[Dixielandjazz] Remembering Kenny Davern

[Steve Barbone]

Kenny Davern and I grew up together in New York City. The NY TIMES obit
touched on a few things that I wish to expand, and left out a few things
about the man that I would like add. These are remembrances from personal
contact and communication with Davern over the years.

His clarinet teacher, classical clarinetist David Weber was responsible for
his tone, his volume, and his love of classical music. He made sure Davern
blew long, sustained notes, while in a coat closet, so he could "hear the
different ways to blow a note, and play loud enough to hear himself under
any circumstances." The coats, of course, soaked up the sound and so he
learned to play loudly, as well as the many ways there are to make a note
sound differently.

Kenny's advice to me in the late 50s? Blow louder. Blow sustained notes. He
was passing on Weber's teachings to me, who was not nearly as focused on
music as a kid compared to him. He liked my wife Martha because; when she
first heard him at the Cinderella Club in NYC, along with Roswell Rudd, Jack
Fine and me, she said "He plays better than you do." We were all at the Amen
corner table on break. He laughed and said, marry her Steve, she's honest.
During the next 46 years, we'd laugh about it every time we crossed paths.

He knew more about classical music than most people. And he loved to
mousetrap so called "experts" nodding his head in a classical discussion
until someone said something questionable. He would then chime in, cite
facts, dates and musical examples pertaining to the classical theme under
discussion. He loved to needle pretentious classical buffs this way. As well
as needle people who fixated on dogma about jazz, and rules, and what it
takes to be a jazz musician.

He listened a lot to classical in order to learn about "music" convinced
that to be a serious jazz player meant one had to hear and understand all
music, not just jazz. He would tell you that jazz is derived from classical,
and in the same breath that while classical technique helped to play jazz,
if one didn't "hear" jazz, one would never be able to play it.

His Father was Irish Catholic. Davern (rhymes with Tavern) is an Irish name,
not Italian as many think. Mom was Austrian and Jewish so he had little use
for anti-Semitism.

His primary influence was Pee Wee Russell. He would tell anyone within
earshot what a harmonic genius Russell was. How he could blow quarter tones
before the rest of us knew what they were, etc. In his youth he would scream
at you if you downed Russell. Later on, in maturity, he would shake his
head, look at you with pity for being ignorant, and chuckle. If you cannot
hear the Russell influence in everything Kenny plays, then you do not "hear
jazz". (as he would put it)

He was also heavily influenced by Shaw, Goodman, Noone, Fazola  and Dodds.
In fact, he heard them all, and if mood struck him, could imitate them all.
But like Russell, he was a communicator, not a copier. But then, listen to
"My Inspiration" on his album of the same name, then compare it to the
original Fazola and you'll see what I mean. Almost an exact copy because he
was paying homage to another great clarinetist.

He grew up musically in a New York jazz atmosphere of experimentation. And
after learning on a $35 Albert System clarinet, switched to Boehm system.
The "loft session" scene was big in NYC back then and so his playing buddies
included Roswell Rudd, Steve Lacy, Paul Motian, Steve Swallow and
occasionally Archie Shepp, Cecil Taylor and other avant garde jazz
musicians. He even recorded a few avant garde pieces.

One called "Blown Bone" with Roswell Rudd (trombone), Paul Motian (drums),
Steve Lacy (sop sax),  Enrico Rava (trumpet), Wilbur Little (bass) Tyrone
Washington (tenor), Patti Bown (electric piano) and Jordan Steckel (bata
drum). It was made in the late 1960s, originally released in the 70s, and I
believe that if you google search for Blown Bone, you will find it just
re-released and available again.

He also did a "Free Jazz" album with Steve Swallow, Steve Lacy and Paul
Motian called "Unexpected" in 1978. It is ensemble playing, freed from the
bonds of set chord sequences (written changes). Kenny always drew a
connection between free jazz and original New Orleans Jazz, where group
improvisation, rather than the soli, is the primary musical form.

Unlike Rudd and Lacy, who grew up with Davern originally playing Dixieland
and then going on to avant garde, Kenny stayed with the OKOM genre. He does,
however employ more modern jazz musical devices in order to make it his own.
He is unique, with his own identifiable voice in an era where that is an
uncommon virtue.

Above all, he "is" because like Bird before him, he lives.

RIP, Kenny Davern.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone