The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: William
Date: 2015-03-25 19:57
Watching the "Sing, Sing, Sing" video of the 1938 concert, it's interesting that the camera zooms in on a clarinet laying on a stand with the Buffet logo. Perhaps, Benny's.........??
Post Edited (2015-03-25 19:57)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-03-25 23:43
Absolutely THANKS !!!!!!!!
This is great on so many levels. The initial story almost drips with the animosity that must have existed all those year (at least for Buddy).
And Benny, still had nine years left in him but he was getting on by '79 and perhaps not at his best, but MAN, he was still better than anyone else !!!! He WAS rhythm.
.............Paul Aviles
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Author: hinotehud ★2017
Date: 2015-03-26 05:27
Thanks so much for posting. Buddy makes his amazing technique with the brushes look so easy!
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Author: Wisco99
Date: 2015-03-26 12:37
I toured with Buddy Rich in 1976 on a new band playing the 2nd tenor book. Buddy was always putting out 120% when he played, and he expected the rest of us mere mortals to keep up with him. He had the ability to make you play better than you thought you could. When the band was on it was like magic, and he was a happy man.
Buddy had worked with Artie Shaw back when Artie had the top band in the country. Artie just walked out in the middle of a radio broadcast, went to Mexico, and 2 weeks later the band was history. You can tell from the video the admiration that Buddy had for Benny Goodman. Perhaps he was just not the right drummer for Benny, who knows, but Buddy was the best there was. It was like he was from another planet.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-03-26 15:12
Dear "Wisco99,"
You have an amazingly positive attitude for someone who worked with Buddy Rich. I would think you are in the minority.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: Wisco99
Date: 2015-03-26 23:14
Paul,
It was my dream to play and tour on Buddy's band and my dream came true. It was a new all NYC band, and I was the "the guy from Milwaukee." We are all familiar with the Buddy band tapes, and the verbal attacks we got in dressing rooms and on the bus, but most of that was his frustration of not playing at the level he wanted. When the band was on it was magic, and Buddy was happy. Everyone got fired at one time or another, but I think everyone who played with him had a deep respect for his ability to play drums, and fire up a band like nobody else could. Symphony conductors have been known to be tyrants too, but also be able to bring out the best performances. Consider that Buddy was performing on stage when he was 1 1/2 years old, a star by the age of 8, and the 2nd highest paid child in show business in the country back then. He never had a childhood like most kids have, and spent his life on the road. He finally mellowed in later years, but I never saw any musician who could even come close to him on a drum set. He was the only true genius I ever met. Benny Goodman had a reputation for "the stare", and could be just as demanding as Buddy. The difference between Benny and Buddy was Benny was always practicing, and I never saw Buddy practice, he just sat down and played at a level beyond anyone.
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Author: Michael E. Shultz
Date: 2015-03-27 14:43
I saw Maynard Ferguson and Buddy Rich perform at the Idora Park Ballroom in Youngstown, Ohio. It was sometime during the 1970s. Buddy was on his best behavior. His lovely daughter and her friend sang a number or two.
Maynard was at the peak of his popularity, so Buddy was the opening act. Supposedly, Buddy was not happy about this, but he gave no indication during the performance. Buddy's orchestra played songs with a lot of high trumpet parts. I think he was competing with Maynard.
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
Groucho Marx
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Author: Wisco99
Date: 2015-03-27 19:10
Michael,
I'm sure there was competition between Maynard and Buddy at some level, but they both had great bands. Both bands had high trumpet parts, that is the nature of the music. When I was on Dave Stahl played lead, and he had the amazing ability to take the lead trumpet part up an octave for several measures and even do sixteenth notes accurately which I never heard anyone do. A good friend played lead trumpet for Kenton, and tells a story in the book about Kenton of getting up the next day and scraping the blood out of his mouthpiece from the night before. There was a famous battle of the bands at the Savoy ballroom in the mid 1930's between Benny Goodman and Chick Webb's band. Too bad those days are gone. It was a great era.
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