[Dixielandjazz] Clarinet/Saxophone doubling

[Williams, Bob]

I love a well-played soprano saxophone but have heard precious few.
Perhaps the relative ease of playing it attracts less-qualified musicians,
and that's why it nearly always sounds like crap.  I know that's pretty true
of trombone players.

And drummers and singers. Ahem.

Mostly with the fish-horn it's the intonation.  Or lack thereof.  Perhaps if
that ever resolved itself, the question of timbre proximities - a valid one,
certainly - could be the next reason to dissemble the thing and throw it
into the bay.  But for me, the intonation is reason enough.

Definition of a minor second?  Two soprano saxes playing in unison.

- Bob Williams
Still the World's Most Modest Man, with More Reasons then Ever!
Playing with Polly's Hot Paupers and Igor's Jazz Cowboys at the Sac Jubilee
Buy me a Drink!!

-----Original Message-----
From: dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com
[mailto:dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com] On Behalf Of Edgerton, Paul
A
Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2004 11:27 AM
To: 'dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com'
Subject: RE: [Dixielandjazz] Clarinet/Saxophone doubling


Mark, you've raised several interesting questions, and I'm sure you'll
receive a variety of answers both in favor of and against the saxophone.

Reed players are expected to have mastered a whole arsenal of instruments,
and many of them have. That said, there certainly are big-name musicians who
have chosen to focus on one instrument. Sidney Bechet played both, but later
in his life stuck with the fish horn. If your reed man plans to be a doubler
-- particularly if the saxophone is his main instrument -- then he'd better
dig in and whip that clarinet into shape. They are different instruments and
should be treated as such.

How much clarinet should he play? Section V-12 of the Uniform Code of Jazz
Justice specifies that 47.6 percent of all tunes must be played on the
clarinet on a per-note basis, with extra credit given to players of the
Albert System. For myself, I'd rather hear a saxophone played well than a
clarinet played badly. Just the same, there seems to be a correlation
between the difficulty of the instrument and the quality of music produced
on it. (Any violin players care to say "Amen?")

In the early part of your playing career, you should be concerned with
"learning the tradition." Part of that involves learning the roles of the
different instruments within the ensemble, and for several different styles.
The clarinet and saxophone are similar, but not interchangeable. As you
noted, each gives the ensemble a distinctive sound.

Put into plainer language, use whatever instrument sounds best on that tune.
Or else run what ya brung. (Reed players just love having extra cases to
carry around.)

-- Paul Edgerton
Who remembers when there really WAS a doubling law.



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