[Dixielandjazz] Benny's classical side .......

[TBW504 at aol.com]

A clarinet technique shared by both Benny Goodman and Israel Gorman was  
known as double lip. It involves covering both the upper and lower teeth with  
the lips in  the same way as oboe and bassoon players. Historically, it has 
 been argued that playing double lip was the way the first clarinettists 
would  have played, since many played with the reed on the top lip, not - as 
now - with  the reed on the bottom. It seems that double lip style was common 
until the  1960s, but  later declined. Historically, many of the finest 
clarinettists  used double lip, including British classical players like 
Reginald Kell. Benny  Goodman, after a successful early career, was re-educated 
into using a double  lip embouchure by Kell. Double lip is also known as 
French embouchure, being  much more common in France.
Brian Wood