Klarinet Archive - Posting 000258.txt from 2010/05

From: "Mike Vaccaro" <mike@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Who Played Clarinet in the Godfather?
Date: Mon, 31 May 2010 19:18:50 -0400

I knew Herb too. He actually wanted me to take over his mouthpiece business
at one point. I liked to visit him in Belen as I had relatives in Santa Fe.
He was a great host as Dan suggested and a great story teller. He finished
the mouthpieces in his living room. His dear wife must have love that.

Mike Vaccaro
www.MikeVaccaro.Com

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Marcia Bundi" <msbundi357@-----.net>
Sent: Monday, May 31, 2010 3:47 PM
To: "The Klarinet Mailing List" <klarinet@-----.com>
Subject: Re: [kl] Who Played Clarinet in the Godfather?

> A.k.a., a clarinet nest. (Thanks, Lori!)
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dan Leeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
> To: "The Klarinet Mailing List" <klarinet@-----.com>
> Sent: Monday, May 31, 2010 4:09 PM
> Subject: Re: [kl] Who Played Clarinet in the Godfather?
>
>
>> Herb Blayman, who played the clarinet music in "The Godfather" was a
>> dear,
>> dear friend of mine. I would often drive to his home in Tenafly, New
> Jersey
>> to meet him and would drive with him to the Met. He had parking
> privileges
>> in the Lincoln Center parking garage.
>>
>> He began his career at the Met with the 1950 season and I think his last
>> season was the 1975 or 76 season. Before he went to the met he played
> tenor
>> with a NY dance band and was an excellent jazz improviser. And before
> that
>> he held the principal chair with the Utah Symphony when Abravenel was
> still
>> conducting.
>>
>> After his retirement, he moved to Belen, New Mexico and improved his
>> mouthpiece and stand business. My wife and I visited him and his wife
>> on
> a
>> half dozen occasions when we would drive across the U.S. He was a very
>> generous host, and an excellent raconteur.
>>
>> His wife died first and then he began to fail. His daughter took him to
> the
>> east to live in a senior residence near her and I lost track of how he
>> was
>> coming along. He had had several urological operations, and then his
> heart
>> began to fail. After his death, his daughter called and invited me to
>> the
>> memorial services which were held in New York. But I was unable to go.
>>
>> I miss him. He was a wonderful person, a very good orchestral player (he
>> did very little solo work), a super host, and a very good maker of
>> stands.
>> At one point I played Mahler 4 using two of his bass clarinet stands (one
>> for the A bass and one for the B-flat bass) on which I added enough pegs
> for
>> the C, B-flat, A, and E-flat clarinets. I was told that I looked like a
>> clarinet factory.
>>
>> Dan Leeson
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Claudia Zornow" <claudia@-----.net>
>> To: <Klarinet@-----.com>
>> Sent: Monday, May 31, 2010 11:34 AM
>> Subject: [kl] Who Played Clarinet in the Godfather?
>>
>>
>> > Douglas Ramsdell writes:
>> >
>> >> The guy playing the clarinet onscreen in the Godfather was most
>> >> likely an EXTRA, with no relation whatsoever to the person playing
>> >> clarinet on the soundtrack. Extras casting agencies often stipulate
>> >> playing ability (and ability to furnish one's own instruments) when
>> >> casting onscreen bands/orchestras, and there are plenty of SAG-card-
>> >> carrying musicians who do that kind of work.
>> >
>> > Very interesting -- I never knew that. Thanks for the information!
>> >
>> > Claudia
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>>
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