The Hot Box #110



The clarinet has been an endangered species for most of the last 50 years, and despite much admiration for modern-day exponents such as Anat Cohen, it remains on the outer fringes of jazz. Hot Box takes a look at clarinet from the heyday of Benny Goodman, Sidney Bechet and Jimmie Noone through to today’s most admired exponent, Anat Cohen. Some critics have suggested its decline is due to the difficulty of playing it: “It was invented by three people who never met each other” was the comment of Basie band sax player Frank Wess!


The Hot Box #106



Hot on the heels of a little exploration of the role of the Hammond organ in jazz (HB104) a listener suggested we take a look at the role of another “minority” instrument in jazz music – the vibraphone. So we have. Starting at the beginning we hear from Lionel Hampton through to some modern-day masters like Warren Wolf and Stefan Harris. And we find Roger Beaujolais along the way. Who?