[Dixielandjazz] Albert System Clarinetists

[Stephen G Barbone]

I don't think the instrument, Boehm or Albert, has anything to do with  
the sound. I believe it is the musician who controls sound quality,  
and the horn controls the ease, or not, of certain runs. BTW. I always  
thought Michael White played an Albert but the below info belies that.

I always thought Michael White, who has a wonderful New Orleans sound,  
played an Albert until I came across this thread fro the Saxophone  
list in 2006.

"Last year I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Michael White and we got  
into a discussion about the search for a "real jazz sound' on the  
clarinet. He had also heard the well-known advice to "get an Albert"  
but I can assure you, he achieves a classic New Orleans sound on a  
Boehm — a one-piece Rossi to be specific."

And note the following from the Clarinet Board in September 2011.

"Pete Fountain played his own model developed by Leblanc, later  
renamed the "Big Easy" and then discontinued after a thirty or so year  
run. It was a large bore based on the Albert system horn of Irving  
Fazola."

"Edmond Hall (who had a wonderful New Orleans sound) later played a  
German System Hammerschmidt, the first of the American jazzmen to "Go  
German". . . and it's telling that Edmond Hall turned to Hammerschmidt  
when he wanted to develop that tradition further."

"Dr. Michael White, who continues the New Orleans jazz clarinet  
tradition, plays a Wurlitzer Reform-Boehm, which is gaining a new  
appreciation here in America."

"Albert Nicholas was one of the NOLA Albert system players to switch  
to Boehm system, though his early work was on Albert. The recordings  
he made with Sidney Bechet are a fascinating study in timbre."

"Today's players play an array of instruments, by many makers."

One of my my favorite clarinetists,  Kenny Davern played an Albert as  
a teen ager, but switched to Boehm after a year or two and he had a  
wonderful New Orleans sound to my ears.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband