Queen Clarinet

December 30, 2021 2:54 PM

"I wasn’t interested in jazz at all. You know, the jazz clarinetists that I had heard, like George Lewis and others, I appreciated their tones and I respected them, but that was not my concept of tone at all. Their styles at the time were against what I was studying, trying to get a perfect classical clarinet tone." from Ben Redwine's interview with Doreen Ketchens

Doreen Ketchens, busking ("House of the Rising Sun") or playing with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra ("Just a Closer Walk With Thee"), is A Brilliant Jazz Clarinetist From New Orleans

posted by chavenet (4 comments total)

I'd seen video of her busking before, but she absolutely slays with the Philharmonic. She is so far out of their league it's embarrassing. Incredible playing.
posted by dobbs at 4:43 PM on December 30, 2021 [2 favorites]

Thank you for posting! I too saw her busking video a few days ago, and YES, yess, ohhellYES.
I tried to go directly to her website but my browser won't allow it, if anyone can recommend how to access it safely I'd appreciate.
posted by winesong at 5:12 PM on December 30, 2021 [2 favorites]

Yes! This woman is an amazing clarinetist! Her chops are mind boggling! The clarinet has been my favorite instrument since I first heard a Benny Goodman recording, when I was eight years old!
posted by soulsailor at 7:29 AM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]

Love this! So much fun to see what real musicians can do with the clarinet, which was the quintessentially under-appreciated and badly-played instrument in my high school band. These clips remind me of the first time I heard a clarinet played well and understood what was possible.
posted by rpfields at 9:25 AM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]