[Dixielandjazz] Thread: are high notes a curse?

[Norman Vickers]

Leslie Johnson, beloved editor of Miss. Rag writes:
>Mark me down as one who finds really high notes distasteful and painful.
Just
>because someone can do it doesn't mean he/she should. Maynard Ferguson may
be
>a fine musician but he's not one I find appealing due to the screamers he
>produces. I can take high notes from Louis Armstrong because he was
intrinsically
>so musical, and Kenny Davern is one of the few musicians who can pull off
>high notes on the clarinet without me wincing, but mostly I think high note
>players are just showing off at the expense of the music. Ditto for piano
thumpers.

Gosh, Leslie, some of our high notes are just more musical than others. ;>)
I agree-- great when tastefully done.  Aggravating and an assault on the
ears
when done to excess.  The principle applies to vocalists as well as
instrumentalists--give me fewer, more tasteful notes
rather than excess volume or quantity!

Kenny Davern's clarinet performance, in my opinion, certainly has a
distinctive sound.  I think I could recognize it on a blindfold test.  His
high notes are pleasing because they're musical and well-chosen.

Norman Vickers