The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Matt Carlton
Date: 2002-09-08 13:44
I'm really starting to delve into my clarinet playing since I believe a "marketable" saxophone player should have a good hold on doubling. Flute is another issue!!! But anyways I just wanted to get some suggestions on who I should be listening to in the classical and jazz idioms. For jazz I have been listening to a lot of Benny Goodman when Lionel Hampton was his vibraphone player. I have also been listening to a lot of Eddie Daniels as well. Who do you think I should be listening to, jazz or classical?
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Author: Robert
Date: 2002-09-08 14:49
Kari Kriikku, Sabine Meyer, Alessandro Carbonare, Karl Leister, Richard Hosford...
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Author: Jamie Talbot
Date: 2002-09-08 15:53
Listen to all the greats-classical and jazz.Eddie Daniels,Artie Shaw,Benny Goodman,Buddy DeFranco,Kenny Davern,Ken Peplowski are a pretty good shortlist of jazz players.Classical players have been recorded since the beginning of the last century,so you can really get a feel for the modern development of the clarinet.Listen to Charles Draper,Haydn Draper,Aage Oxenvad,Reginald Kell,Frederick Thurston,Luigi Amodio,Louis Cahuzak,Jack Brymer,Gervaise De Peyer,John McKaw,and through to more contempary players like Charles Niedich,
Michael Collins,Larry Coombs,James Campbell,Stanley Drucker,Sabine Meyer,Karl Leister and Alan Hacker.A pretty short list of great players with many missed out,but a good list all the same!
Keep an open mind and enjoy!
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Author: William
Date: 2002-09-08 16:45
Again, Anker Bilk and Richard Stoltzman failed to make the "must listen to" listings.
All good suggestions, however. I would only add one of my favorite clarinetists, John Bruce-Yeh.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2002-09-08 17:51
Listening to players, live, will help put a formative sound into your 'mind's ear' for your own playing.
If you want to start right in the middle of the road -
Ken Peplowski.
Your clarinet should be an adjunct to your sax.
It should not be played as if it were a wooden saxophone... explore the differences between instruments and it will be more fun (not to mention useful) on the stand.
Klezmer may be way off your beaten path, but it can give you an idea of what the clarinet can do when really pushed...
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-09-08 18:19
William wrote:
>
> Again, Anker Bilk
Well, my nickname for him is closer to "Canker" Bilk, but Acker is his real nickname (born Bernard Stanley Bilk ).
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Author: Ken
Date: 2002-09-08 20:41
Strictly off the top of my head and not previously listed you can't go wrong with recordings from any of these industry giants. v/r KEN
Classical:
- Robert Marcellus
- Harold Wright
- John Manasse
- David Shifrin
- Elsa Ludwig-Verdehr
- Anthony Gigliotti
- Emma Johnson
- Ricardo Morales
- Anthony Pay
Jazz (contemporary/bop/doubler/bass):
- Alvin Batiste
- Don Byron
- Tony Scott
- Billy Novick
- Bob Mintzer
- Eric Dolphy
- Kenny Davern
Jazz (traditional/dixieland):
- Kim Cusak
- Allan Vache
- Harold Cooper
- Jack Maheu
- Pete Fountain
- William "Bill" Shea
- Tim Laughlin
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2002-09-08 23:17
Back in the days before dirt first appeared on the Earth, I began playing jazz. It was nice to learn from the bad players as well as the good. You can hear players you do not like and judge why, as well as what you would do differently if you were in their shoes.
It doesn't take good playing to be a well-liked performer. Bernard S. "Mr. Acker" Bilk is really a decent jazz player who made a ton of money with "Stranger on the Shore," playing outside his usual element. That piece, something he wrote for his daughter, proved to be the most popular Clarinet recording in any genre for the last half of the twentieth century, and the royalties are still rolling in. And Jimmy Dorsey intensely disliked "So Rare" because of the raucous sound, but he was assured by others that it would do well. It was the only million-selling record he ever cut.
Just listen to music. Good, bad, ugly, mediocre. If you recognize it for what it is, any of it can help you to be a better musician.
Regards,
John
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Author: John Kelly - Australia
Date: 2002-09-09 10:38
The black jazz clarinet players of New Orleans [for the real stuff] in my opinion, people such as:
Johnny Dodds
Omer Simeon
Barney Bigard
Darnell Howard
Albert Nicholas
Edmond Hall
Jimmy Noone
George Lewis
Albert Burbank
I've missed some to be sure, but this would be a good start. Oh - listen to Louis Armstrong too - he's a trumpet player [oh,duh] but phrasing, timing, soul.......etc......any horn player can learn from him!
You can hear all of these greats and many many more at the following website, here's the URL: http://www.redhotjazz.com/index.htm
It's all free and incidentally, I couldn't help but notice that the majority of the respondees to Matt Carlton's post cited white players in jazz as their favourites, so maybe you want to check out these blokes too!
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-09-09 11:47
- wrote:
<b>PLEASE!</b> If you don't want to leave an email address, just leave the field blank.
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Author: Matt Carlton
Date: 2002-09-09 18:03
Wow guys!!! Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions. The thing for me is that I prefer listening to jazz piano and clarinet players rather than saxophone, and I'm a saxophonist?!!? I think my reasons are that back in the big band days, solo clarinetists were very popular and had a great sound. Solo sax playing I think didn't really come into it's own until a little later. And I always love listening to jazz piano playing just for ideas on my own soloing.
Well anyways, thanks again!!!
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Author: Ken
Date: 2002-09-09 19:24
John Kelly wrote: "and incidentally, I couldn't help but notice that the majority of the respondees to Matt Carlton's post cited white players in jazz as their favourites,"
--John, reviewing the thread/previously posted names I must assume your statement was directed at me and I feel obligated to respond in kind. For the benefit of all on the BB I wish to publicly state and for the record, the "race" or "ethnic origin" of any clarinetist I listed has positively NO bearing on what I consider the quality of their musicianship, associations, popularity and most importantly WHO and WHAT they are/were as human beings. The admiration, inspiration and influence I presonally seek in an artist is colorblind and strictly confined to individual merit and musical excellence.
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Author: John Kelly - Australia
Date: 2002-09-10 00:24
No Ken - I was NOT singling out anyone in particular. In fact many people who have earlier postings of a similar nature cite white players as their preferred and I am assuming that this is the school of thought they have been exposed to.
For my part, in my formative years, I listened to many "re-creations" of classic jazz by white bands and thought that "this was it". It wasn't until I sought out the original recordings that I discovered that it was [mainly] black players who started the whole thing. So my influences have been from the originators of jazz, who just happen to be black, that's all.
The last part of my post was a friendly encouragement. If one has not heard or listened extensively to the players I listed then a good source is that one which I cited.
Music should be, as all other things, "colourblind" as you rightly say.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-09-10 01:04
John Kelly - Australia wrote:
>
> No Ken - I was NOT singling out anyone in particular. In
> fact many people who have earlier postings of a similar nature
> cite white players as their preferred and I am assuming that
> this is the school of thought they have been exposed to.
Ya know somethin'? I don't think many of us even <b>know</b> what race (if there is such a thing) or skin color belongs to many of the old time jazz folk. It never mattered much to me; I don't think it matters much to anyone else, either.
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2002-09-10 01:46
One: It is extremely difficult to detect or evaluate a player's skin melanin level by listening to a phonograph record. And anyone who claims he or she can do that is making 'way too much out of it.
Two: No one yet mentioned Sidney Bechet, my favorite of the old school. He was amazing on both Clarinet and soprano saxophone. Bechet could make Kenny G sound like... well, Kenny G.
Regards,
John
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Author: John Kelly - Australia
Date: 2002-09-10 07:15
JMcAulay - you are right, Bechet was good too. He's not on my favourite list though, despite his virtuosity, I always thought him to be TOO overpowering in the ensemble. Just listen again - he hogs the lead practically all the time - I'd have hated to be a brass player in his band.
Despite this he was very good and should be listened to, but I'm just putting my very personal opinion about him, of course, which can be ignored if you don't agree. Funny too eh, how Kenny G winds up in the jazz section of quite a few music stores!
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Author: Dex#1
Date: 2002-09-10 13:11
Matt- just a quick word about "doubling". Over the last thirty years I've played (both professionally and on an amateur level) tuba, trombone, sax, clarinet, fiddle, banjo. My music collection ranges from Goodman to Scruggs, Mahler to Kid Ory.I share the above with you as one who has some experience in musical diversity. I say open your mind and heart to all forms of music.Now, fellow clarinettists, don't get touchy, but I must tell you I find this particular board a bit, shall we say, more formal that others I follow.That 'taint a bad thing, just a characteristic of this particular board. Do I have a point? Yup. There's alot of jazz, Dixieland, Big Band stuff out there to listen to as well as classical. Now, there I've gone and ruffled some feathers, I'm sure.Please don't flame me. I love classical, too. But listen to some Johnny Noone, some Hot Five, some Preservation Square, some Dodds. These clarinettists are far from "perfect" in presentation, mechanics, etc. But, man, they can PLAY! What is "great" music? To me, it's whatever moves you... Open up and expand those horizons.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-09-10 15:35
Dex#1 wrote:
PLEASE either enter a real email address or leave it blank. Entering bogus email addresses on the BBoard causes me problems.
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2002-09-10 15:41
John, I agree that Bechet is rather overpowering in ensemble work. But I must admit that when listening to Bechet, I listen to Bechet. The "rest of those guys" would be pretty much interchangeable to me. And I am quite sure I have never heard a better Soprano Saxophonist.
Regards,
John
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-09-10 18:39
"why does Kenny G play out of the side of his mouth?"
Because his tongue is already in the other cheek.
"Tongue in cheek" (get it?) ...Oh never mind....GBK (heading back to Baermann III)
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Author: Carl L
Date: 2002-09-10 19:06
Mark, I'm "Dex#1", actually Carl L. I get confused because 1. I'm old and, 2. I jump from board to board and forget the particular mechanics of each. Your inference that I left a "bogus" e-mail sounds a tad, eh, insinuating. Hey, I'm sorry I caused you a problem. Didn't mean to. I DO love your BB and DO find it a bit formal...but, as I said, that's cool and don't fret. Hey, can't we all be friends?!
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Author: d dow
Date: 2002-09-11 22:18
Barney Bigard Anthony Pay
Omer Simeon Karl Leister
Johnny Dodds Robert Marcellus
William O. Smith John McCaw
Anthony braxton Harold Wright
Russel Procope Michael Collins
Jimmy Hamilton Gervase dePeyer
Artie Shaw David Glazer
Benjamin Goodman Alfred Prinz
Alvin Batiste Kjell Inge-Stevensen
John Carter Pacal Moragues/Classical
Don Byron Jazz
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Author: d dow
Date: 2002-09-11 22:20
Try listening to all these cats!
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The Clarinet Pages
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