Klarinet Archive - Posting 000159.txt from 2008/10

From: "Harold Smith" <s3856lpa@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Moving away from Shep Fields to something really awful
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2008 07:04:46 -0400

Hi, Bill Hausmann.

I think you're being a tad unfair to Mr. Acker Bilk. Granted that his sound is an acquired taste, in the same way that one can view Pee Wee Russell's tonal approach, but these guys were valid jazz musicians.
Lewis, of course, was not, and holds the title for Champion Cornball Clarinetist.

For a truly awful, sloppy, toneless approach, I nominate Mezz Mezzrow.

Regards.
Harold

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Hausmann
Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2008 11:06 PM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] Moving away from Shep Fields to something really awful

At 09:07 PM 10/28/2008, you wrote:
>Now it is time to move on to something particularly bad. It was a
>band from the 30s and early 40s managed by a clarinet player named
>"Ted Lewis." He came out with a top hat and tipping it to the
>audience, he would say, "Is Everybody Happy???" I always thought
>that the Dixieland clarinetist Frank Teschmacher had the ugliest
>sound of anyone I ever heard until I heard Ted Lewis. Shep Fields
>was like the NY Philharmonic next to Ted Lewis' band.

Ted Lewis was an "entertainer" more than a musician, and he knew
it. In fact, he had Benny Goodman in his band for a while in
1931-32, and Benny blew the jazz solos, not Ted, on the recordings of
that time. Ted was willing to take CREDIT for them, though. Lewis'
wobble was unmatched until Mr. Acker Bilk in the '60's.

Bill Hausmann

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is TOO LOUD!

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