Author: seabreeze
Date: 2017-08-24 18:21
Dan,
Thanks for the fact check. I changed my text to read "Bob Wilber would know them all . . . ." Evidently he is alive and may still be playing; I fell victim to the logical fallacy "If I haven't heard him lately, and he's much older than me, therefore he must be dead." I last heard him perform with Wynton Marsallis in a Bechet tribute; that's on YouTube. In any case, as Fuzzy points out, Wilber is a clarinetist we should not forget--one of those musicians who can be a defining moment in our lives and make us want to return to (or go on) playing. Wilber crosses the line between New Orleans Jazz, Swing, and much later styles with admirable ease, showing once again, that music is music. When I first heard him, he was playing a Miles Davis tune. He is also certainly not a "doubler" but a true artist on both clarinet and sax.
Fuzzy, have you read John Chilton's book "Sidney Bechet: Wizard of Jazz." It follows the young Bechet all over New Orleans, as he learned to play the clarinet by ear and gained acceptance among the early ragtime, blues, and jazz players.
Post Edited (2017-08-24 18:42)
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