 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: mmatisoff
Date: 2016-08-11 04:02
Can you provide some insight into choosing a new barrel?
I own two Backun barrels, two different size Opus barrels, and a Yamaha barrel. I used the two Backun barrel when I was playing my YCL-20; however, they are too long for my Opus (which already plays too flat). I am waiting on my new (old?) Evette & Schaeffer clarinet to arrive soon. I can't wait to see what nuances it has compared to the Opus.
What I love most about the Opus is its darkness . It's a perfect match for me. I also play on Rue Lepic 56 3.5+ reeds, which deepens the tone further. I read somewhere that once upon a time, Leblanc reigned among the best clarinets in the world. I can see why. Pete Fountain, Buddy Defranco, and Woody Herman, among others played Leblanc. Here's Buddy Defranco playing Autumn Leaves: Buddy Defranco plalying Autumn Leaves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYU8H4A7YDM.
Post Edited (2016-08-11 16:01)
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Author: mmatisoff
Date: 2016-08-11 16:04
According to some ads, Buddy, Pete Fountain, and Woody Herman played Leblanc clarinets (errata, I don't believe they were Opus though). Check out these ads ... https://get.google.com/albumarchive/107428877880923736746/album/AF1QipO2-OXfkOg5UW89fD3ie1P3QKjIadoDblPXLu6i
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2016-08-11 19:02
Buddy DeFranco had a very long playing career of over 60 years. I don't know what he was playing in his recording with Art Tatum, but on his recordings from the 1950s and 60s with Oscar Petterson and Sonny Clarke, he was using first a LeBlanc Symphonie and later a Leblanc LL. Many of his CDs, however, including the one with John Pizzarelli, were done on a custom Yamaha. See http://arborsrecords.com/pdf/deftray.pdf. For the last few decades of his career he was playing Yamahas.
Pete Fountain's early work was on an O'Brien clarinet and I believe he also had a Selmer. Shortly after beginning his gig with Welk, he donned a toupee, ditched the heavy, dark-rimmed eye glasses, and switched to a LeBlanc LL. Soon after leaving Welk and returning to New Orleans he was playing a LeBlanc Dynamic H, which LeBlanc reintroduced as the Big Easy clarinet with gold keys. He played the Big Easy Pete Fountain model until his retirement a couple of years ago.
Coincident with Fountain's switch to LeBlanc clarinets was a substantial change in his playing style. Listen to his pre-Leblanc style here from an early appearance with Welk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cPrFwMz8yE. His earlier work was drenched in New Orleans blues and the trad work of New Orleans clarinetists like Irving Fazola and his sound was sweet, liquid, and mellow. There are still some fans (myself included) who prefer it to his later, gutsier, and more hard driving style.
Post Edited (2016-08-11 19:34)
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