Decline and Fall of Clarinet Empire (was Re: women musicians)

[George Robinson <GRComm...>]

This raises an interesting question -- several really -- that I'd love
to hear the clarinetists address.

Why is the instrument held in such disrepute? Lester Young doubled on
clarinet when he first came to Count Basie; Basie told him to lose the
clarinet, that the instrument had no future in big-band-driven jazz. And
when bop came to the fore, it drove out most of the clarinetists
(despite Buddy DeFranco making a more than game effort to play bop
clarinet). Remember, before bebop came along, you had several major
leaders who played clarinet -- Goodman, Shaw, Herman (two Jews, by the
way).

So what gives?

An ancillary question, perhaps even more elusive to answer; why is
klezmer fading out in the Ortho community? Given the massive amounts of
synth-driven faux rock rubbish I hear Orthodox bands churning out, I
can't say I'm surprised, but what is the reason for this?

George (Yes, I can ask a serious question, but I try not to make a habit
of it) Robinson



Elrosen (at) aol(dot)com wrote:
> 
>   I actually just played at an Orthodox wedding where women (violin and harp) 
> were a part of the band. But this was a rather upscale event, and the strings 
> mostly played the standard waltzes (Nutcracker suite, Strauss, etc.) At the 
> average Orthodox wedding, you wouldn't have such orchestration.
> There is a well known violin soloist, Miri Ben-Ari, who plays for Neginah, 
> one of NY's larger Jewish orchestras. She usually fills the standard Jewish 
> numbers with jazz solos, which is why she's quite popular. But the truth of 
> the matter is that "fiddlers", and in fact any klezmer musician, are not in 
> demand for Orthodox weddings. To quote a well known klezmer, the clarinet is 
> "the dinosaur of Jewish music". Whereas there does seem to be some growing 
> interest in klezmer music within Chassidic circles, the music has not taken 
> in the mainstream Orthodox communities. You will, on occasion, see the 
> reeds-player at Orthodox weddings pull out the clarinet and play a couple of 
> yiddish theater melodies. But the fact that it is not used in the freylekhs 
> set suggests that the instrument, and in general, the music, are part of a 
> bygone era, a music that is to them no longer "in style". As Jordan said, 
> Margot would have to bring her sax and flute in order to play at Orthodox 
> weddings - th!
> at's what the style dictates. No
> w, whether klezmer will make a come-back at such weddings remains to be 
> seen....
> 
> Be Well,
> Elie
> 

-- 
George Robinson
Author, Essential Judaism
Please visit my website, "Essential Judaism and Beyond"
at www.GeorgeRobinson.freeservers.com

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