Buddy DeFranco on the challenge of the clarinet

Now, a Jazz Moment...

MUSIC: "Somebody Loves Me" CD: Oscar Peterson & the Buddy DeFranco Quartet 1953 Live, Jazz Band EBCD2111-2 (cut 6)

NEA Jazz Master Buddy defranco has spent the better part of a lifetime mastering one of the most difficult instruments in jazz... the clarinet.

MUSIC: up for punctuation

Buddy DeFranco: It's treacherous. You're dealing with four different registers of the instrument. Each register requires a kind of a different fingering system. Plus the fact you have these six open holes that you cover. And if you miss one of those holes while you're playing you're gonna get a squeak. So you're dealing with a precarious situation.

MUSIC: up for punctuation

Buddy DeFranco: In that way it inhibits you as far as playing jazz because jazz is really freedom of expression. And many times, especially in the beginning of playing jazz, if you go for a certain phrase on the clarinet, you're gonna miss one of those holes or you're gonna play the wrong register and it's gonna be wrong. And immediately, if it's wrong, that's the end of the solo. It's like walking a tightrope on the instrument.

MUSIC: same - up and fades under

This Jazz Moment with clarinetist Buddy DeFranco was produced by the National Endowment for the Arts. I'm Delfeayo Marsalis.