Tag Archives: artie shaw

Nightmare

Posted on September 4, 2011 | Comments Off on Nightmare

This is one strange piece of music, first composed in 1936. Compelling, however, and also strange to think that a Swing-era big-band leader chose this for his theme song. Downloadable for free at this link, or just play it there until you tire of it. If you do. I didn’t so I bought it at Amazon for 99 cents.

Clarinetist Artie Shaw was the band leader, a nice Jewish boy who had a few other quirks. Which I am discovering in this exceptional biography. Married eight times. Estranged from two kids—though one of them made an effort to forgive Artie in his old age. Not a model in the parenting or husband department, obviously, but a helluva musician who lived to age 94, and was gutsy to boot.

Shaw, already famous and wealthy, did WW2 as a Navy chief leading a Swing band for the forces at front-line places like Guadalcanal where he was once bracketed by dropped Japanese bombs and went deaf in one ear. The word picture I can’t forget is from 1943: his band playing Nightmare as they descended on an aircraft elevator to their below decks audience on the aircraft carrier Saratoga.

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Posted in Library, Music, Scribbles

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Clarinets

Posted on January 28, 2011 | Comments Off on Clarinets

Mr. B. had this vague idea that he wanted to play the drums. So, it seems, do half the fifth graders in Austin. So the middle school music teachers came up with a dandy way to cut the crush of applicants. They require two completed years of piano lessons. Right. Before you can play a snare drum.

I had to drag him to the sixth grade tryouts last Saturday. He was only mildly interested until he got in the middle school cafeteria and saw all the shiny instruments. After he was disappointed about the drums he moved on the trombone, baby tuba, trumpet, saxophone, clarinet, flute, violin, viola, cello and standup bass.

The instructors decided he had done best on the trombone and the clarinet. The band director was selling clarinets that day and immediately pooh-poohed the trombone. Assured him it only got to play the melody fifty percent of the time. Whereas the clarinet? Ta-Da. Ninety percent. Hmm.

He was still a bit indifferent when we left, but he admitted he’d had fun. I’ve tried not to push him into anything, though I have encouraged his basketball playing and scouts because I know he likes them. But this time I believe I will push for the clarinet. He may never become a Benny Goodman, an Artie Shaw, or an Anat Cohen, but I’m sure he’ll have fun. Especially playing the melody ninety percent of the time.

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Rancho Roly Poly

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