HIGH SOCIETY.
My Friends, the New Orleans Clarinettists.

Friends are individuals whose company one enjoys. Here the friends form a Society of clarinettists from New Orleans, and the company is their music.
The author (born 1933 in Copenhagen, Denmark) got an enthusiasm for the clarinet as a student of chemistry in Copenhagen in the fifties, where George Lewis played and Albert Nicholas lived for a while.

“I’ve got an old fashioned love in my heart.
A love for traditional jazz.”

In Chapter 1 the book - a personal account and not a technical analysis - delineates the history and the development of jazz from the viewpoint of the clarinet. The musical components of jazz are set out, such as marches, blues, rags, and hymns. The role of the clarinet as a solo instrument, yet embedded in the ensemble context, is discussed. The Chapter with the title “Jazz in New Orleans” (Genesis perambulation and reinstatement) has the following subchapters: “Influxes”, “Musical Components”, “The Long Trail”, and “The Revival”.
Chapter 2 is devoted to “The New Orleans Clarinet” and contains the subchapters “The Clarinet as a Music Instrument”, “The Creoles” (Their influence is emphasised throughout the book), “The Jazz Clarinet”, ”Traditions, Talent and Teaching”, and “Relations to Other Instruments”.
The 12 clarinettists making up my Society appear in Chapter 3: “The Clarinettists”:
The legendary Alphonse Picou, the famous Johnny Dodds, the impassioned Emile Barnes, the sweetest Jimmie Noone, the renowned George Lewis, the technical Albert Nicholas, the appreciated Willie Humphrey, the biting Edmond Hall, the esteemed Omer Simeon, the underrated Albert Burbank, the talented Raymond Burke, and the artistic Barney Bigard.
These friends are presented in biographic descriptions, and their individual clarinet style and tone are analysed.
In Chapter 4: “The Songs” names and lyrics of selected songs are evoked. The performances of the clarinettists are being described and compared on the basis of their solos in 25 well-known jazz tunes. An index of all songs mentioned in the book tabulates 105 entries.
Chapter 5 comprises 109 references; comprehensive indexes of musicians and clarinet builders, bands, labels, and venues are included in Chapter 6.

Here are a few citations from the book:
• The music was there before the theory.
• The circumstances were such that it could only have occurred there (In New Orleans).
• It’s a compliment to call a song “a standard”.
• Music for cigars.
• The scene is set for Canal Street Blues.
• And the Creole? He picked up his clarinet, attacked it and marched out of
history.


The book can be bought directly from the author.
The price is 250 DKr + postage, or 34 euro + postage.


Henning Bokelund,
Bjerggaardsvaenget 7
DK-2840 Holte, Denmark

e-mail: hbokelund@get2net.dk

Henning Bokelund, a chemical engineer, clarinetist, and jazz researcher, has compiled a brilliant review of 12 musicians who achieved fame and recognition in New Orleans jazz. Along with a concise sketch of their lives, he offers a clear definition of jazz in New Orleans, the New Orleans clarinet, the songs, bands, labels, and venues.

Over the years the author made ten trips to the States to visit, study, and converse with the players, their friends, bartenders, proprietors, and fellow musicians. Chris Burke, an active clarinetist on the Crescent City traditional jazz scene today, told me of the author’s many visits and his intense survey of the many facets of research and inquiry over a span of many years.

I disagree with the author’s analysis that this is not a technically researched account. There are numerous references to document his findings, yet the references do not get in the way of easy reading and clear understanding.

The book is a valuable background for anyone who has ever picked up a clarinet. Through the playing of the 12 clarinetists, one gets a full treatment of New Orleans songs, lyrics, and clarinet solos. Also one receives a picture of a different classes and society of New Orleans as seen through the eyes of a Danish researcher. After reading his comments on race, one comes away feeling refreshed and enlightened, rather than suffering from the negative political input of a recent PBS account of the history of jazz.

Part of the charm of this book is its down-to-earth level of interesting material. When it first arrived from Denmark, it kept me reading well past midnight. This clarinet account was of particular interest to me as it coincides with my own research project – “Those Remaining Albert Players.”

For most readers, it will be a treat to learn about the great New Orleans clarinet players. For Albert system players, Eberhard Kraut’s picture of Alphonse Picou’s clarinet with uptured bell is eye-catching. Other pictures enhance the text, i.e., page 92, Jimmie Noone’s highly modified Albert system; and page 129, Omer Simeon’s left-hand Eb key on his Albert. Albert vs. Boehm is a win for Albert, but Boehm comes in for its share of glory, too.

This should be made clear: High Society is the work of a dedicated lover of jazz, New Orleans, and the clarinet. Bookelund’s book is well assembled with quality paper and readable print. If I were a nit-picking critic, perhaps I could find mistakes in the translation and syntax, but the content of this book far outshines any flaws in writing.

It is always a delight to review a work that is so obviously a “labour of love”, and the love that the author has for the subject shines through on every page. The subject concerned is the clarinet in New Orleans jazz, and in particular the works of a selection of great and significant musicians that Mr Bokelund especially favours.
It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that he is a clarinet player himself, (although he does not disclose this) and in consequence has an insight into the role of the clarinet in New Orleans music from the perspective of a musician. This in itself is a welcome change from the many other writings that have flowed from the “uninformed pens” that lack this perspective.
This is a highly readable and entertaining work which succeeds in the very difficult task of making the technical (in parts) highly intelligible and revealing to the non technically minded. But not only has Mr Bokelund provided an excellent dissertation on the role of the clarinet, in his first chapter he provides a scholarly, yet concise overview of “Jazz in New Orleans” itself, one that draws together many “lost strands”, including the special significance of the Creole population and their inter-relationship with the Black races, and is commended as a model of its kind.
What distinguishes this book from many others is the remarkably thorough explanation of the development of the clarinet itself, and especially the “simple” systems, which, ironically, are in fact of German origin. The richness of tone that so many great New Orleans clarinet players display, is indeed, to a large degree dependent on the technology. I do not recall any other work tackling this subject, and yet it is a long overlooked and vital aspect. In addition there is a very brave attempt at providing a classification of the styles of his selection of great players. Style and tone is evaluated for 12 clarinetists: Alphonse Picou, Johnny Dodds, Emile Barnes, Jimmy Noone, George Lewis, Albert Nicholas, Willie Humphrey, Edmond Hall, Omer Simeon, Albert Burbank, Raymond Burke and Barney Bigard. This is no easy task, yet the author has succeeded in providing a very informative categorization. This has been done by means of a ‘matrix’ whereby (for instance) Dodds’ style is described as “easily distinguishable vibrato, violent attack, often staccato”. (These analyses may be controversial, but approach the subject in an informative and instructive way). A full depth account of each players career and output follows, packed with ‘fascinating facts’ and a very intelligent synthesis of each individuals place in jazz, all from well documented sources, some possibly new, i.e. recorded interviews that may not have been published before, all selected and presented with great insight and clarity of thought. which is highly stimulating.
However the choice of clarinet players for in depth analysis is very revealing. The author makes it clear that he favours the Creole approach to the clarinet, although this does not cause him to exclude Dodds, Hall and Lewis. It might seem astonishing that such a significant figure as Bechet should be omitted. Also important white clarinet players such as Larry Shields. Leon Rappollo and Irving Fazola have not been examined in detail, although the first two mentioned are referred to in complementary terms in the ”General” section of the book, as are Benny Goodman, Frank Teschemacher and Artie Shaw. Mr Bokelund makes it clear that those selected for evaluation are his personal favourites and certainly, it would be a daunting task indeed to evaluate all of the New Orleans clarinet players, and yet the masterly way in which the subject is tackled does cry out for a “holistic” approach.
There is also an inventory of song titles (as performed by the selected clarinetists on record). This is interesting but a selected current discography may have been more useful. The writing does stimulate curiosity, and it would have been good to know which material cited is currently available, although given the plethora of “Small Labels” around today, this would have been an awesome task. The only real criticism of the book is that it has stopped short of “doing the full job.” In fact, the writing is so informative, scholarly and entertaining that one can only wish that he might go on to write “The Definitive Work” on the subject, one that could provide a complete synthesis of the clarinet in New Orleans Jazz, and also one of the definitive works on jazz in total, because as Mr Bokelund makes clear the clarinet, with regard to its scope for creativity, individuality and virtuosity is probably the most important instrument of all.
Until such a definitive work is produced, “High Society” is a most excellent work’ on the subject. Highly recommended (I really couldn’t put it down), this book will appeal to all students and lovers of New Orleans Jazz, and it is certainly not written just for “clarinet anoraks”. Buy it, you won’t regret it.