Clarinet Recommendation?

[Chuck Nessa]

I hope some of you appreciate that I have not pissed on anyone even though I have very strong feeling about clarinetists B-)

Prostate acting up ?

My doctor said (after the insertion ) "I envy you, it's in the right place, right size and pointed in the right direction".

[Bright Moments]

Pick up David Murray's "Ballads For Bass Clarinet"! That's a great one to introduce someone who likes the sound of clarinet (abeit lower in tone) to the inner & outer aspects of its sound... and John Hicks plays great on it too.

Later,

Kevin

I would pick this up too, if I could ever find it, that is. I have never even SEEN this sucker, and I have been looking for about 5 years.

you can thank me later!

http://www.deepdiscountcd.com/index.cfm?re...bass%20clarinet

[BruceH]

Funny enough, couw, I just found both that Shaw 2-disc LAST SESSIONS set as well as the MORE LAST SESSIONS 2 CD set that came out somewhat later used a few weeks ago and have been enjoying the hell out of both.

Aren't they just the greatest? I love both those sets!!

[DrJ]

Yes indeed, BruceH, they are, they are. On another plane!

[Brad]

I would have said Artie Shaw. The disc The Complete Gramercy Five Sessions on Bluebird is pretty nice. For recent vintage, I would have picked Peplowski.

[Jeffro]

I heard Buddy DeFranco live in NYC back in June (after nearly walking away due to Louis Bellson's absence), and I was floored. Too bad his CDs are a rarity in the local shops here. I also recommend Ken Peplowski, Dr. Michael White, Goodman, and Bechet.

Edited December 1, 2004 by Jeffro

[RDK]

Woody Allen?

[AmirBagachelles]

I scored my long sought West Coast Hot on my way home last night (Kim's used, $8!!) and although clem has already justly raved about John Carter, he really deserves super props. And definitely scrounge up the Gramavisions and the hats and all w/ Bradford.

[Rooster_Ties]

Another plug for the David Murray disc that's all bass clarinet.

I'm not a huge fan of Don Byron, but if you go that direction, get "Romance with the Unseen" (BN, 1999) - my favorite disc of his by some margin. (Haven't heard his latest, the one with Jason Moran yet, though.)

[Tjazz]

Pick up David Murray's "Ballads For Bass Clarinet"! That's a great one to introduce someone who likes the sound of clarinet (abeit lower in tone) to the inner & outer aspects of its sound... and John Hicks plays great on it too.

Later,

Kevin

I would pick this up too, if I could ever find it, that is. I have never even SEEN this sucker, and I have been looking for about 5 years.

you can thank me later!

http://www.deepdiscountcd.com/index.cfm?re...bass%20clarinet

$21.80 ??

For a $27.95 import.

Is it that good?

[Rooster_Ties]

http://www.deepdiscountcd.com/index.cfm?re...bass%20clarinet

$21.80  ??

For a $27.95 import.

Is it that good?

Well, the $21.80 does include postage, and there's no sales tax. Now whether it's worth that much to you, I couldn't say. (But it's easily worth $15, without question (IMHO), for whatever that's worth.)

It's a good, solid album -- and probably my one of my personal favorites of all of Murray's output (and unique, in that it's all bass clarinet).

It clocks in at 52:16 if that helps any (it's not a overly "short" album), and it's not just ballads, cuz there are two or three mid-tempo tunes too (about half the disc), just nothing really up-tempo. The band is John Hicks, Ray Drummond, and Idris Muhammad.

I've been searching high and low for on-line sound-clips, but can't find any. Anybody have any better luck than I did??

Edit (the next morning): Listening to the CD just now, I had forgotten how wonderful it is that Murray plays quite a bit in the lower register of the bass clarinet. So many players focus on the upper register, and frankly -- it's the lower half of the instrument that really makes it unique. (Yeah, I know, the upper register sounds different than a regular clarinet.) My point is that the lower register is usually underutilized by most players --- but not on this recording!!!

Edited December 2, 2004 by Rooster_Ties

[ghost of miles]

Howza 'bout Buster Bailey?

[pryan]

Check out George Lewis. See montg's avatar for one recommendation. I just picked up that one (ICE CREAM) today and it kicks ass, good sound quality too.

[garthsj]

Hmmmmmmmmm ..... as a former clarinet player myself, I would be concerned about exposing a young, innocent player to Buddy DeFranco .... as I indicated in another thread, it can be either an inspirational or a daunting experience .... just kidding. DeFranco is a good place to start for anindication of what can be done on the clarinet .. the purity of tone, control of the instrument, etc. On the other hand if you want to show how far the instrument can be taken away from its natural beauty then go to Don Byron. Who knows, given the nature of teenagers these days, the subversive, alternative interpretation of the clarinet that Byron so aptly provides might be just what she needs to inspire her.

If I had ever played with Byron's tonal qualities my clarinet teacher, a formidable Teuton, Herr Doktor Wolfgang Feuerbach (he was the principle clarinetist with the Cape Town Symphony) would have had me thrown out of the Conservatory at the University of Cape Town . He was angry enough when I started playing in dance bands at age 14 ... "all zat vaving ze instrument around in ze air..." The sight of Goodman, Herman, Shaw, et. al. with their instrument lifted skyward sent him into paroxyms of invective ... It was verboten to mention their names to him!

Basically clarinet players are a weird bunch ... the instrument is so damned demanding to play well ...

Garth.

Edited December 2, 2004 by garthsj