Author: seabreeze
Date: 2020-07-20 22:57
One thing the early jazz players did not seem interested in was securing clarinets made by the Alberts in Belgium. E. J Albert made clarinets tuned to about A = 440, unlike Eugene whose instruments were much higher pitch. E. J. Albert certainly made both Albert and Boehm system instruments, and just a few years ago, Luis Rossi in Chile used a late model E.J. Albert Boehm from, I believe, he said 1930, that had a big bore of 15 mm in designing his own AL model (which I no longer see in Rossi's present catalog). I'm sure Rossi still has the measurements for that Albert Boehm. E.J. Albert Albert- system instruments still appear for sale at reasonable prices from time to time, on, for example Clarinets Direct, but original Albert Boehm system clarinets are seldom offered for sale. Even rarer are Sax Clarinets made by Charles Joseph Sax, father of Adolphe, the inventor of the saxophone. The Met Art Museum has a Sax Clarinet, 13-key Mueller system ivory clarinet in its collection (looking like something Albert would like to get his hands on to add roller keys, rings, and other improvements).
The question of whether the Tio students played double lip may never be settled. Some of the old players at Preservation Hall said they did, some said they didn't. I once tried to find the "authentic" chorus for High Society and a jazz historian who had looked into the same thing told me, don't bother, Picou played it lots of different ways on different nights and in different settings. Some wonderful things I got from the dissertation on the Tios include: Tio, jr. charged 50 cents a lesson and lent Bechet a clarinet when Bechet was just 12 and his instrument broke. Lorenzo Sr. played a solo called "Sonambula" (from the Bellini opera?)and a Cuban dance, "Trocha." This is a Latino connection I've never seen before; it needs investigating. The older Tios were task masters; when the younger players had trouble with the Light Calvary Overture, they were brow-beaten into practicing it till they didn't have any more trouble.Barney Bigard met the Tios when he got a job with Papa Tio's cigar factory, anD Bigard evidentially did get the tune for Mood Indigo from Tio. Recommendations that Lorenzo Tio Jr's work with Piron on "Bouncing Around" and "Red Man Blues" are good samples of his playing. A footnote reference to Floyd Levin's 1986 article in the New Orleans Jazz Club's magazine Second Line, "Louisiana Swing: The Dynasty of New Orleans Clarinets Established by Lorenzo Tio, jr." Two clarinets owned and probably played by Tio, jr. were a Buffet and a J W Pepper/Premiere with a Mahillion mouthpiece. Tracing the thorough list of residences where the Tios lived was also interesting for me as a New Orleans native.
Post Edited (2020-07-21 03:28)
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The Clarinet BBoard
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