[Dixielandjazz] Bechet's vibrato

[Tamas Ittzes]

Dear listmates,

I don't know if it's true but I heard several American jazz people say
that Bechet's vibrato reminded them to the sound of the "tarogato" which
is a clarinet-like instrument that was, I think, only used in Hungarian
folk music, then in Hungarian Gypsy music. These old Hungarian tarogatos
are very hard to find and some jazz people are crazy about them. (Joe
Muranyi and Scott Robinson, both from NYC, for example. Scott has a
sarrousophone, too, by the way, I heard him play it in Ascona this
summer.) Anyway, I am familiar with the tarogato sound as it still can
be heard in Hungary and, indeed, its sound is close to the soprano sax,
and any vibrato (even non-vibrato) sounds very wide on it. So it is a
wide-vibrato-sounding instrument. Those people who told me this, also
thought that Bechet might have heard Hungarian Gypsies play in Paris
which is very likely. The question is: had he used this wide vibrato
before or only from then on. If he played with this (for many,
irritating) vibrato prior to his first trip to Europe then the idea is
probably wrong - unless he heard Hungarian gypsies in America (which is
also possible). By the way, Eddie South, the great black jazz violinist
came to Hungary to study with violinist master Hubay, director of the
Music Academy. He visited only a few classes then fell in love with the
Hungarian Gypsy violinists and studied their style. South's jazz violin
style, way of playing is very much of a Gypsy attitude. And his theme
song was Hubay's Hejre Kati (Hubay was not of Gypsy, but
Hungarian-German origin).

Anyway, there could be serious links between jazz and Gypsy music. And
there could be similar ways of playing, similar approaches to music (not
mentioning the role of the blacks and the Gypsies in the American and
the Hungarian society).

Taking the above into consideration, the link between Bechet's vibrato
and the tarogato of the Hungarian Gypsies seems to be likely. I don't
know. There is no written evidence that Bechet has ever heard any
Hungarian Gypsy Ensemble, so the whole thing is just a theory based upon
the similarity in sound. Sorry for the lengthy mail.

Tamas
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Tamas ITTZES
violin teacher, ragtime pianist, festival organizer
Bohem Ragtime Jazz Band
Kecskemet Jazz Foundation
Mailing address: H-6001 KECSKEMET, Pf. 652., Hungary
Phone: +36(20)82-447-82
E-mails: tamas at bohemragtime.com, bohem at fibermail.hu
Web site: http://www.bohemragtime.com
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