So-- who are you? What do you play? WHERE do you play? Favorite clarinetists? Your interests? Anything else?

And hey, just to be nice I'll start.

I'm Mojave, I play clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor & bari sax, but I think of myself as a bass clarinetist first. My soprano (Bb) clarinet is the best of the bunch, though. It's a gorgeous old Selmer CT from the 1950's and has a fat jazz sound to it. My bass is a student Yamaha. When I win the lottery, LeBlanc here I come.

I play with two groups, the SF Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band and the Dixieland Dykes +3. When I finish school I want to audition for the San Bruno Skyline Big Band up here-- a bari/bass clarinet doubler is a lovely rarity, I hear.

I love jazz clarinet. I listen to damn near all of 'em. My particular favorites are Hamiet Bluett, Don Byron, Eric Dolphy (the KING afaic), of course Goodman & Shaw, Omar Simeon, then back to Johnnie Dodds, early Lester Young (yep, the Prez played clarinet), Sidney Bechet, Jimmie Noone, Barney Bigard and from the 2nd wave Dixieland artists, Bob Helms of the Yerba Buena Jazz Band. I'm not too in touch with classical clarinetists, but I do love how Tchaikovsky & Shosktakovich orchestrate the bass clarinet.

So yeah, as you can see I heart jazz, but I play in a wind ensemble and the modern band music that's being composed is pretty incredible stuff (Mmmmm, Ticheli).