Take Five With Jim Brimer

Coming up in November, 2009, Jim's Jazz Band will be performing for The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. In a review for EuroClub de Jazz, Brian Harvey says "They're such a good band—lively, inventive, and exciting at times and with an excellent repertoire of good old oldies. To summarize, this is an unpretentious happy-sounding band that I'd be happy to spend an evening with."

Instrument(s): Clarinet

Teachers and/or influences? Pete Fountain, Allan Vache, Kenny Davern, Bob Wilber, Bob Krenkel, Woody Allen, Benny Goodman, Sidney Bechet and Johnny Dodds all helped me study the old jazz clarinet. However, I don't believe any of them knew that.

I knew I wanted to be a musician when... It's funny, in the sixth grade, I was shown a picture of the clarinet and I knew then that I wanted to figure that horn out.

Your sound and approach to music: To copy the sound and licks of the famous jazz players is my approach to playing traditional jazz clarinet. However, the older I get and the more the copying of licks, the more it turns into my own style.

Your dream band: My ideal band would be a four-piece rhythm section including bass, drums, guitar, and piano. On top of that would be the clarinet. For the normal classic jazz style I would need the three-horn front line: trumpet, trombone and myself on clarinet.

Road story: Your best or worst experience: Best: Traveling to Washington D.C. with a great jazz band that performed for President Ronald Regan's Inaugural Ball. Worst: Playing in Dallas with another great jazz band, I broke my Pete Fountain glass mouthpiece.

The first Jazz album I bought was: I Love Paris, by Pete Fountain.

What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically? I am helping to preserve the traditional jazz that started the American jazz scene.

How would you describe the state of jazz today? I believe jazz in general should take a step back a minute and analyze what's going on with jazz. I think bringing back some traditional chord progressions and traditional rhythms would help the direction.