- The Flute View (Kim Lewis): Three Takeaways from Playing at the Met Gala with Lizzo
- Flute Journal (Peter Westbrook): The Bansuri and Pulangoil, Bamboo Flutes of India
- the Operatic Saxophone (Mary Huntimer): The Mystery of the Selmer Cigar Cutter Alto Saxophone in E and the followups A Selmer Cigar Cutter in E? Some Answers and more Questions… and Selmer high pitched alto saxophone? Possible answers to why this exists… [spoiler: it’s a “high pitch” alto]
- International Clarinet Association (Douglas Carleton, Bob Wilber, Henry Duckham, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman): Reprints from Early Years of The Clarinet: Jazz
Peter Westbrook
Favorite blog posts, November 2018
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, November 2018 edition.
Vadala doubling book review
I spotted this new review of Chris Vadala’s Improve Your Doubling: Advanced Studies for Doublers on jazzreview.com:
Featured Book: Improve Your Doubling: Advanced Studies for Doublers [update: link dead]
I reviewed the book myself a couple of years back.
The jazzreview.com review is by Peter Westbrook. He gives some nice perspective on woodwind doubling:
The practice grew out of the need for players to cover parts on more than one instrument in the big bands of the 1920’s and 30s, and spread to the pits of Broadway shows and the TV staff orchestras at NBC and CBS. Saxophonists were initially expected to double on the clarinet until it was largely replaced by the flute in the 50’s, as it saw more acceptance in jazz. The 60’s brought new colors, adding oboe and bassoon parts for doublers—or triplers—to deal with, until players such as the legendary Romeo Penque appeared on the New York studio scene prepared to play every woodwind instrument known to man, often in quick succession, a situation further complicated by the re-emergence of the clarinet on the 1980’s. I counted over 20 instruments stacked up in front of the five-piece reed section of the Maria Schneider Orchestra at a recent concert.