Author: mrn
Date: 2010-06-28 05:02
DavidBlumberg wrote:
> I didn't expect much more.
The only rendition of this piece I've heard that really does it justice is the original by Artie Shaw himself....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLVytcPtWwM
One of my pet peeves about the way people often play this piece (including in this video of the Italian group) is that they tend to "over-swing" the first "allegro" section, because they don't know the difference between swing and boogie-woogie. When players/bands do this, they miss a lot of what is musically interesting about this piece, namely the rhythmic interplay between the straight-8ths of the boogie accompaniment and the somewhat more relaxed feel of the clarinet and other lines.
The other rather notable problem with this interpretation is that the drum beat in the final section is supposed to sound like Gene Krupa's drumming in the Benny Goodman version of Sing, Sing, Sing (in fact, this Concerto was basically written in response to Sing, Sing, Sing, or at least that's what I've been told), and this group's drummer gives it more of a Latin beat, which doesn't make as much sense.
This is one of the better performances of this piece I've heard, though. Artie Shaw is a hard piece to pull off because you have to have superb technical ability, a highly developed ear for intonation, AND an excellent command of the style(s)--not a lot of people have all three. Even some highly accomplished pros struggle with this piece.
Post Edited (2010-06-28 05:36)
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The Clarinet BBoard
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