 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: clarinetmama
Date: 2004-12-30 21:30
I just heard on NPR that Artie Shaw died in his home today. They said he had been feeling ill since Thanksgiving. As many of you know I had the honor of interviewing Artie two years ago. When I met him he was still as feisty as ever and sharp as a tack. Artie was also much kinder than many people gave him credit for. I saw a side of Artie that I don't think he shared with others. He told me about a high school girl that wrote to him often who had switched from playing flute to clarinet. He was distressed about his son who apparently had a substance abuse problem and we talked about 12 step programs and giving ourselves to a higher power. Being Jewish I don't know what Artie's beliefs were exactly.
He was a genius, no doubt. And I think that was part of his problem. Artie the perfectionist.
I cried when I heard the news....I had just sent my holiday cards yesterday..one of those was to my friend Artie Shaw.
Jean Adler
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Author: GEM
Date: 2004-12-30 21:46
From the Associated Press:
[ Please, as has been stated before, links only on stories. They're copyrighted. ]
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Author: CPW
Date: 2004-12-30 22:04
Enigmatic
Eccentric
Illuminating
and most of all....Talented
One of those people who make life interesting, even in death.
Farewell Artie. And thanks for sharing yourself with us.
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Author: Bnatural
Date: 2004-12-30 22:57
Another name on the long long list of losses the music world has felt this year.
Beautiful tribute on NPR throughout today, quite enertaining interviews... quite a guy
Post Edited (2004-12-30 23:04)
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2004-12-30 23:29
Just heard [again], the CNN Headlines report of OUR loss, to his comment, [somewhat like] "why dance to it, its good enough to be listened to", [ we did both, A S] sounds like the hero [of my youth] . Back from Galveston Beach ! Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Celeborn
Date: 2004-12-31 00:08
He was my favorite clarinetist.
I heard there was a movie in the works of his life starring Johnny Depp. . . .
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Author: Avie
Date: 2004-12-31 00:43
He had a sound that will never be duplicated. His clarinet playing was the reason I wanted to play the clarinet when I was very young. Goodbye Artie and Thanks. ATV
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Author: Bill G
Date: 2004-12-31 03:12
I received my first jazz record in about 1938, when I had been "playing" clarinet about a year; it was Artie's "Nightmare" backed by "Nonstop Flight". I was hooked on jazz and ever since have been indebted to Shaw. He was the greatest, and I still think "Nightmare" is one of the greatest recordings of the era.
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Author: earlthomas
Date: 2004-12-31 04:33
What a sad day! He was the greatest and most sincerely soulful Jazz Clarinetist ever. Great sound, solid, symetrical and consonant ideas wrapped up in the most distinctive style. A great band - one of my all-time favorite lead alto men: Les Robinson - big sounds from Butterfield, Margolies, Jack Jenny, etc. He was innovative to the max! Thank goodness we've his many recordings nicely preserved.
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Author: john gibson
Date: 2004-12-31 15:49
The greatest clarinetist of them all.....he lived a long life. Glad that he left so many recordings for us to enjoy and learn from.
Suppose his tombstone really will say "GO AWAY!" ????
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Author: donald
Date: 2005-01-01 10:55
his death has been ingnored in the nz media
our news is dominated by the devastation in Asia
i've had two funerals already this week, and now waiting for news about two friends missing from the Thai coast....
just the other day i heard an amazing jazz player on the radio, and thought "wow, that's great tone, those high notes sound fabulous"
of course, it was Artie Shaw.
i'd always hoped that he'd start playing again and that maybe i'd hear him live.
donald
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Author: Rick Williams
Date: 2005-01-01 11:57
What I find so very sad about Artie Shaw and his death is that he never seemed to find a livable degree of satisfaction and happiness in his musical efforts and because of that quit in 1954. I really wonder where he might have taken us had he continued to make music. A stunning loss on so many levels.
Best
Rick
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2005-01-01 11:59
My favorite quote from Mr. Shawranski was his chosen epitaph:
"Go away."
Nice to see a successful life, lived on it's own terms.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2005-01-01 15:20
Rick Williams wrote:
> I really wonder where he might have taken us had he
> continued to make music.
According to him, he couldn't: "I've done everything you can possibly do on a clarinet."
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Author: clarinetmama
Date: 2005-01-01 16:16
My husband said the other day, "I'm glad Artie quit when he was at the top of his game." He then mentioned musicians who don't know when to quit and just look foolish...i.e. Neil Diamond, Maynard Ferguson...
I wonder when the book he was writing will come out. Last I heard he had turned it over to the publishers for editing. If I remember correctly it was over 1500 pages long. Presumably the book is semi-autobiographical in nature as his character is named Albie Snow. Wonder what he calls Ava and Lana?
I have read a number of the obituaries and many have not mentioned his time with the Navy. Good heavens the man was in the South Pacific during World War II. In typical fashion his many wives are talked about, but not his service to the United States.
The other question I hope is answered is this. Has Artie really been writing mystery novels under a pen-name? A friend of mine heard the name would not be revealed until after his death. Hmmm.
Jean
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Author: Rick Williams
Date: 2005-01-02 12:14
Mark C wrote:
>According to him, he couldn't: "I've done everything you can possibly do on a clarinet."
Yes, I'm aware of that statement and have no doubt that Shaw felt that way but it is one of those statements that strike me as being born of depression and frustration, not realistic assesment. Even if marginally true, Shaw was also a composer and arranger.
I'm sure Mr. Shaw did what he felt he had to do for his own survival, my regret however still is that he couldn't find a way to find happiness in what he did so very well.
Best
RW
Best
Rick
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Author: john gibson
Date: 2005-01-02 13:03
Rick....(et al)
I don't think Artie had done all he could with the clarinet. (or music as he would prefer) As a "used to be" pro musician, I think what he meant was.....H'ed done all the audience would allow him to do with the clarinet. Listeners are a funny breed. They want to hear in person what's familiar to them. Whether it's Begin the Beguine or She Loves You or Let's Go Surfin' or K622. Familiarity is comforting to an audience. To a musician, playing the same old songs night after night is depressing. Add new stuff to the line up and the audience sits on its hands........
However....wait 20--30 years.....re=form.....go on a farewell/reunion tour and voila !!!! Money !!!!!!!!!!
But, Artie wasn't into that. Thank God for integrity and strength of character. I also agree with him about Sinatra. Boring.....
JG
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Author: BobD
Date: 2005-01-02 14:02
"and just look foolish...i.e. Neil Diamond, Maynard Ferguson..."
Say what?
Bob Draznik
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Author: ken
Date: 2005-01-02 15:41
It's a spectacle how the nostalgic, "A Gazillion Wheelchairs" tours are raking it in, especially in 60s-70s rock. And, it's a mystery how the images of age and stately distinctiveness work for classical, jazz and folk venues (plus others) but not Rock. Certainly, it's these talented artist's careers and right to earn a living, but it's depressing TO ME seeing groups i.e., The Rolling Stones, now 60-plus year old wrinkly geezers bouncing and drooling across stage, belching forth "Sympathy for the Devil" ... what ever became of the unwritten rule Rock and Roll was for the young? Still, it's amazing these industry icons are, in some cases, demanding $75.00 a ticket, drawing arena-size crowds and selling their 15th Greatest Hits CD. I'm no saint and attended my share of the concerts, but apparently part of what drives the market is people inherently enjoy reminiscing, and passing around and pulling off the same bottle of Geritol.
As for Artie, what I've always admired him the most for is how he (Goodman too) broke the racial color barrier by boldly hiring blacks and only best musicians. Considering, the 30s-40s' volatile period in American history it was an incredibly gutsy and even life-threatening move. I've read the man's books and also get the impression he was a plagued perfectionist, a restless soul with the need for constant change and challenge (in his marriages as well).
Rest eternally in peace Mr. Shaw, and thank you for gracing the world of music in two centuries. v/r Ken
Post Edited (2005-01-02 15:49)
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2005-01-02 20:31
Very well said, Ken, TKS for pointing out one of the first public breakings of color barriers. I started "dance band" playing [in Mich] in the 30's, one of our bands had a black drummer, a good one. We AFM musicians and other unions can be credited with foresight, even tho we as a country still have a ways to go. Just thots, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2005-01-03 19:53
Synonymous B. -
His family name was Arshawsky.
At the Clarinet Congress at Oberlin in 1985, he gave a fabulous lecture on his career, with photographs and recordings. It was in an auditorium rather than the concert hall, so I don't think it was recorded, but there was an article in The Clarinet about it.
He played a number of recordings during the lecture, including a bit of the Mozart Quintet, which I thought was the best I'd heard. I've been looking for it ever since. (It was supposedly part of a "Complete" set issued as a premium for singing up for the Book or perhaps Record of the Month Club.)
The reason he gave for quitting when he did was that he couldn't bear to play Begin the Beguine again. He started and folded multiple bands when he got tired of what they were doing, so it's no surprise that after several attempts, he decided he couldn't bear to do what the audiences demanded.
He was brilliant and uncompromising. Can you imagine marrying Lana Turner and then giving her a reading list of great literature, to cram her full of knowledge.
Guys like that live their own lives. I'm thankful for what he gave the world. Anything more would have just been a repeat, except this time bored out of his mind. Instead, he wrote brilliantly funny books.
Ken Shaw (unfortunately, no relation)
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Author: clarispark
Date: 2005-01-08 23:21
I am a young clarinetist, in high school, and since I started playing clarinet seven years ago, Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman have been the people whose sound I wanted to imitate. Now that they're both gone, I'm upset...Mr. Goodman died before my birth, but I could still say: "one of my idols is still living, and who knows, he could make a comeback!" Now I can't. My high school band is playing an arrangement of "Begin the Beguine". We were given it before Mr. Shaw's passing, and nobody in my entire 104-member band except me knew who made it famous.
--Michelle
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2005-01-10 01:43
Good - Bye Artie but not forgotten.
On the way down to Tampa for the Florida Music Educator's Conference this week I stopped at an antique shop (another one of my vices) and was about to leave when I looked down at a stack of old record albumns and found an original set of Victor Artie Shaw recordings on the old hard celluloid discs in immaculate condition. It is in a neat binder with a picture of Artie in his prime with the logo - "Artie Shaw Featuring His Inspired Clarinet" - the recordings include Frensesi, Begin the Beguine, Star Dust, Back Bay Shuffle, Dancing in the Dark, Traffic Jam, Moonglow, and Serenade to a Savage. I hope to transfer the tunes to a more suitable playing media - wish me luck!
L.Omar Henderson
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Author: Carol Dutcher
Date: 2005-01-10 01:55
I have had his tape going in my car for the last week or so, and this is the one where he plays with the Gramercy Five. There is a harpsichord, which was such a stroke of genius. One song, I forget which one, was made up totally of beautiful "riffs." His tone was so beautiful, and playing in a somewhat simplified manner made it all seem so much better. Have you heard clarinetests who are all "technique" and no soul. Up and down, forward and backwards, on and on at a rat race pace. Then there is Artie who got the essence of what the clarinet is all about. I have always enjoyed his music. Even if he stopped in 1954, maybe he knew best when to stop. His music played on and on and on. If he had a lot of wives, so what? Many men have a lot of girlfriends.
At any rate, just had to get a few thoughts in here. Thanks for listening.
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Author: pguy
Date: 2005-01-10 19:17
I just got a CD that has many of Artie's great jazz pieces and his Clarinet Concerto. Wow!
Is there a CD available with his Interlude in Bb? Some of the recent articles said that it is for clarinet and string quartet, and it really brought the house down when first played. Is the music still available? Might be something "really different" to try at the next solo and ensemble festival. Thanks
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Author: Tom J.
Date: 2005-01-10 22:43
What a great musician and clarinettist. And what a businessman. Can you believe his band was making $60 grand A WEEK in the late 30s !!!
I have two prized bits of A.S. memorabilia in my collection. One is a manuscript of Artie's solo chorus in "Stardust", which I have framed. It's written in his own handwriting for Abe Most who played it several years ago in a big band tribute to Artie.
The other is a video of Artie performing his Concerto, which I believe is taken from a movie.
He will be missed.
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Author: hans
Date: 2005-01-10 23:24
I've just finished transferring some of Artie's LPs to CD, including the amazing Interlude in Bb (which he wrote and performed in 1936, when he was only 26 and already able to do that incredible gliss...) and some of his other less well known works: Mozart Clarinet Quintet K.581; Berezowsky's Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra; Krein: Hebrew Sketches; and The Blues, with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra.
Unfortunately these recordings appears to be no longer available..... unless someone can come up with a legal way to share it - in which case I'm willing.
Hans
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Author: claclaws
Date: 2005-01-11 13:23
GBK,
Thanks for the NYT article.
Has anybody read his autobiography mentioned in that article, titled
"The Trouble With Cinderella" written 2 years before his retirement?
Lucy Lee Jang
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Author: hans
Date: 2005-01-11 15:09
claclaws,
I've read Artie's "Cinderella" book and the authorized Artie Shaw biography by Vladimir Simosko, written in 2000. Both were well worth reading, IMO.
Regards,
Hans
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Author: BobD
Date: 2005-01-12 16:19
re IHT article....Interesting read, but to say that BG and Artie were "too much alike" is not quite completely true IMO.
Bob Draznik
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