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

[George Robinson <GRComm...>]

A very interesting thesis, for which I say thanks. As
for trombone, the
big problem, it seems to me, was that it was just to
damned hard to play
fast and still articulate, say, 16th notes. JJ is a
giant, and he's one
of the few 'bone players of the period who could
bring it off.
George

"Alex J. Lubet" wrote:
> 
> Responding to the message of
<3A9DCFE9(dot)816A2981 (at) concentric(dot)net>
> from jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org:
> >
> > 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?
> 
> My understanding is that the intricacies of
fingering the clarinet, which
> overblows at the twelfth, made playing highly
chromatic bebop difficult and that
> that was the principal reason sax, which
overblows at the octave, largely
> supplanted it.  This may also be the reason
that there were relatively few
> trombonists appearing as bop soloists, the
recently departed J. J. Johnson a
> notable exception.  I'm not a wind player so
I can't vouch for this from
> personal experience.
> 
> Alex Lubet, Ph. D.
> Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor
of Music
> Adjunct Professor of American Studies
> University of Minnesota
> 2106 4th St. S
> Minneapolis, MN 55455
> 612 624-7840 612 624-8001 (fax)
>

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