Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2015-05-27 15:01
Sorry, man...I thought you were posting from a professional (or former pro) perspective...not as a hobbyist. I'm not talking about restoring the Big Bands, or "Dixieland" or anything of the kind. I mentioned what's going on these days in an earlier post, but you seem either uninterested or incapable of understanding. Either way, it's not all about "having fun" with the horn. At least not from my professional perspective.
So no, I don't have any anger issues--I'm not angry about your posts. You presented yourself in this forum as a retired pro. That's how I was answering you. If you'd been presenting yourself as an amateur, I'd have responded differently.
For the record, I've played with acts every bit as big as Buddy Rich, in both the jazz and classical world, and taught top professionals in both fields. This isn't "weekend warrior" territory for me, and I'm not reminiscing about my wild 20s when I talk about gigging.
In terms of your evolutionary theory of instrument design...it's overly simplistic, and having worked in the instrument business myself, believe me, to pros and conservatory students these days, it's common knowledge that things are more complicated than you might think. In the classical world, the period instrument movement has gained so much credibility and audience over the last sixty years that top conservatories offer majors in it (and in fact, classical clarinetists ought to make sure they can play these earlier instruments for their professional future, IMO). On the jazz scene, even Selmer (after years of stubbornness) admitted their design changes of the 70s and 80s hadn't always constituted evolutionary "improvements" and went back to the VI and BA designs with the reference horns. A decade or so ago, Buffet started making a 'Vintage' model based on the R13 of the 50s. In Britain, Peter Eaton has made instruments that maintained the large bores of earlier B&H models...and not to "live in the past" but to get the best possible sound.
So the past isn't simply the past. I'm sorry if you're so sensitive that this type of discussion makes you feel demeaned, but you're not coming off as someone who knows the jazz scene, the classical scene, or the manufacturing scene.
Eric
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The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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