 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Johnny Galaga
Date: 2008-12-31 03:46
Hello,
I've never played jazz before and want to try it, but I don't the names of any clarinet jazz songs to look for.
It could be anything, just something to get me started.
Thanks.
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Author: Rob Vitale
Date: 2008-12-31 05:00
Its probably easier to just you tube some artists rather then just song titles. Try Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman, Eddie Daniels, Pete Fountain, and Paquito d' Rivera......Good luck.
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Author: ned
Date: 2008-12-31 08:38
''Try Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman, Eddie Daniels, Pete Fountain, and Paquito d' Rivera...''
All good players of course, but jazz comes from New Orleans so I'd suggest that you listen to the likes of Johnny Dodds, Albert Nicholas, Omer Simeon, Barney Bigard, George Lewis et al........before you decide in which direction you want to go.
The music was originated in New Orleans by the black players therein in the early 1900s- I'm not sure that most folk are aware of this.
Given the replies over the years on this BB, to queries such as yours, I get the distinct impression that a good number of our correspondents believe that Goodman and Shaw created jazz.
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Author: kilo
Date: 2008-12-31 13:07
If you've got an interest in jazz beyond the Dixieland and Swing styles I'd heartily recommend buying the Bb version of the Charlie Parker Omnibook. The solos, transcribed from Eb, are often in an uncomfortable low range for Bb saxophones and some notes are too low to play at all — but not on the clarinet! You'll want to do a fair amount of listening if you don't already have a feel for the rhythms but there's plenty of material in there; scarcely a day goes by when I don't play through at least one of the solos on clarinet or tenor.
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2008-12-31 14:06
"Given the replies over the years on this BB, to queries such as yours, I get the distinct impression that a good number of our correspondents believe that Goodman and Shaw created jazz."
An interesting generalization. I think most folks here who know much at all about jazz are familiar with where it came from. I learned that as a high schooler, even before taking music theory, back in the mid 1970s. While artists such as Goodman, Shaw, et. al. may not have created the clarinet jazz form, they certainly went a long way to making it more accepted, popular and known in the general public.
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
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Author: DougR
Date: 2008-12-31 14:13
this may be blindingly obvious, but I'll suggest it anyway.
Find a jazz clarinet player you love to listen to, playing in a style you enjoy and would like to play. (Ned's list is helpful for this.)
Then, find music and/or chord changes for some of the tunes he/she does. Then, see if you can find some of that player's solos, written out. (There's an amazing amount of transcriptions on the internet.) That way, you can play the songs, AND the solos.
(btw, I don't know of any player seriously interested in jazz who does NOT have the Charlie Parker Omnibook.)
Some jazz theory would help too, but I'd recommend finding a teacher for that, when you feel you need it.
Best wishes!
DougR
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Author: Chalumeau Joe
Date: 2008-12-31 14:30
If you're just looking to stick a toe in the water to see if you like jazz on the clarinet, you may want to start with some of the jazz standards, e.g., songs such as After You've Gone, Cry Me a River, Misty, Summertime, Memories of You, etc., to name a few; these are good songs to improv to as well.
Music Minus One (much derided on the BB by some) has a decent selection of Jazz Standards that are fun to play along with. Mel Bay has a good book for beginners called "Mel Bay's Complete Jazz Clarinet Book" that helps with fundamental jazz scale studies. There's also another fun book of simple jazz standards called "The Definitive Jazz Collection" (Hal Leonard) that's good for beginners.
Jamey Abersold has an extensive series of jazz learning books; however, you may find these a bit much for your needs right now.
Best wishes for much fun as you begin your jazz journey.
Joe
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Author: brycon
Date: 2008-12-31 19:06
I would get away from recordings of clarinet players if you are serious about studying/learning jazz.
Maybe get a real book in Bb or better yet, transcribe tunes you like from recordings. In my opinion, transcribing is the best thing you can do to learn jazz.
You also might check out Jim Snidero's excellent series, Jazz Conception.
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Author: Roger Aldridge
Date: 2008-12-31 21:56
Johnny,
Are you already listening to jazz recordings? If not, that's the place to start. Get into the music at a feeling level...especially, in how the music swings and moves. Start with the Jazz Greats. There's a long list.... You can't go wrong with listening to Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis (especially Miles!), Charles Mingus (the list goes on and on). You'll notice that I did not mention any clarinet players. Doesn't matter. Get into the music and it will start to take you on a journey of discovery. As you get more into the music you'll find particular clarinet guys who will really inspire you. After you have a feeling for the music, then you can begin to play it.
Roger
Post Edited (2008-12-31 21:59)
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Author: FDF
Date: 2009-01-01 00:41
One more idea, is to find some people who like to play jazz, and play.
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2009-01-01 17:39
The Saints , St Louis Blues, any Dixieland collection. Learn the melodies first......then get away from the written page.
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: rtmyth
Date: 2009-01-01 20:38
Buddy Defranko- he's still playing, I believe. Lives in Philly?
richard smith
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Author: Sambo 933
Date: 2009-01-01 21:57
Hal-Leonard has a great book of Benny Goodman solos with piano accompaniment.
It would be a great way to get a feel for using jazz techniques on the clarinet.
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Author: ned
Date: 2009-01-02 01:13
brycon states: ''I would get away from recordings of clarinet players if you are serious about studying/learning jazz.''
Err.....wot?
Learning how to play the CLARINET is best accomplished with the aid of books and a tutor. Learning how to play JAZZ is completely another matter.
Jazz is all about nuance, individuality, original interpretation and very particularly about swing - you will be hard pressed to find this information in any book. You could enlist the services of a good jazz professional too, but how deep is your wallet?
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Author: brycon
Date: 2009-01-02 02:58
Ned,
I stated: "I would get away from recordings of CLARINET PLAYERS..."
I also wrote that transcribing is perhaps the most beneficial exercise for learning jazz. I learned tunes by transcribing them from my favorite recordings, and I still think this is the best way to learn tunes.
I'm glad that I didn't limit my listening and transcribing to clarinet players. In my opinion, if someone is serious about studying jazz it's best to start with Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Bird, Trane, and not limit oneself to clarinetists.
By the way, the Jim Snidero book is quite good. For classical musicians used to reading music and learning things in a focused, progressive fashion, this book is a good entry into jazz music.
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Author: ned
Date: 2009-01-02 04:40
brycon:
I have not misquoted you, your emphasis is now different from your original post.
Transcribing may well be a good way to learn TUNES, but not to learn JAZZ. This branch of music is somewhat nebulous - there are no rules of which I am aware - so the skills cannot be written down. It's a matter of absorption, by listening and going out and playing the stuff.
Your point about not limiting your listening to clarinet players is pertinent. I too have listened widely to many major soloists regardless of the instrument. Some examples which come to mind are: Louis Armstrong, Henry Red Allen, Django Reinhardt, Duke Ellington..........there many others of course.
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Author: allencole
Date: 2009-01-02 09:34
Actually, I'd say that transcribing is the #1 way to learn jazz. Most of the masters learned by imitating previous masters. Transcription is a great help to that. (doing it your self, as opposed to buying existing ones, that is)
As for books, Hal Leonard has a great new series that has you playing the melody along with a band, and each piece has a sample solo written out. You're free to try playing it or improvise your own. I don't remember the name, but will try to find out.
The Jim Snidero books are also fine. Lots of stuff you can read and absorb while learning styles and feels. And the easy and intermediate books have separate tracks with just the accompaniment--plus all the songs are written on the chord changes of standards.
But sooner or later, you'll need to sit down and learn something from a recording that you really want to play. This is where Benny Goodman really does shine. He was a great technician with a lot of licks under his fingers, and his career spanned from the mid 1920's up into the 1980's. Great things to try are the early Bluebird recordings, the Carnegie Hall concert, a Columbia album made at Ciro's around 1960, and a concert in Copenhagen in 1973. There's a great sampler called "Sing Sing Sing" which was put out by Sony Special Music Products. I bought the CD for $5.00 and it's one of the best around.
I'd also take a good look at Lester Young. He only has a few sides recorded on clarinet, but they're masterpieces of clear, simple playing, and easy to imitate from a technical standpoint. Look for recordings of the "Kansas City Six" which include a galaxy of early jazz stars from the Count Basie Band. Lester also plays great tenor on those recordings, and I read somewhere that Charlie Parker could play Lester's "Shoeshine Boy" and "Lady Be Good" solos from memory.
Allen Cole
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Author: Wes
Date: 2009-01-03 03:43
Don Ellis once experssed the opinion to me that he felt he should not study the licks of Parker too much because they might come out in one of his solos. His approach was more to develop impressive technical facility using scales, chords, key-of-the-day excercises, etc, allowing him to play solos easier and less derivative of other players.
In any event, the Bb Real Book is available at Amazon for about $20 for use in "real book sessions". If you have a guitar or piano player friend with a C Real Book, you can have your own sessions.
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Author: allencole
Date: 2009-01-04 22:42
Point taken, Wes, but you're talking about a very advanced player and we're answering a question by a raw beginner. He needs to imitate some things that already work before he even begins to devote himself to the study of jazz.
Most of the world's musicians learn by imitation and apprenticeship, and we tend to get too academic even in the study of those other styles.
I'll reiterate two players to check out.
1 - Benny Goodman - very technical, but very accessible and entertaining. Easy for the player to understand, but not always easy to execute. The first solo I ever learned was the original Bluebird recording of "Don't Be That Way." I also learned a lot from "Stompin' at the Savoy" and "King Porter Stomp" from the same period. Good solos also available on the Carnegie Hall concert. (not to mention all the great solos by guest artists) One of the easiest of Benny's solos is probably on "Moonglow" at Carnegie Hall. Great starting point for a beginner.
2 - Lester Young - Easy to play, fantastic relaxed feel, but a bit more sophisticted. As a tenor saxophonist, he's one of the most influential players ever, even for guitarists who discover him as an influence of Charlie Christian. His first (and maybe best) recorded clarinet solo is on "Blue and Sentimental", the original Decca recording with the Count Basie Band. This solo led to the "Kansas City Six" recording sessions which feature some other fine solos including "Pagin' the Devil", "I Want a Little Girl" and "Countless Blues", all of which are worth learning.
3 - Lots of good basic jazz lessons in the early Billie Holliday sessions, on which Young and Goodman both participated. No particular solos stand out in my mind, but great examples of how to play with a singer.
The other reason I stress these two guys, and not some of their earlier counterparts is that their playing is very clean--totatlly suitable for the 'classically trained'--and came at a time when swing was well underway and thus are good instruments of learning swing feel as well as improvising. Their playing is well-connnected to modern styles and practices. (as are the bands they were involved with)
All of the above can be gotten for very little $$$ and may even be available at your local library.
A really fantastic resource on earlier stuff is a CD called "Clarinet Marmalade" put out by Academy Sound & Video. It has 25 tracks, each by a different jazz clarinetist. I particularly enjoy tracks by Buster Bailey, Omer Simeon and Irving Fazola. (Pete Fountain's big influence)
Try some of these and see how you like them.
Allen Cole
Post Edited (2009-01-05 17:21)
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