To modern jazz and improvised music listeners, the bass clarinet has ceased to be a strange sight. Most attribute the instrument's popularity to Eric Dolphy, which, if one ignores Harry Carney or ...

Bennie Maupin discusses his love affair with the bass clarinet. This story is part of our spotlight this month on musicians who play instruments tuned in the lower frequencies. This month we're ...

Playing music as part of a group typically requires that not only are all of the instruments tuned to each other, but also that the musicians play in a specific key. For some musicians, like pianists ...

Marcus gets a clean, unfettered sound from both his band and his instrument on his new album. Trio+ is crisp, tight and varied — with more good melodies than we can dip into. This is FRESH AIR. The ...

The sound you hear at any orchestra concert comes from a collection of instruments more valuable than you can imagine. Their value comes not just from antiquity and craftsmanship, but also from their ...

When the Colorado Symphony sets out to recreate scenes from the Disney film “Fantasia” this Saturday, clarinetist Andy Stevens may have a particularly easy job of it. Stevens owns the bass clarinet ...

Bennie Maupin has been standing in the shadows, enhancing the music of such high-profilers as Miles Davis, Andrew Hill and Herbie Hancock, during much of his career. Not before time, he steps up to ...

When did you start playing the Bass Clarinet, and what was it about the Bass Clarinet that led you to choose it? The first time I tried Bass Clarinet was at my clarinet teacher's house when I had only ...

You've heard of the clarinet, you've heard of the bass clarinet. Well now meet their bigger, badder brother: the contrabass clarinet! The contrabass clarinet, also known as a pedal or elephant ...