|
Benny Goodman's Band The Benny Goodman Band that played the famous Carnegie Hall concert in 1938and immortalized Sing Sing Sing, had an awesome trumpet section. The three "horsemen" were Harry James, Ziggy Elman and Chris Griffen. All three were super stars in their own right. Harry James once remarked that when he heard the recordings from that era with the three of them, he couldn't say for certain who was playing lead as they all sounded alike. They played the "swing" charts with the same foot-to-the-floor energy. It should be noted that the whole band was laden with talent. Gene Krupa's drumming was excellent for that style of playing and of course Benny Goodman's clarinet ability was recognized as something "special." Harry was interviewed in a trade magazine some years later and talked about his sidekicks Ziggy and Chris. He remarked how much he enjoyed working with them in the band. He said that his stay with the Goodman organization on the whole was a memorable one. The band set a milestone for it's collective musicianship. Recordings from that era to this day are considered "classics." Benny was known for his exacting standards and was bent on having everything well rehearsed before any performance. The interviewer for the magazine asked Harry how he accounted for the fact that the three trumpet players sounded so much alike as a section, although their approaches to playing the trumpet were technically diverse. Harry tried to explain these differences. He said they all had some degree of formal training and had somehow achieved results from opposite directions. Their embouchures were entirely different. Harry said that he was essentially an up stream player with the horn pointed slightly upwards. (A playing profile that is not uncommon today.) Chris Griffen was a down stream player with the bell of the horn tilted somewhat downwards. (That playing profile is also common with today’s players.) "Ziggy”, Harry remarked, "Well, all I can tell you. He played way off center and dangerously close to his left ear." This lack of correctness where embouchures are concerned seems to fly in the face of teaching purists who advocate a centered mouthpiece placement etc. Maybe it's a good thing that wonderful players, who look like they've broken the "rules" come to the table with their unique artistry for all of us to enjoy.
It reminds me of the remark by Manny Klein, trumpet recording musician for Capitol Records in Los Angeles, when they had just finished backing Dizzy Gillespie for some album. After hearing this phenomenal trumpet playing by Dizzy, Manny said in awe, "We should all have such a bad embrochure." They all agreed.
Web space donated by Encore...The Concert Band www.encoretheconcertband.ca
|
|---|