Who's your favourite clarinet player?

[mjazzg]

Does anyone know this? Brotzmann's Clarinet Project - Berlin Djungle.

Obviously not to all Clarinet fans' taste but I'm intrigued to know how he uses all the clarinets

[Guest Bill Barton]

...Haven't heard much Jack Maheu, but he plays a very emotional clarinet...

Thanks for mentioning Jack Maheu, very good clarinetist.

Jack never made recordings that come anywhere close to the emotional depth of what he was like in performance. I had the great pleasure of hearing him several times in jam session type settings back in the mid-1990s when he returned to his hometown (Plattsburgh, NY) for the Christmas holidays. He was a helluva fine musician and a really nice guy.

[king ubu]

Other clarinetist of importance, whose name don't have been prononced yet, is the veteran ROLF KÜHN (older brother of Joachim). He made a nice come-back with two albums on Jazzwerksttat this two last year with a new band of youngsters named TRI-O.

And by the way, ROLF is eighty-one years old.

Yes, he's great!

[Alexander Hawkins]

Amongst living clarinettists, I'd want to mention my friend/collaborator Alex Ward. I actually scribbled some thoughts in a BFT thread just earlier today, but for anyone inclined to check out a more 'out' clarinettist, IMHO Alex is special!

[Steve Reynolds]

Alexander - I would love to see Alex Ward come to NYC one day with Mark Sanders and Simon H Fell - plus you of course

havn't kept up as much recently with newer recordings but I have a great CD on red toucan that explodes out of the player

[mjazzg]

Alexander - I would love to see Alex Ward come to NYC one day with Mark Sanders and Simon H Fell - plus you of course

havn't kept up as much recently with newer recordings but I have a great CD on red toucan that explodes out of the player

Steve (and other interested parties), until you persuade them stateside, I'd thoroughly recommend a recent release on Victo - Joe Morris, Simon Fell and Alex Ward - the Neccesary and the Possible.

Sadly no Alex Hawkins but very fine nonetheless

[Ted O'Reilly]

I'm quite fond of Ernie Caceres' work on clarinet. . . . I've a piano- and trumpet-playing friend, Mel Winters, whose dad used to lead a territory band in this region of Texas and for a number of years hired the Caceres brothers; to Mel Ernie was "Uncle Ernie."

Someone mentioned Henry Cuesta earlier. A long-time Toronto resident, he was probably most widely known for his work with Lawrence Welk, but Cuesta was a fine jazz clarinetist and baritone sax player. And he was a cousin of the Caceres family.

Just to toss in a Canadian y'all should know, find out more about Phil Nimmons -- 87 years old now, and still going strong. These days he plays only completely freely improvised music with a brilliant young pianist, David Braid.

[Alexander Hawkins]

Alexander - I would love to see Alex Ward come to NYC one day with Mark Sanders and Simon H Fell - plus you of course

havn't kept up as much recently with newer recordings but I have a great CD on red toucan that explodes out of the player

Steve - that's really kind - that'd be a fun group! I've never had the pleasure of playing with Simon, but would love to. Alex and Mark are, I'm very lucky to say, regular partners in crime! I'm not sure, but I guess the last time Alex was in NY may well have been with Derek Bailey...

[Steve Reynolds]

I saw Mark Sanders in NYC with Evan Parker, Drew Gress and Tim Berne in May 2001

2 sets knitting factory main space

2nd set through the roof!!! - Sanders is one of my favorite 3 or 4 drummers - along with Drake, Bennink, Lovens, Cyrille, Hemingway, etc

ask him about the trip - I think he was touring with Jah Wobble if I recollect

[Alexander Hawkins]

Sounds great - interesting band! That sounds about right with Jah Wobble - they've been working together for a long while...yeah, I absolutely love Mark's playing...beautiful guy to play *with* as well - he's such a responsive, listening player!

[clifford_thornton]

Does anyone know this? Brotzmann's Clarinet Project - Berlin Djungle.

Obviously not to all Clarinet fans' taste but I'm intrigued to know how he uses all the clarinets

Cool record. The arrangements are quite massive and recall, to me (in parts) some of Bill Dixon's orchestral music, especially the combination of low brass and "woody" reeds. There are some amazing passages of brutal high-pitched trilling as well, and considering what one might "expect" from a Euro-American blowout, its textures are quite varied. If you're into the heavier realm of avant-garde improvised music, it's definitely worth some ear-time.

Also a second on Rolf Kuhn. Fantastic and open-minded player, one who I'm glad is still with us.

[mjazzg]

Does anyone know this? Brotzmann's Clarinet Project - Berlin Djungle.

Obviously not to all Clarinet fans' taste but I'm intrigued to know how he uses all the clarinets

Cool record. The arrangements are quite massive and recall, to me (in parts) some of Bill Dixon's orchestral music, especially the combination of low brass and "woody" reeds. There are some amazing passages of brutal high-pitched trilling as well, and considering what one might "expect" from a Euro-American blowout, its textures are quite varied. If you're into the heavier realm of avant-garde improvised music, it's definitely worth some ear-time.

Also a second on Rolf Kuhn. Fantastic and open-minded player, one who I'm glad is still with us.

thanks Clifford, I appreciate your comments. Passed on a cheap copy recently but will go back and see if it's still there now. Think I'll check out Mr Kuhn as well