Author: DougR
Date: 2007-12-16 13:50
I'm intrigued by the history related to the instrument: who's this "lady," how did she come to be privy to the story? Whose estate was it part of? How did HE get the instrument? Benny Carter died recently, Benny Goodman in 1984; did either of them ever actually HAVE the clarinet, and if so, which of them, and when? The "retirement" angle sounds a little goofy, only because it's a pristine older instrument, and both these musicians were in their youth when it was originally sold.
I don't know how you would check any of this, which is why I mentioned the auction gallery upthread; I imagine they're good at establishing provenance because verifiable provenance can add to an instrument's value at auction. I also used the term "responsibility" in my previous post because if I were fortunate enough to have something like this come my way, I'd feel an imperative to establish its authenticity, not just to satisfy my own curiosity, but to make sure there's some documentation (rather than mere "he-said-she-said") to pass on to the next person who gets the horn. (You and I come and go, but instruments of some significance tend to endure over generations.)
These might be helpful along those lines: the auction site I mentioned; Deborah Reeves at the Shrine to Music Museum in, what is it, South Dakota?, where they have a huge clarinet collection; Loren Schoenberg, a jazz historian, bandleader, and first-rate tenor saxophonist, who also worked for Goodman as an archivist and personal/musical assistant (and who is also involved with a number of jazz collections as an advisor, curator, or historian); the curator of the instrument collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (this is for establishing what you've got, not what it's worth); ... well, here's the thing: one could, just by using the telephone and/or computer, learn a lot about jazz, meet some interesting people, get a bunch of further leads to explore (everyone you talk to could probably suggest a host of sources to check out), and generally have a good time looking into something like this.
The Benny Carter angle: did Benny Carter have his OWN 'Loren Schoenberg,' someone who has curated his considerable output of arrangements, correspondence, his 'history-etcetera,' who might be able to shed some light here? Actually, too, the inscription is to "Benny," not Benny Goodman specifically. What other "Benny" could it have been? Ben Webster, Benny Golson, Bennie Moten?
You see how it goes. One question leads to another, if you're up for it.
Good luck!
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The Clarinet BBoard
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