Wrong. The answer is three.
Which needs some explanation.
“The problem was that the Chicago Clarinet Trio name was taken," chuckles reedist Jeff Chan, founder of the “quartet," which makes its debut Friday night at the Velvet Lounge.
“So I thought that since we'll have guests occasionally, maybe it's OK to call it a quartet. Anyway, the Chicago Clarinet Quartet is really three players."
Not just any three, however. In addition to Chan, one of the city's more enterprising musicians, the band will be staffed by Mwata Bowden and Edward Wilkerson Jr.
Anyone who has followed music in Chicago for the past three decades knows Bowden as a phenomenally versatile player who can handle practically anything with a reed. Wilkerson, on the other hand, looms so large as a tenor that audiences identify him largely with that instrument.
The prospect of hearing these two masters playing clarinet, in tandem with Chan, opens up tantalizing sonic possibilities. Which makes Chan a bit nervous—or at least excited.
“I guess I just wanted to throw myself into the deep end of the pool and see if I could swim," said Chan. “I just wanted to hear what it would be like to have three clarinets playing together. Not to mention that Mwata and Ed are fantastic clarinetists."
Like Wilkerson, Chan has built a reputation as a formidable Chicago tenor saxophonist, and he has done so in a rather short time, considering he moved here seven years ago from the San Francisco Bay area. He gave his first public performance on clarinet here a year and a half ago playing with Yoko Noge's Jazz Me Blues Band and at that moment rediscovered his love of the instrument.
“I think the clarinet has such a beautiful and rich and varied sound, such a wide range of expression," he said.
Yet when the Chicago Clarinet Quartet makes its bow, the music that ensues will be less predictable than one might think, for Chan does not plan on bringing scores. Instead, the musicians will improvise freely.
Whether the results are inspiring or disastrous or, more likely, something in between, there's no question that few clubs in Chicago, or anywhere, would give musicians such free rein.
Chicago Clarinet Quartet
When: 9:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Velvet Lounge, 67 E. Cermak Rd.
Price: $10-$15; 312-791-9050
For more information contact All About Jazz.
