It’s hard to remember that the Grammy Awards actually give out Jazz awards. I mean, with people like Chris Brown getting nominated…..

So here are a few I like that were nominated….

AWARD: 54th Annual Jazz Grammy Nominees:

33. Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

The Jazz Ballad Song Book
Randy Brecker With DR Big Band
[Half Note]

The Good Feeling
Christian McBride Big Band
[Mack Avenue Records]

57. Best Instrumental Composition

“Hunting Wabbits 3 (Get Off My Lawn)”
Gordon Goodwin, composer (Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band)
Track from: That’s How We Roll
[Telarc International]

(Via All About Jazz News)

And lets hope that Chris Brown doesn’t win anything…..

One of the most appreciated clarinettists in the world performs one of Benny Goodman’s favourites. The track is in fact taken from the album “Benny Rides Again”  in collaboration with Gary Burton as a keen homage to Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton.

This solo for advanced players and you’ll find below a brief analysis:

• The key in which the composition is performed is different from the one you may find in some Real Books: it’s in “D” in spite of “C”.
• Note how the use of the “glissato” is definitely almost absent (compared to swing clarinettist of the past) and replaced, in some cases, by the chromatic scale.
• For most of its extension the solo stays within an octave and a half hardly going under the “B” on the third line. This is one of the main issues encountered on clarinet solos on up-tempos or in situations where the instrument is somehow “weakened” or out-powered the other players (e.g. in big bands). Therefore the chance to explore and value the dark sounds is limited forcing the player to a brighter and louder part of the clarinet which may turn up to be, in the long run, counterproductive.
• The chord sequence of this track is a kind of “rhythm change” in the “A Section” where “D” is mainly meant as “D7″, and then the original chords are played on the “B Section”.
• Daniels’ approach to the solo is mainly diatonic except for the “B section” of the first chorus where he uses chromatic passages and for bars 10-13 where the chords |D7  Ebmaj | G7 | Cmin7 Gmaj7 | D D7 | are superimposed by the melodist.  
• Note how he begins and ends the solo using the pentatonic scale on the main key.
• Note how he plays the “F” mixolydian scale at the end of the first eight bars which ends up on the flat 9th of the chord in bar n.10 (D7).
• Note how he “sticks” by the diminished arpeggio in bars 17-20.
• Note how he emphasizes the minor third (blue note) during the last eight bars of the first chorus.
• Bars 33-36 may be meant as | D | Cmin7 | E7 A7|.
• He emphasizes even more the Blues Scale in bars 46-49.
• Again extremely stuck on the diminished arpeggio in bars 50-52.
• Note how he emphasizes the major seventh on the dim7 chords in bars 53-58.

NB: The score is for “Bb” instruments.

Audio File
Slow Down Audio File

This solo is based on a Blues (in “D”), a basic form very important for the musical development of any jazz musician and, moreover, is for intermediate players thus approachable by the majority of those interested.

Some considerations about this solo are listed below:

• Note how each chorus begins with a melodic line that lasts four bars and it’s repeated the next four bars. This is a typical approach to the blues. Some would play the same line for the whole extension of the chorus (generally twelve bars).
   
• The way he approaches the second chorus resembles a lot the style of the saxophonist Johnny Hodges.
   
• The “glissato” as a main clarinet feature (thanks to its acoustic characteristics) and a technique sometimes overused by a whole generation of clarinettists of the past or with styles influenced by Dixieland, New Orleans, 40s swing, etc. Lots of “contemporary” clarinet-players tend to avoid this overuse trying to have a wiser use of it.
   
• Besides a minimum use of ghost-notes, there is a very little use of certain kind of dissonances indeed (altered fifth or ninth, etc.) except for some chromatic passages at the end of the solo or for the 5^th and 6^th bar of the second chorus where we encounter a sharp-fourth caused by the repetition of a pattern which comes form the beginning of the chorus and is set in “D” major.
   
• Note the complete absence of the so-called Blues Scale. We encounter a minor third (blue note) at the end of the solo caused by a small pattern where there is the repetition of an ascending half-tone.

NB: The score is meant to be for “Bb” instruments

Audio File (MP3)

I’m trying out a few mouthpieces – a Vandoren M13, M15, 5JB, and B45. Does anyone have any suggestions for reeds that might work well with these? I have an R13 and play mostly jazz/big band and some classical.

I finally got around to tweaking my huge collection of II-V-I patterns for clarinet. Enjoy.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.
Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.
Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.
Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

pattern_sound writes “So, im looking into getting a new clarinet. i have it mostly down to between a Leblanc Pete Fountain, and a Selmer Signature. I will be playing jazz, alongside some orchestral and new music type stuff. would the Selmer be more versatile, by less jazzy?”

Totally does not matter what kind of clarinet you play. What you should be looking/listening for is what kind of sound you want to get. If the Selmer is the sound you want, go for it. Same for the LeBlanc. Buffet might even be the clarinet for you.

Ken Mills writes “The Vandoren 5JB clarinet mouthpiece, with the side walls filed further apart where they go to the bore, is a hotrod. The Vandoren 2½ reed is not too soft, and the Marca 2 or 2½ are the same style of reed. Now one can go up to double high C. The sound is the most dark in the clarion register and the power is the most so that nobody can stand up to me outdoors unless they play the trumpet. Use it with a large bore clarinet, but it should be sort of a high pitched instrument such as the Selmer, or what is another one? The alto sax is too bright so that we have trouble with treble, except for, of course, Paul Desmond. Get out of my way, because clarinet goes just as low, you sax people.”

An anonymous coward writes “Hey,I’ve been reading articles here and I wanted to ask you, is the Vandorem B45 a student mouthpiece? Which reeds do you prefer for playing jazz?”<p>

Not at all. A B45 is a very good mouthpiece. I used one for a couple of years, and I know a few people out there who still do. When you get more into clarinet, some people like to try to find a different sound that the B45 doesn’t lend itself to. A darker sound. A B45 to me is kind of bright, which is good for Jazz playing in my opinion.

Anonymous Coward writes “Hey,
Does a different type of barrel influence or change the sound?? The other day I saw in a site hundreds of different type of barrels and I just wanted to ask you if it really makes a difference. Thanks”

To make a long story short, yes, it does effect your sound. It depends on the player, for some a different barrel changes a lot of things, for some, it doesn’t change hardly anything. Go to a music store that has some barrels and try them.

I’ve been making some collages to decorate the hallway in the store that I teach at. With OS X, it’s a piece of cake to generate PDFs of them. Well, that and Adobe’s InDesign.

Adobe Acrobat Reader 6 is required to view these. Enjoy!

• Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.
  
• Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.