[Dixielandjazz] Sounding like somebody else.

[Steve Barbone]

Marek Boym at marekboym at gmail.com wrote:

> Was Sol Yaged making that much money?  He never became a great star,
> even if he had a fair following (some of it - a bit distant).
> Don't forget that out of thousands of musicians, only a few developed
> a really personal, easily identifiable sound.


Hello Marek:

IMO, Yaged is much more than a Benny Goodman clone. He is, and has been for
65 years, one of the busiest jazz musicians in NYC. He is a great star in
the Big Apple. Better yet he continues to be a big star there at an age when
most folks are retired and not doing much of anything. Music like any other
profession favors young people and those who are able to continue working at
advanced ages have to overcome a lot of "old age" prejudice.

About individual sounds, IMO those who posses one are the "real" jazz
musicians. And I think there are a lot more of them around than we know of,
because we are mostly hearing OKOM by copycats and not what's really
happening in jazz, OKOM or otherwise.

Ducking for cover. <grin>

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

Sol Yaged
 
February 11, 2007  By Elliott Simon - From ALL ABOUT JAZZ

There are few, if any, continuously working jazz musicians that can match
the incredible longevity of clarinetist Sol Yaged. Born in Brooklyn, Yaged
has been, with the exception of three years of military service, playing
clarinet continuously in and around the NYC area since 1942. He is also a
testimony to hard work and the philosophy that if you love something enough,
good things will happen. Because of that, even at the age of 84, Yaged¹s
schedule makes him one of the busiest working musicians in the city.

Music started for Yaged when at the age of 12 he heard Benny Goodman playing
on Let¹s Dance, a radio program sponsored by the National Biscuit Company.
It didn¹t take him long to become enamored with the ³King of Swing² and head
up to West 48th Street to purchase his own instrument. He views that
instrument as a life saver and is quick to tell anyone that ³If it wasn¹t
for my clarinet I would have ended up a juvenile delinquent.² Studies with
the New York Philharmonic¹s first chair clarinetist, Russian-born Simeon
Bellison, gave Yaged a thorough grounding in classical technique but he was
hopelessly bitten by the jazz bug and in particular, Goodman¹s style. He
became so adept and knowledgeable in the nuances of Goodman¹s sound that
when someone was needed to teach Steve Allen how to be Goodman for The Benny
Goodman Story, Yaged got the call.

While Yaged is a swing clarinetist par excellence, that is only a part of
his wonderful career. The 50th anniversary of his first recording, It Might
As Well Be Spring (Herald, 1956), was recently celebrated at Swing 46 as
part of a sold-out reunion concert with vibraphonist Harry Sheppard. Yaged
has played an astounding number of gigs in NYC and carries a no nonsense
home grown outlook reflected in his wife¹s past statement that ³Musicians
are on the road 50 weeks a year to play NYC for twoŠSol hits the road for
two weeks and plays NYC for 50.² Amazingly, he has been doing so for over 60
years with his most recent engagement entailing six nights a week at the W.
56th Street eatery, Il Valentino.

Playing in all the legendary jazz clubs like Jimmy Ryan¹s, the Metropole,
the original Birdland, Jimmy Weston¹s, the Onyx club, the Three Deuces and
countless others, Yaged has a host of life experiences that, combined with
his expert musicianship, make him a true musical treasure. A multitude of
stories such as playing opening night at Birdland, lending Charlie Parker
his clarinet so Bird could sit in at Arthur¹s Tavern on 7th Avenue and
rubbing shoulders with all the great jazzers of the past six decades make
Yaged a microcosm of NYC mainstream jazz. For his 1961 release, Jazz at the
Metropole (Philips), recorded live at the club, Yaged was able to assemble
an incredibly impressive cast of sidemen. These included the granddaddy of
all tenor saxophonists, Coleman Hawkins, Sheppard on vibes, stride pianist
Claude Hopkins, trumpeter Pee Wee Ervin, trombonist Benny Morton and
Armstrong bassist Arvell Shaw. The music has Yaged center stage for a
wonderful adventure in swing. Yaged was also present for Standards and
Warhorses (Jass), the 1950 recorded encounter between Hawkins and seminal
New Orleans trumpeter Red Allen.

Equally intriguing is a Œ50s session fronted by trumpeter Charlie Shavers
that has recently been re-released as part of a CD entitled Horn ŒO Plenty
(Lone Hill Jazz). Here, Yaged¹s swinging stick is teamed with Shavers¹ sweet
horn, the expressive trombone of Urbie Green and Sam Taylor¹s honking tenor
for a delightful set of eight Cole Porter tunes.

Happily, Yaged continues to be found most nights playing into the early
hours of the next morning at any one of several NYC area restaurants and
venues that cater to his brand of swing. His business card sums up his
lifestyle and dedication to performance with its tagline ³Call after 1 PM².