 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2011-08-11 14:45
In the first video at around 1:50, James Langdon says that Artie usually played alto in the band, but when he had a stand-up solo he switched to clarinet. I thought Artie played only (or mostly) clarinet, but obviously I was wrong. At 2:26, when he sits down after his clarinet solo, he quickly puts down his clarinet and picks up his alto. I wonder how many issued tracks feature Artie on alto?
It's petty definitely Al Gallodoro on alto at the left of the shot at 2:47, and the alto player next to him has Artie's receding hairline (visible at the start of the second video). Also, his hair was so thin that the part-line was bare all the way back, as at 7:43 on the second video.
The opening of the second video is probably the only time Artie soloed on Tonette.
There look to be at least a dozen segments of Artie's bio on YouTube, which I'll absolutely be listening to over the next day or two. Many thanks, Arnold, for the reference to them.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2011-08-12 00:59
Any thoughts on the Stardust solo on the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tXzsv2-YD8 It starts around 57 seconds. If you compare the written solo to what Artie is playing there are some minor differences in notes and rhythms. As such this isn't a transcription of the famous solo. What is the origin of the solo? Did Artie write it? Did the arranger write it? I assume that Artie didn't duplicate the solo from the famous recording as it wouldn't be art or Artie.
I believe the arranger was Lennie Hayton as per the Univ. of Arizona Artie Shaw collection Sept 2, 1940
Freelance woodwind performer
Post Edited (2011-08-12 02:28)
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2011-08-12 15:16
That's a Tonette?! Great ID Ken!
I'm amazed by that solo---Shaw's sound concept, embouchure, flexibility are all present there at a very early stage in his career (at least his career as most of us experience it through the famous recordings).
A relatively new bio on Artie---Artie Shaw, King of the Clarinet by Tom Nolan--goes into pretty good detail of the role alto played in Artie's career. the book implies that one of the great rivalries of the early '30s was Benny vs Artie as lead alto men in NY studio sessions and free lance dance gigs.
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2011-08-12 15:28
For what it's worth, here are my thoughts on the Stardust solo:
My guess is that the images you see on the screen represent a transcription of Artie's improvised solo. As you say, there are minor differences in notes and rhythms--that's par for the course for a transcription (even in most published trascription books there are a whole bunch of debatable choices, shall we say). And so far as I know, Artie always insisted it was fully improvised (and there's no reason to doubt him on that count--the man was a genius).
I've recently been revisiting the "Last Recordings" of Artie Shaw--the four cds that comprise the final sessions he recorded with his Vegas Gramercy Five. There are great recordings of Begin the Beguine and Stardust on them as well--very interesting to compare to his big band arrangements of the same tunes.
Arnoldstang, THANK YOU for posting these links. They're fantasic.
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2011-08-13 16:32
Well upon further research.....Artie may not have duplicated the solo but Dick Johnson certainly did. There is a youtube version of Dick Johnson playing Stardust with Artie leading the band.
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: orbystander
Date: 2011-08-19 06:38
Another you-tube version
Same solo and more without the talking in the background.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUCe-b1IQeU
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2011-08-28 19:55
Well I emailed a professor at the University where the Artie Shaw library is housed. He said the "Stardust" solo was one of the very few written out solos by Artie Shaw. He changed things very slightly during the performance.
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2011-08-28 22:33
No, that's the end of the info from me. I am rather surprised I caught the disparity between Artie playing the solo with the written part in the video background. If it was a transcription then the transcriber was imagining notes that Artie never played. That meant Artie was actually reading the notes and leaving a few out at his discretion. It is still a beautiful, flowing solo that sounds improvised. (I thought it was up until now)
Freelance woodwind performer
Post Edited (2011-08-28 22:36)
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2011-08-28 23:42
Just looked up some details in Tom Nolan's book. It says that the Star Dust arrangement was written by Lennie Hayton, based on Artie's sketch. I wonder if that sketch included ideas for the solo...this is very interesting. That solo has been called the "greatest clarinet solo of all time" by no less than Buddy DeFranco, Shaw considered it his zenith as a player, and it's been rightly considered a precursor to bebop style...so it's a riddle that has plenty of historical interest.
Bravo for checking the notes on the screen--I didn't bother looking at them.
Still, I'm not convinced the solo was written before the 1940 recording. I've seen many transcriptions with added notes, altered rhythms and missing notes (at least one commercially marketed Benny Goodman transcription book has some pretty wacky ideas when compared to the recordings--including added notes). The question is whether the chart the librarian mentioned is in fact the original chart from 1940. If not--if it's a chart written up for the Dick Johnson version of the Artie Shaw band in the 1980s--it would have included the transcribed solo.
The solo itself, though legendary and remarkable, is not technically beyond what you can find in Shaw's other improvised solos. The "Concerto" for instance exists in at least two different versions (one on record, another from the movie "Second Chorus") with excellent, intricate solos, noticably different from each other. I tend to think that Artie was simply remarkable at organizing his musical information.
Having said all this, Artie WAS defensive about improvisation...in the 1940s there were suspicions that he wrote out some of his material beforehand. If there really IS proof that the famous Star Dust solo was pre-written, it's certainly a very interesting development.
If you find out anything else, please let us know! In my opinion, this is every bit as important as learning about von Weber or Mozart manuscripts.
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2011-09-01 16:23
I too contacted the prof in charge of the Artie Shaw collection, and he was kind enough deal with my persistent questions and look into the original chart written by Lennie Hayton.
According to the prof, the famous solo from Star Dust, recorded in 1940, is in the chart in Lennie's hand.
Eric
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The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
Post Edited (2012-08-28 22:40)
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