Jass Flute

[MrGongGong]

Sorry, but what is "Jass"?

http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/JASSS.html

been around for a while



Some great toons for the green clarinet methinks

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Down in the shed I've been practising my flute much more of late - and listening to flautists who play jass, after Ian posted about Nicole Mitchell a while back.

But the flute is bloody hard to play, much more so than the tenor, I think. Partly that's because I haven't put in the hours on the flute that I have on the saxophone, though I think also that intrinsically it's a much less forgiving instrument. For one thing, it has fewer keys on which you can change the register - if you want to change the octave on a note, you have to do it by breath control. In fact, breath control is where it's at on the flute because it's bottom end is very weak and quiet, and its top end is very loud and shrill, unless you can control the airstream at both ends - not to mention the middle range - by blowing a column of air over the embouchure hole which must be adjusted for every note played in terms of air pressure, cross-section and direction over the hole.

At the moment I'm practising exercises from a beginner's book because I sound like an eight year old (albeit one who can play an F# major scale). I have a flute tutorial book by Don Rendell which has some pieces written specially by Barbara Thompson but it will be a while yet before I feel ready to play those. However the flute seems to offer a new dimension to the music which is probably why it is played as a double by so many saxophonists. Most jazzers who play the flute are saxophonists who double on it; there really aren't that many who specialise in the flute which is odd considering the technical challenges involved. I think this is explained partly by the audience's expectations: they want to hear saxophone, trumpet, or piano solos; they're not expecting a flute or a cello for that matter. In the days before amplification I could see why the flute couldn't cut it in the old jazz ensembles over the brass.

In my opinion, the flute is the only instrument in a jazz orchestra that should be amplified. The rest can hold their own, and it's absurd to amplify them and cause tinnitus for everybody.

As a teacher of all woodwind instruments, I agree that it many will find the flute more difficult than the saxophone, because of the embouchure skill required. Both instruments have easy fingering, compared with the clarinet and bassoon.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

often overlooked, then as now, but an innovative and excellent british jazz artist

[Tenor Freak]

Johnny Scott's playing an alto flute there, nice clip.

[Tenor Freak]

Steve Kujala, here playing with Chick Corea

[Serial_Apologist]

Among the current UK guys, there's Gareth Lockrane, who seems to play flute exclusively. Well, he plays quite a few members of the flute family, from piccolo down to bass flute, but I'm not aware of him playing anything else.

Point of inflammation: Gareth plays piano as well, having seen him back Anita Wardell as a duet in my local Sunday jass joint - and makes a better job of it than a good many full-time piano players I've encountered.

Great clips, chaps - for which, many thanks!

[Ian Thumwood]

This is becoming one of the best threads on this board for ages. Thanks to Bruce for posting the really fascinating information about the technical aspect of flute playing.

I'm pleased to see Steve Kujala mentioned as I used to love the duet album he made with Chick Corea called "voyage." This was the first ever ECM record I bought but unfortunately SK seems to have disappeared from the scene since touring with Chick.

In the subject of musicians called Chick and flutists, here is Wayman Carver playing the flute with a small group led by drummer Chick Webb. I think that Carver was the first musician to make any kind of influential jazz records on flute although I feel that he fitted in far better with the orchestrations make by Spike Hughes in 1933 where the arranger really used this instrument to good effect in his charts. I foind Carver's playiong with Webb a bit twee.

It is also nice to know that I have managed to introduce Jazzrook to something new and that he shares my enthusiasm for this terrific record . " Awakening " was easily one of the best albums I snapped up last year and she has a new disc out in two week's time with the vibrophone player Jason Adasiewicz called "Aquarius." Delmark are putting out some terrific records of late and the likes of Nicole Mitchell are putting Chicargo back on the scene as the greatest jazz city after New York. In many respects, "Awakening" knocks spots off a lot of the stuff coming out of NYC and with a line up that boasts the brilliant Jeff Parker and the criminally under-estimated Harrison Bankhead this is one of the best albums I've heard for years. I think Nicole Mitchell is fantastic!

[clive heath]

one of my all-time favourite records has this as the last track on one side, starts with flute, has flute in the middle,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5nVs53HwwI

bought the mono back in college days, found the stereo later, that's what you hear here. Hear Hear!!

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

And then there's Buddy Collette...

Surely one of the first to be featured on flute avec Chico and always far more convincing on that than alto.

BN .

Blue Sands?

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

two orchestral players on some of the evans davis classics, Romeo Penque and Sid Cooper ... along with Danny Banks on bass clarinet and the French Horns and Tuba indispensaable to the sound [one of the most beautiful in all jazz to my ears ]

but another West Coast flute soloist is Bud Shank also as you all know a sax player as well

oh them cross fertilisin miscgenatin sixties eh ............

[Serial_Apologist]

two orchestral players on some of the evans davis classics, Romeo penque and Sid cooper ... along with Danny Banks on bass clarinet and the French Horns and Tuba indispensaable to the sound [one of the most beautiful in all jazz to my ears ]

but another West Coast flute soloist is Bud Shank also as you all know a sax player as well

oh them cross fertilisin miscgenatin sixties eh ............

There were some lovely Gil Evans and Jimmy Guiffre reconstructions on Jon3 last night, courtesy Herr Koller - don't know if anyone heard the programme, but well worth an iplayer check in case not.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Will ck the Koller out as I messed up here re. his (non) dad. Looks interesting.

BN.

[Serial_Apologist]

Will ck the Koller out as I messed up here re. his (non) dad. Looks interesting.

BN.

Nice bloke, Koller. Didn't mention the war, but you'd never have known he's German...

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

I DO hope thats a joke?

From my knowledge Hans Koller snr was banged into the German army during WW2...as were a great many Germans..being er, German. Not a LOT of fking choice?

Just as well it didn't happen here...well, until Thatcher when almost everyone joined up.

Miners, THE enemy within.

BN.

[Serial_Apologist]

I DO hope thats a joke?

From my knowledge Hans Koller snr was in the German army during WW2...as were a great many Germans..being er, German. Not a LOT of fking choice?

Just as well it didn't happen here...well, until Thatcher when everyone joined up.

BN.

It was supposed to be ...

Edit: Hans Werner Henze was a Dispatch Rider for the SS in his mid-teens. I wouldn't have said it in front of him.,..

when's the fkcng sun coming out?