Happy 116th Birthday, Artie Shaw!

Born in New York City on this day 116 years ago, Artie Shaw went on to redefine the clarinet's range, flexibility, and lyrical capabilities. From his 1936 composition Interlude in Bb to his famous last recordings in the 1950s, Shaw developed and expanded the vocabulary of jazz clarinet perhaps more than any other player. 

Here is a short version of his Concerto for Clarinet, as performed in the movie Second Chorus (1940). There are great close ups of his finger technique and embouchure, along with improvised sections differing from the studio recording. 

Artie Shaw and the Perils of Hollywood

From the Lexington, N.C., Dispatch on November 4, 1940:

ARTIE SHAW MELTS HORN MOUTHPIECE
 

Artie Shaw, who plays such hot music that his famous clarinet figuratively melts made the mistake of putting his instrument near an electrical connection on the set of Paramount's "Second Chorus" and actually melted its composition mouthpiece.

It was after playing a number with Fred Astaire and Burgess Meredith that Shaw accidentally laid the clarinet in his music case with one end touching a "spider" or open electrical switch on the stage. The mouthpiece was melted immediately with a great shower of sparks. Shaw luckily was not harmed.  

you can check it out, in vintage context, here: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1734&dat=19401104&id=-h0cAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FFEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3234,5819556

I hear Shaw did his own stunts in that movie too....