[Dixielandjazz] PLEASE MR SHAW

[Steve Barbone]

Hi Bob;

Interesting information, and new to me. Thanks.

I was relying on a quote from Richard Sudhalter's book:

Sudhalter writes: "Shaw has been forthright in discussing the evolution of
his own playing, particularly his uncanny control of the clarinet's highest
reaches. (Then quoting Shaw:) "In those days, clarinet went up effectively
to a high G (concert F) or A (concert G), at the utmost. Most players
thought, what would be the point of going higher? It wasn't written in any
of the literature so you didn't have to learn it. There weren't even any
fingerings for those notes, for a B or Db above high C. I found fingerings
for these notes."

Then quoting a conversation with Henry Duckham, Sudhalter quotes Shaw as
saying: "I couldn't compete with trumpets playing high D's and Eb's, so I
had to play high G's and A's and B's and even C's to get above them . . .
but if I were going to play up there it should sound like normal notes. I
didn't see any reason for the tone to thin out. I worked at it until it came
out." 

As you say, it certainly sounds as if he was trying to give the impression
that clarinetists didn't use the notes above G4.

Interesting.

Cheers,
Steve




on 7/11/07 6:52 PM, Robert Newman at bobngaye at surewest.net wrote:

> Steve -- I have a couple of recorded interviews with Artie Shaw where he
> said, "Oh, yes, I was the first one to play that ending high note on the
> Concerto.   I invented the fingering for it."    Well -- anybody can invent
> an alternate fingering for the altissimo clarinet and sax range, but C4 and
> all the notes below down to low E were on the clarinet fingering charts long
> before little Artie was born.
> 
> I say that Shaw was trying to give the impression that clarinetists didn't
> use C4 until he did.    He was, as they say in the rubber industry
> "stretching a point."    I have an age-yellowed big fingering chart
> assembled by Cyrille Rose of the Paris Conservatory of Music.    He was a
> professor there from 1838 to 1868.     The chart, published by the Carl
> Fischer Co. of New York, is copyright dated 1898.   I got it with my 1937
> Klose Volume I, II.    It shows two similar fingerings for C4, and they both
> work on my Boehm clarinets, and have worked well since 1940, when I copied
> Shaw's "Concerto For Clarinet" off  78rpm Victor 36383.    The only thing
> Shaw did on the Concerto recording was the very smooth gliss up to C4 from
> G4 at the end.    He did have a beautiful tone and wonderful ideas and
> control.    If only he hadn't stretched the truth a bit.    He didn't need
> to say he invented the wheel.    He just made it rounder.
> 
> By the way, if you want to enjoy other people playing the Shaw Concerto, I
> recommend the Harry James recording with Herb Lorden on the clarinet.
> Herb is not only a fine clarinet/sax player, he arranges masterfully.    And
> he's a nice guy.