 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2012-09-03 23:08
I have a recording of Han Kim, and I just checked two other recordings on Youtube of the Artie Shaw Clarinet Concerto. As far as what I've been able to hear, Artie Shaw himself has the best version. Not only does this self taught artist swing better, but his high notes seem effortless, and his power is similar to that of a freight train. You would think some wunder-kind from an important music school would easily whip his street grown butt. I think that sometimes there is no replacement for sheer raw talent and hard work. Does anyone know of a better version of this much performed piece?
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2012-09-04 00:20
"Important" music schools often train their clarinetists in ways that will make it impossible to play like Shaw. As far as "better versions", there aren't even any approaching it, in my opinion. Having said that, there are at least a few versions to choose from: his studio version, live radio version, and the clip you probably saw from Second Chorus.Each has a different improvised solo section.
It's like hearing Beethoven play his own piece: just enjoy it.
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: Lorenzo_M
Date: 2012-09-04 07:15
I haven't heard another jazz clarinetist play this, so I can't comment on that.
There is not a single classical clarinet player I've heard yet that comes anywhere close to what the original accomplishes. For the reasons Eric stated above. Of course, I can't claim to have heard every single clarinet player in the world, or every single performance that has existed (but will still doubt a "better" attempt exists outside of Artie's various renditions).
It's not the notes, it's the particular style...and this is not something you learn in school from private lessons (despite even what "jazz programs" will tell you).
Post Edited (2012-09-04 07:24)
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2012-09-04 15:39
I have a CD called American Classics. It has Bernstein, Copland and the Shaw Concetrto amoung others. It is very well recorded and Kim is a talent, no doubt. The problem is that Shaw has such greater ease in the upper register and even seems to have superior accuracy and speed in his fingering technique. Add to that his awesome musicality and comfort level and we can see why he is so admired.
ps. The CD was recorded in 2001 and has a black and white NYC cityscape photo on the cover. It is readily available on Amazon and I highly recommend it.
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2012-09-04 16:38
Garth are you sure? Sounds like the Sharon Kam recording
Peter Cigleris
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2012-09-04 17:24
It is Sharon Kam. I don't know where I got Han Kim.
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: Paula S
Date: 2012-09-04 20:59
Kam and Kim......... not far off ;-)
Garth have a go at the Artie Shaw yourself. I have and I am never going to sound like him but it is sure as hell fun trying to play it. ![[happy]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley12.gif)
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2012-09-05 12:52
Does anyone know which note he grunted on at 3:54?
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: William
Date: 2012-09-05 15:32
I've performed the Shaw, "Concerto for Clarinet" six times, here in the Madison, WI, area, so being somewhat familiar with it, I can say that the most accurate recording--note wise--is the John Bruce-Yeh CD. Most others have minor mistakes here and there. But there is no recording that I know as good as the Artie Shaw original version from the movie, "Second Chorus". Most of us can play the notes, but Artie's style is very hard to reproduce. John plays magnificiently, but he is a symphonic clarinetist first, and falls a bit short on "swing". His recording is very interesting, however, as it was done with the DePaul Univrsity Jazz Ensemble rather than orchestra or wind ensemble. Here is info about Johns CD:
EBONY CONCERTO RR-55CD, 1993 Reference Recordings; also has the Babin, "Hillandale Waltzes", the Gould, "Derivations for Clarinet and Band", the Bernstein, "Prelude, Fugue and Riffs", and the Stravinski, "Ebony Concerto".
The arrangement that I use is one that I commissioned from a friend and retired University of Wisconsin professor of music. FWIW, I recently performed Paquito D'Rivera's, "Contradanza", another arrangement of Frank's for clarinet and band. There is lots of good stuff "out there" if we clarinetist's just ask for it.
Post Edited (2012-09-05 15:50)
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Author: Lorenzo_M
Date: 2012-09-05 17:44
Honestly, if anyone is interested in actually trying to come anything anywhere near what Artie did...(daunting because his style was so personal), you shouldn't learn this concerto by sheet music.
Learn it by ear, and focus on capturing the nuances in his sound, more than just what notes he played. In the grand scheme of things, the notes he played are no more difficult than a lot of concert repertoire a competent clarinet player should know. Jazz wise, it is not more difficult than a lot of things a competent (modern) jazz musician will have transcribed. Forget the rhythms on the page...this kind of music needs to have a more flexible interpretation of where the notes fall. To be fair, there are plenty of "jazz musicians" who are pedantic in their transcription and also miss out on stylistic nuance, so I'm not saying that this is purely a failing of the symphonic trained musician.
Style wise, it's extremely difficult. A large component of his style is a clarinet interpretation of Bix Beiderbecke, who was a traditional Jazz trumpet player. The functional role (melodic, rhythmic, harmonic, etc...) of a trumpet player is VERY different than that of a clarinet in traditional (New Orleans) jazz...and this is why Artie stands out so much stylistically over a lot of his contemporaries. He plays a lot like a lead trumpet player. This is why a traditional symphonic training will NEVER be able to help capture the essence of it...it teaches limitations that do not apply to this kind of music (and in many ways, are antithetical to what it demands).
Also, it helps if the accompanying band or orchestra actually knows how to play in the proper style. That rhythmic drive/pulse is a key component of the overall sound of this particular piece.
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2012-09-05 18:11
Lorenzo,
Bravo for pointing out the influence of Bix on Artie. It was indeed foundational. Another, less talked about influence was klezmer. Though Artie never mentioned it, from listening to certain tunes of his--among them "Don't Fall Asleep", "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume", "Nightmare" and the massive St Louis Blues he arranged and played at Carnegie Hall with Whiteman in 1938--we can probably glean that there was more klezmer in his background than he ever admitted.
You're right to point out that his clarinet playing has nothing to do with the tradition of New Orleans playing. In NOLA performance, the trumpet is the spiritual leader. But in klezmer, from what I understand, it is often the clarinet.
I would be very interested in anything that a klezmer player/scholar might add to this discussion.
The aforementioned St Louis Blues (Shaw's working title was "A Mess of Blues" ) was the first draft, of sorts, for what would later become the "Concerto". The recording is a fascinating document, in that it shows more boldly what Shaw was doing--fusing blues and klezmer clarinet. This is still there in the later Concerto, but everything is more blended.
The Concerto is not just a showpiece, but an amazing moment in American music history. I'm not thrilled with many of the performances out there by contemporary players (I too have performed it, by the way), but I am glad it's getting a lot of attention.
Eric
[For those interested in hearing the original Carnegie Hall Blues, I've posted it with a short write up here: http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/2012/08/big-band-jazz-clarinet-essential.html ]
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: Lorenzo_M
Date: 2012-09-05 19:07
I have read your blog, Eric, and do hear the Klezmer influence that you're talking about, especially when taken in context of the pieces you mentioned. Unfortunately, not being a person who plays, has played, or listens to Klezmer, I can't comment more than "it sure sounds like he [Artie] knew about it". Wouldn't surprise me...Artie (like BG) was Jewish after all, and may have heard it around the house.
But yes, the secret to playing Artie Shaw's clarinet concerto...is not to think about it like a clarinet player! This sounds almost like some sort of paradox, but only when one gives up the notion of "proper clarinet playing" can one begin to do this piece justice, IMO. It goes beyond even the whole "jazz vs. classical" debate...as we're talking about trying to recreate a tonal concept that is singularly unique.
It's a difficult proposition...as diving deeply into that style does affect your symphonic sound. Full commitment is not as simple as turning a switch on and off.
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2012-09-05 19:34
Lorenzo wrote:
"But yes, the secret to playing Artie Shaw's clarinet concerto...is not to think about it like a clarinet player!"
I think I get what you're saying, but that's not how I view it. From a very young age, I decided that Shaw's approach to the instrument was better (from my perspective) than the classical approaches I was familiar with, and I embraced his rather than the others as a result. This often put me at odds with my conservatory teachers, of course, but in the end we all have to be ourselves. I did learn to play in the American Classical Style well enough to play in orchestras professionally, but never liked playing that way, so I switched back as soon as logistics allowed--but it took considerable time to retrain.
"It's a difficult proposition...as diving deeply into that style does affect your symphonic sound. Full commitment is not as simple as turning a switch on and off."
In my case, that's exactly right: it has required a full commitment to a different approach to the horn (and even required the use of vintage instruments). I will say, however, that certain contemporary clarinetists seem to have been strongly influenced by Shaw, and brought some of his broad, vocal style into the classical orchestral world (the English orchestral approach has a history closer to this concept, but I was already out of college by the time I first heard them). I think there's plenty of room for it, to be honest, but it would require openmindedness on the part of orchestras..and in fairness, it would probably require a section of players using the concept (and that's tough to pull off).
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: MichaelB
Date: 2024-03-14 06:48
Hello William - replying to an older post here - are you still out there on this blog? If yes, I'd be interested in renting / buying a copy of the Artie Shaw arrangement that you commissioned. thanks! MB
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2024-03-16 04:20
I've played it 13 times, a bit differently each time. 3 of them on my Youtube channel.I've seen several recordings where the G to G gliss. was done too fast, leaving no place to go at the top. Hard to do slowly as written.
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book--
tomheimer.ampbk.com/ Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
Post Edited (2024-03-16 04:34)
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Author: Cosmo413
Date: 2024-03-25 19:47
This is the one that inspires me the most:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhm3UqRJFBc
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Author: Presto ★2017
Date: 2024-03-25 23:28
Andy Miles performs a version.
https://youtu.be/UrHxpxprk2w?si=RcekwvSPyipQTiwz
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Author: hans
Date: 2024-03-26 04:37
Thank you Presto, I enjoyed that. Andy's is the best IMO, second only to Artie. Most other performers seem to have ignored the advice on the chart to listen to Artie's recording before performing it and mess it up with excessive smears.
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Author: hans
Date: 2024-03-26 04:39
Attachment: Shaw Concerto - Clarinet.jpg (942k)
Thank you Presto, I enjoyed that. Andy's is the best IMO, second only to Artie. Most other performers seem to have ignored the (attached) advice on the chart - to listen to Artie's recording before performing it - and mess it up with excessive smears.
Regards,
Hans
Post Edited (2024-03-26 04:42)
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