Jack White ... the noiv of this guy! (this is making its way around the woodwind forums, of all things)
http://blogs.tennessean.com/tunein/2...ashville-band/
Jack White ... the noiv of this guy! (this is making its way around the woodwind forums, of all things)
http://blogs.tennessean.com/tunein/2...ashville-band/
Last edited by catmandu2; Apr-27-2012 at 12:44pm.
That was a pretty nice arrangement, the way it blended with the electric piano, and it actually sounded like clarinet instead of a sax player doubling on a clarinet. I am officially raising my Jack White Appreciation Flag from 'wary admiration' to 'likes his hat'.
I kept waiting for a mandolin to come in
as a clarinet player I can dig it. Wish there was a break though, but you don't get breaks much in pop these days. Still cool to hear a clarinet in something other than classical, or cheezed up Dixieland.
I play Bb (and I have an Eb alto somewhere), but no bass... so your theory may still standbut as likely the only extant bass clarinetists on board here...we are obviously partial
- 2004 Macica A
- 1952 Selmer Centered Tone
- Eastwood electric mandola
(and lots more)
I know there are many here with at least a clarinet stuffed in the closet, or in a storage shed...but bass is something you really have to want...I periodically think of selling mine and getting a nice mandolin..
Well I always like it when I can get a clarinet discussion going (apologies to Scott...er, Scott probably has a clarinet too!)
I thought the video and the song were pretty interesting. Gonna get that record!
Jamie
There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second. Logan Pearsall Smith, 1865 - 1946
+ Give Blood, Save a Life +
What...no clarinet Jamie? ;h
I've heard some tunes from it, or at least some new jw album...some good rockers as usual
This thread got me thinking a bit about how much easier it seems to find cool and innovative clarinet players these days compared to mandolin players. People think Mandolin is a "niche" instrument, and based off the number of people who think I play ukelele, that's probably true. People almost always know what a clarinet is, but when it comes to finding cool music to listen to involving these instruments? Mandolin wins hands down. I almost always enjoy songs with mandolin in them, but I find it much harder to find interesting clarinet music... not sure if it's the mandolin's additional ability to play rhythm or what.
The question gets even more interesting when you consider the fact that, like you say, most people have a clarinet lingering around somewhere. Is it the approachability that keeps it from being more often used? My horns are far from the closet, I've got a '73 R13 now, my backup horn, my alto, and a junker tin one I turned into a lamp... also thinking of getting one of those cheap plastic ones in bright green ones for playing jazz on the street. Speaking of playing on the street, when I play clarinet people always stop and say "wow, if I only knew a clarinet could be played like that I never would have stopped playing!" where as when I play mandolin, I usually get "cool, I like your ukelele playing!"
- 2004 Macica A
- 1952 Selmer Centered Tone
- Eastwood electric mandola
(and lots more)
Clarinet and violin must be two of the most ubiquitous instruments in households, other than guitars, because they were traditionally part of public education for years. Most kids quit playing, and parents dish their instruments...I've obtained some of my clarinets from college kids who give it up after high school. As far as, why more people don't get their clarinets out and use them: people get frustrated with their squeaks--and the clarinet easily squeaks without careful technique (not so mandolin of course)...even among saxophonists, the clarinet is sometimes affectionately called "the misery stick" for its necessity for more careful fingering than sax. Also, I've met so many people who've said they've struggled with clarinet, it's reasonable to asssume that they never developed the skills to play well--even while in school--and never liked the dam* thing in the first place!
It's an amazingly expressive instrument, and amazingly available in the US--easy to get a decent one for <$100. Flute too--but clarinet is a most expressive instrument. Also, clarinets are interesting in that, a $100 "resonite" clarinet, with adequate technique, is a perfectly good sounding instrument--given that one likes the sound of clarinet..
In jazz there's lots of cool clarinet...beyond trad jazz, there's lots of folk element in lots of euro jazz--balkan, scandinavian--more and more b cl being laid down all the time...and soprano cl too, for that matter, as seems all instruments experience revivals at some point..im into lots of art music, so I actually find more creative music with clarinet, than I do mandolin, necessarily; check out Chris speed, Matt dareau, Marty erlich, Michael Moore, Louis sclavis, vandermark
Of course there's Brotzmann
and Harry Sparnaay http://www.harrysparnaay.info/
Last edited by catmandu2; Apr-27-2012 at 3:48pm.
BTW, another place you find creativity from clarinets--particularly--is in the children's milieu: most of the music in the cute little play-along/educational shows my kids watch (I recommed Backyardagains, and Yo Gaba Gaba) are heavily synth-based (why not?..if you've gotta score a lot of music with wide dynamics), but I've noticed that there's so often a bass clarinet in there too...likely due to its incredible range, evocative sound, much less its ability to mimic barnyard animals..
[QUOTE=catmandu2;1047038] sometimes affectionately called "the misery stick"
I've always known them as 'licorice sticks'. Other than all the old big band & dixieland jazz guys, I recall a tune or two Roland Kirk honked one on that were pretty cool. I think a recent Bela number ? Got to pick a little at midwinter with Pete Wernicks guy (Live Five ?) Not bowled over by the studio stuff but boy was he rippin' it up that day ! What a treat .
This is way, way into no mando content, but I challenge you to name the only number one pop single featuring a bassoon solo.
(Without using Google.)
Object to this post? Find out how to ignore me here!
Clarinet comes into play a lot in Klezmer, and by association, some gypsy jazz. Very cool instrument. John Jorgenson always whips one out for a piece or two at one of his extended shows, and it's great. So does Andy Statman, just to make sure there's a mandolin connection here. As for an extended bassoon solo, I'm in the dark, but if you want an extended bass clarinet solo, just listen to Eric Dolphy's version of "God Bless The Child." Free-jazz out there stuff. He played one relatively frequently (for modern jazz, anyway) to either brilliant or "what the heck is he thinking?" effect. I'm loving the trend for unusual mixes of instruments. Now, if we can get a bass clarinet/bassoon/mandocello chamber group going, we'll be in duck soup, whatever that is...
Jim Magill, Director
The Swannanoa Gathering
Warren Wilson College
PO Box 9000
Asheville, NC 28815-9000
828-298-3434
jmagill@warren-wilson.edu
www.swangathering.com
Awesome Charlie...another opportunity to post some wonderful dolphy (although on flute this time, but a second version of Gazzelloni with bcl, by the equally compelling John Tchicai (pn)...and, for good measure the famous clip of the mingus quintet in Oslo...both Eric and Johnny C would both be dead a short time after this...with the wonderful Jaki Byard)
Last edited by catmandu2; Apr-27-2012 at 7:59pm.
Me too...I just got a hurdy gurdy and am looking for someone to crank it while I go crazy on my bass cl. The scandinavians have a habit of doing interesting and eclectic stuff--integrating traditional forms with "jazz" or improvisational music
Here's some nice stuff...love the kantele/Andrew Cronshaw, and duduk/Tigran Aleksanyan
Last edited by catmandu2; Apr-27-2012 at 9:31pm.
My first thought was "I Got You Babe" by Sonny And Cher, then I remembered that's an oboe. So I had to rack my brain for a while (my brain that's so full of oh-so-useful information), as this has come up before. You know - what's the only #1 song to feature a weird instrument, like autoharp ("Do You Believe In Magic" by The Lovin' Spoonful, or mandolin ("Maggie May" by Rod Stewart) - see? MC can be worked in if one tries hard enough - and finally it came to me: "Tears Of A Clown" by The Miracles. I think it's more of a featured instrument than a solo (same as IGYB), but this is my guess.
Too bad you don't get someone like Joni Mitchell coming by to maybe put on a harmony, or at least commemorate you in song. There's a very nice clarinet solo at the end of the studio version.
But anyway ... this is a nice enough song, and keeps me keeping the faith regarding Jack White. He does seem to really care about music and have an open mind about many aspects of it - in this case, instrumentation. On the other hand, I am a bit disgruntled that he beat me to the punch regarding using bass clarinet in a pop song. I have been planning to spring that on an unsuspecting public for quite a while. That would be on a song of mine that is driven by mandola, so I expect I will still be the first to come up with that combination on a pop song. But still, in the meantime, the noive!
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
Who could forget:
It's frustrating, isn't it? The clarinet's way, way, way deep in the genre ghetto, and most of the players seem pretty content to stay there. Like, Martin Frost is arguably a Thile of the clarinet, in terms of virtuosity:
But nobody excepting a clarinet nerd would be interested (arguably justly so).
I confess that, I'm never really compelled by the sound of soprano cl...maybe from too much radio, trad jazz, swing music, I don't know...but I love playing sop cl. For all my talk of sound motivating my playing...Im inconsistent here. It takes a jimmy giuffre, don Byron, or Anthony Braxton to make the instrument very listenable, for me. It's a wonderful instrument to hear yourself playing--all woody and organic--and feel the air moving beneath your fingers...but it takes an egghead perhaps to enjoy its sound...perhaps compelling Adolphe sax to conduct his sonic experiments with the conical bore..
Well as Justus mentioned--it's hard to look like a rock star playing small instruments like ukule...er, mandolin. But, really, Martin at 1:28" demonstrates just this
The soprano clarinet perhaps as much or more as any instrument before the electric guitar has been burned into the American consciousness--especially--by johhny dodds, artie shaw, benny goodman, jimmy dorsey...gershwin..radio, tv, lawrence welk, your cousin's bar mitzvah; it could be an par with accordian in some respects, in terms of former popularity, and fall from grace
I love accordians and clarinets...and banjo. The three killers. I even have my gurdy in lieu of bagpipe
Bookmarks