[jicaino]

You are correct. I believe that Daniels played Buffet clarinets before his deal with Leblanc. Same with Ken Peplowski who now also plays a Concerto II. I've tried the Concerto II and can't figure out why people love them so much. The are not bad but certainly not anything special. There really is no clarinet that is like a Selmer C.T. I find them to be special.

+1
I like the LL's but not better than CT's, and I loved an old Buescher TT but the keywork didn't work for me. The CT's gives me just the combination I like. I like the newer selmers too but they don't make a big bore cyl clarinet anymore...

Juan, I am not a big fan of Eddie Daniels either. I think he may have great technique but the music he chooses to play leaves me cold and his tone is just a shoulder shrug for me.

+1000 :mrgreen: music is not the epithom of technical perfection IMHO... ED has a killer tech chops but tone wise is like a cold shower, and I agree, the music he plays I'm no fan of.

 

[warp x]

I played a Selmer series 10 for years, and still love that horn. However, I've just recorded an album where I use my fleamarket €45 Bundy Deluxe (plastic), with a crystal Pomarico mouthpiece and Légère reeds. The Bundy sounds great, just as good or better than the Selmer. The album will be out in January, so you can judge for yourself.

 

[tictactux]

Concur with everyone who says that mindset, embouchure, mouthpiece is more important than the actual instrument.
When playing Jazz I use a different "phrasing vocabulary" than in classic or folk music - I believe that's part of the art of playing an instrument, adapting one's style. A specialised instrument can only bring you so close, but the final gap is closed by the player.

 

[super20dan]

yes both shaw and benny played buffet at some point. jicinao you need to try the puffier silver throat if you like huge bore powerhouses-its peerless-ask rodger aldridge about his. hard rubber with coin silver liner in the upper joint and a bore the size of boosey 10 10. leather pads . no bigger voice in the clarinet world. can get one on ebay for 50$ or less .

 

[patmiller]

I play clarinet in a dixieland or traditional or classic jazz setting. The bands I play in tend to specialise in the New Orleans sound of the 40s to 60s of clarinettists like George Lewis, Louis Cottrell, Herb Hall and Albert Burbank. Like the OP I have always looked for a powerful sound and like Dave Dolson I like to achieve it without amplification.

My current horn of choice was a purchase from a fellow SOTW member. It's a 1941 former USAAF HN White Silver King metal clarinet (as in my avatar). I play it with a Lakey 5* mouthpiece and a Legere signature #3 synthetic reed. I CAN play it softly, but it's a pleasure to be able to go with the dynamics of the band when it starts getting loud and to be able to cut through on my own terms. It's taking me a little while to be entirely comfortable with the ergos which require a higher degree of accuracy than other clarinets I've owned. But the reserve of power is well worth the effort.

 

[RS]

I play a Leblanc LL. It's nice and free blowing with a warm somewhat spread tone. Comfy keywork. Good for doubling as it plays more like a sax than some other makes. Would love to get an old silver King. Lester Young recorded one or two tunes on the silver King. Best jazz sound I ever heard from a clarinet. The story goes that after someone stole his silver King Lester didn't replace it and never played clarinet again.

 

[David Spiegelthal]

The best jazz clarinet is a saxophone.

 

[tictactux]

The best jazz clarinet is a saxophone.

Just like the favourite means of transportation is the donkey cart.
Yes, you eventually arrive.

 

[Dave Dolson]

I have one of those Silver Kings (with two barrels . . . 440 and 443) and I've played it in the band. The audience seemed to like it, but I didn't think it came close to my Buffet RC Prestige. Of course, I haven't found a clarinet yet that had the power and tone of my Buffet. But we all differ, for sure.

Also, +1 for the Lakey 5*, my current mouthpiece-of-choice. Used to use a Vandoren 66, Vandoren 5JB, Vandoren B45, Rovner 5, and a Selmer HS**, too. But the Lakey 5* is working great for me these days.

Love that trad sound from the '40's to '60's . . . George Lewis has always been a favorite of mine. Not polished but full of soul. We sometimes play BURGUNDY STRRET BLUES (just me and the piano). Great stuff. DAVE

 

[paulwl]

AIUI, the issue with pre-1960s, bigger-bore clarinets in orchestral music is that they both sound and intonate differently than the current, poly-cylindrical bore instruments. Typically: sharper in the chalameau, flatter in the altissimo, and considerably brighter all up and down.

Assuming present-day orchestral timbre and technique - as most any clarinet teacher or conductor would - their sound would not fit into the ensemble no matter how good the player. ICBW, but this is what lots of clarinetists will tell you.

AFA Eddie Daniels, I too admire his technique, and I believe the reason he is so well renowned (in a day when most jazz clarinetists are more or less unknown) is because technique is paramount on the clarinet today - even more important than tone, altho you must cultivate an acceptable tone.

My favorite clarinet for any music is the Selmer Balanced-Tone of the late 1930s. I own two, one articulated, one standard. It's an excellent example of a clarinet once considered a fine legit instrument, but now relegated to classic jazz.

 

[super20dan]

i dont think you would have any trouble bering heard on a silver king and a lakey mpc. i too use a metal selmer and lakey in the rock and roll band when we play a few dixieland style numbers. also like the fact that the lakeys tune sharp-good on a metal clarinet that sits a while between uses.

 

[martinm5862]

Listen to the last Artie Shaw recordings made after he broke up his last big band. Great jazz and the best recording he ever made. He was using a Buffet clarinet. He sounded better than he ever sounded on big bore Selmers. He had no problem being heard. He played very soft but close to the mike. Buddy DeFranco gets a big sound. I think he plays a Yamaha. He uses a very open mouthpiece. Just like any sax can be used for jazz any clarinet can be used.

 

[clarnibass]

I use the same clarinet that I use for not jazz.

 

[bari_sax_diva]

I play my R13 and Jim Cantor mouthpiece in both settings--the only change I make to my setup for jazz playing is to the barrel, which I'll swap out with a slightly shorter (65mm) Chadash. It lets me project over some pretty loud big bands, so I'd say go with whatever you're comfortable with and then just practice your butt off.

 

[BellTones]

Thanks for all the responses to my original query. I was, in fact, wondering about the small bore vs. large bore notion and I find those replies that mentioned it to be most interesting. So far as setups go, I've been considering the Lakey 5* mpc for some time, so I've now decided to give it a try (I'm presently using the 6*3 on alto sax)...KM

 

[clarnibass]

The maker of my clarinet makes only two models, a small bore model and a big bore model. I tried both and prefer the small bore clarinet. Although this particular "small" bore model has a bigger bore than most other "normal" small bore clarinets like Buffets, Selmers, Yamahas, etc.

 

[Dave Dolson]

Nitai: Where do you measure, and is that location consistent as far as where others (like manufacturers) measure their clarinets? DAVE

 

[super20dan]

i think you will like the lakey on clarinet. may be hard to find

 

[BellTones]

I placed an order at WWBW which claims they are in stock. We'll see how long the wait until shipment...

 

[clarnibass]

Nitai: Where do you measure, and is that location consistent as far as where others (like manufacturers) measure their clarinets?

I didn't measure at first. That was what the maker told me. I later measured to verify, comapring several clarinets at the top and bottom of the upper joint.