes. The reason I said that I didn't want to
bore the list with this is because I have already said it several times.
People still keep writing in wanting to play on some mouthpiece that
they percieve as being a "jazz" mouthiece. I have always said, play on
the mouthpiece that produces the type of tone that you like. If you can
bend notes the way you like, it doesn't matter what kind of mouthpiece
you play on.
I used to like the Vandoren 5 RV Lyre mouthpiece. Now I like the
Clark Fobes San Francisco and the Vandoren M-30. Playing jazz has a more
to do with playing the melody line as though you were a singer than it
does with selecting a "jazz" mouthpiece. Maybe even playing that melody
several different ways and styles. I would not encourage anybody to be
in a big hurry to improvize on the melody line until you can "sing" it
through your clarinet like an intimate conversation with the band &
audience, or even a solo if you don't have anybody to play with. As you
play improvizations on the melody, they can be a variety of expressions
to embellish or showcase the melody. Some melodies, like Billy
Strayhorn's "The Lush Life" are so breathtaking, that they don't need to
be turned into a spectacle of too much improv. I wish I had a Real Vocal
Book. I haven't gotten around to getting one. That's all I have to say
for right now. ANNIE

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