I just discovered an incredible Australian jazz clarinetist! His name is Andrew Firth. Whether you appreciate the role of clarinet in jazz or not, this guy is DEFINITELY worth checking out. [He does some classical as well.] Go to http://www.mp3.com.au/artist.asp?id=4850 and let me know what you think. He has a webpage here: http://users.bigpond.net.au/FirthTime/index.html. He told me that he is sold out of CDs at the moment but "Me, Myself, and I" might be re-released.

Nick

You come off sounding like he was nobody before you heard him, which is obviously not the case, but whatever.

And btw, listen to Karl Heinz Steffens ,or worse yet Eddie Daniels if you want to hear some good jazz clarinet playing (Daniels if you REALLY want to prove my point).

Bradley

Hi Bradley,

I did not mean to come off sounding that way. I have been a clarinetist for about 14 years now and have been involved in jazz for just as long. Among many other clarinetists, I listen to Fazola, Dodds, Shaw, Goodman, Fountain, and Daniels...I have a monster CD collection of jazz clarinetists. I have been to ClarinetFest on a couple of occasions (Andy didn`t play those years) and I frequent other venues that would bring me into contact with world class clarinetists. Therefore, I was amazed that the music of Andy Firth had escaped me to this point. After reading his bio, it became evident that he is certainly not a "nobody." I think location has a lot to do with why I had not heard of him for so long; I live in the US. Where are you from? The point of my post was just to inform other clarinetists who might be insulated from Australian musicians.

Nick

After listening to several of the selections, I must admit that I did enjoy many aspects of his playing, while disliking others. To me, I just don`t hear enough "jazz" sound. Maybe that is due to my recent interactions with klezmer clarinetists, my nonetheless, I just do not hear enough jazz sound. I did enjoy the Variations, but still thought them to be a bit dry. The sound did have a nice ring, but not enough for my tastes. I would certainly prefer to hear him over several US soloists, certainly including Neidich. Actually, I did care for the amount of ring in the sound now that I think of it. I did enjoy the leaps, so hearing something like the Rossini Variations would be neat. It is always good to hear a clarinetist who does not pinch those high notes! I might actually like to hear him do more slow, ballad type pieces. Being a HUGE fan of Dave Brubeck, I have to agree with Bradley and recommend Steffens. His Blue Rondo CD is quite amazing. I do like Andrew`s playing, but not enough to go out and fall in love with it. I would have to hear some ballads to hear if he can phrase well before I change that opinion. Very good nonetheless.

i`ve heard this guy on a cable tv program before. he plays good stuff. his improvisation style has a `danielesque` feel. i listened to the mp3 samples: the arrangements are unique--he makes an authentic big band sound using only reeds on bill bailey. i really like the autumn fugue/leaves thing. thnx for the post.
keep swingin,
sumar

Hey Dmitri,

Send me your e-mail address and I will send you a ballad that Andy sent to me called "Ballad For Benny." He said that he did it for an earlier book series. Keep in mind that this book series is probably written in a "playalong" format and that implies a particular target audience, but I think that it should give you some idea of his phrasing. Please post your comments.

Nick

I am not sure if my email will hold it, please let me know if you have AIM. My SN is ClarinetNDaHood.

Thanks Nick for sharing this file. My initial reaction to the piece was, "there`s that sound I was hoping for"! Andrew does a great job with this ballad. Being a ballad fan, Andrew had just the right amount of "reedy" sound as well as a very nice vibrato. The only problem I noticed was the piece tended to stay at mf for the entire tune. Overall, a job well done!

I just listened to some of his mp3 files and everything I heard made me grin from ear to ear. I think Mr. Andy Firth is a dynamite player and totally fun. Autumn Fugue was particularly enjoyable and I intend to look into purchasing that and more of his compositions. I`m usually very picky about the clarinetists I like (meaning: they`re all similar) but this guy is just great and he`s not cheesy either like so many other young players come off. I love his playing and his tone is great too. Here`s to you Mr. Firth!

Hi All,
Just a quick cheers and "G`day!". I gotta dash soon but a student put me on to this topic page. I am grateful and very humbled that you dig my playing and arranging. My passion is clarinet altough I can get around saxes and flutes too. I from a small town in South Australia, Pt. Augusta and I started playing at the age of 5 after hearing Benny Goodman for the first time. Apparently I used to jazz up nursery rhymes on the recorder at 4...I can`t remeber, it sounds right though. I was selft taught until 10 years and then took clarinet lessons with a friend of my Dad`s and he taught me how to read music and a develop a love for classical music as well. I have a degree in classical clarinet performance and I am doing a Masters in orchestration this year. My two books "Play clarinet with Andy Firth" (Bossey & Hawkes) are doing very well apparently and I`m releasing a book of jazz duets for beginners-intermediate later this year with Booseys too. No plans to do anyhing in the States this year as I`ve just got too much happening in Aussie at the moment. By the way guys, the sites that are listed (mp3.com.au) etc will ony take original works or public domain stuff so I can`t really submit the "good stuff"-ie the standards/ ballads etc because I didn`t write them. Anyway, thanks for your lovely comments and cheers to you all.
If you need any jazz advice or help feel free to write and I`ll respond when I`m home. However, if you wrote to me a while back and I haven`t responded I`m sorry but I lost my email in a HD crash recently and only have my main address book. Please write again and I`ll backup your details this time. Sorry.

Cheers,

Andy