Aidan O'Donnell

Jon De Lucia: And the Stars Were Shining

by Richard J Salvucci
September 25, 2023

All instruments can be difficult and some even look intimidating. Some are notoriously tough to play in tune. Some emit unpleasant sounds without much prompting, especially squeaks. Welcome to the world of the clarinet. Non-players often wonder how anyone coaxes pretty sounds from the beast. Some wonder how to coax out any sound at all. The sneaking suspicion is that jazz eventually marginalized the prominent role of the clarinet in Dixieland and Swing because Bop was a bridge too far. ...