 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Martin
Date: 2003-01-14 00:59
The list of underappreciated jazzers contained many wonderful clarinetists. Certainly,like or dislike of any musician's playing is in the ear of the beholder. All those mentioned were or are great
players. Of all those mentioned only Benny Goodman's character and private life are scrutinized. I know for a fact that of the many musicians mentioned the list includes alcoholics, drug addicts and abusers of women. Certainly these traits colored their interpersonal relationships.
Why can't Goodman be judged on his musical ability alone? There are several on the lists I enjoy more than him but I would be hard pressed to find another individual who did more to popularize the clarinet with the general public than Benny Goodman.
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Author: saxlite
Date: 2003-01-14 01:06
I second that emotion!! Besides his quintessential musical ability, Benny was instrumental (no pun intended, of course!) in breaking the color barrier for music.... he was a good businessman and demanded the best from his organization. To rate his accomplishments behind the lot of drunks and dopers because he was "unfriendly" is preposterous in my humble opinion.
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Author: Clarence
Date: 2003-01-14 01:15
Hey, I've been listening to Benny Goodman songs for months trying to play along with him. There has got to be an easier way to learn jazz clarinet. Can anyone recomend sources for sheet music ?
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Author: Benni
Date: 2003-01-14 01:28
Martin and saxlite - I, umm, third(?) that! When I started listening to Goodman, I had no idea about his personal life. I basically knew that his name was Benny, he played clarinet, and I liked his playing immensely. I think you two have expressed the situation quite well already.
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Author: Benni
Date: 2003-01-14 01:34
Clarence - you could always support this site and buy from sheetmusicplus.com through the little box up there! :-)
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Author: Jean
Date: 2003-01-14 03:31
There are several books of music of Goodman's solos. There is one in particular that has cartoons of Benny's life which is especially poignant. As Benni says check out sheetmusicplus.
As far as Goodman is concerned, those of us ( and I may only be speaking for myself here) who have backgrounds in music history happen to find all this personal stuff very interesting. Check into the lives of any of the following "classical" composers and you will uncover all sorts of fascinating and sometimes not so flattering things.
Here are a few interesting personalities:
Richard Wagner...anti-Semitic, womanizer
Rishard Strauss...he was so arrogant he once said he could descirbe a fork with his music...did what he needed to do to get by when the Nazis came to power in Germany. He was one of the few composers who stayed in Germany during the War.
Tchaikovsky was a closet homosexual who may have been murdered because he came on to the male family member of a nobleman. I am not making this up, I heard it at a pre-concert lecture at the Minnesota Orchestra.
Schubert supposedly had a thing for young boys...learned that in Music History class.
Schumann...wasn't he bi-polar?
I will stop there...I am thrilled there are so many people on this bulletin board who know as much as they do about so many areas of music. I myself often find the personal "stuff" as interesting as the music they are associated with. Do tormented composers produce better music? Now there is another thread altogether.
Jean
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Author: David Peacham
Date: 2003-01-14 12:37
Jean asks: "Do tormented composers produce better music?"
I've never found any convincing argument at all that people who create expressive works of art do so in reflection of their private feelings.
Consider the case of J S Bach: I know of no evidence that he was tormented by very much at all, except maybe having 21 children to bring up.
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Author: Bob Arney
Date: 2003-01-14 15:35
David, I'm no composer, but 21 kids! That would have driven me flat out bonkers.
Bob A
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-01-14 16:12
"...except maybe having 21 children to bring up..."
Actually it was 20 children, ten of which died within the first few years of their life (including twins who only lived a few days).
More music history trivia: (yes Jean, I have a Music History degree too), Since Bach's first wife Maria Barbara was his second cousin (on his father's side), Bach's first seven children could each technically be thought of as his second cousins once removed.
Tormented? maybe Productive and fruitful? absolutely ...GBK
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Author: Bob
Date: 2003-01-14 16:49
There has probably been more written about Benny than all the others and that's why we think we know more about him. There is a good video docu. on him.
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Author: Vic
Date: 2003-01-14 19:02
Bob - are you talking about "Adventures in the Kingdom of Swing?" That's a good one - I have the DVD and watch it frequently. I got a kick out of his daughter talking about the "great reed quest" he would occasionally venture upon.
...Vic
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Author: Benni
Date: 2003-01-14 19:54
I also have that video! There's a lot of good interviews w/ former band members and w/ Goodman himself, plus some performace clips. The best source for lots of Goodman performances on video, however, is the Gene Krupa videos put out by Bruce Klauber. About 75% of it is Benny Goodman Orch and/or small group stuff! (And the other clips will be appreciated by Krupa fans such as myself. :-D)
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