It amazes me how much he lacks any sentimentality. "Big bands were part of an era which is gone." Point. A fascinating man. I will start to read his books. Thank you for the upload.
As a Jazz Clarinettist for over 65 years, some of Artie Shaw's comments are totally correct Jazz has finished and will never be repeated. The Greats have come and gone. As Benny Goodman said, I own a Clarinet, Artie Shaw played the Clarinet how true. Two totally two different styles of playing, and yes these two Greats never crossed paths.
Mr. Artie Shaw, what a wise man. I may not agree with everything he said, 98%, but I enjoyed hearing his opinion. I will continue to love his music, always.
some time after 1972 - that is when Lady Sings The Blues film came out.... I think Artie Shaw said he's in his 70s or did he say his 80s?? great conversation.. the interviewer asked any question and Artie so forthcoming with info and gems of wisdom and interviewer doesn't interrupt.. just listens to him... that's an art you don't see very often.
22:11 - It's 2023 when I post this - and yes, Artie Shaw was dead-on. Tony Bennett is still with us - and yes, people STILL sing "I Left My Heart in San Francisco", however, with current social and economic conditions there declining, Artie foresaw the stagnation in music - like his marriages
"If I never heard Begin the Beguine again as long as I lived, I'd be very happy" - and then plays him in and out of every commercial break with Begin the Beguine! Love this interview
Such a brilliant man. Speaking as a clarinettist I would love to know how he played the clarinet at the angle he did and how he reached such high notes with what seemed like a soft setup. A pity he wasn't asked about his playing ideas.
Most people are trained with the idea that playing the clarinet is difficult and embouchure and everything needs to be very stiff. Artie was trained as a saxophonist and had a way more flexible embouchure. But you really need brilliance to take it off as Artie did.
Oh boy LOL. It was notalgia that brought me here, and for that reason Artie Shaw may not have liked me very much. I live in the past in so many ways. Could Artie have ever predicted cultural marxism and the complete abyss which has become of the music business? Could he have admitted it? Ahahaha. It's great to see how grouchy and wise he is. I agree with him on 98% of what he says, but I will always enjoy keeping my feelings in the past until and if the present becomes worthy of them again.
Billie's "Any Old Time" with Artie's band is his greatest achievement. It is absolute magic. I strongly agree with his comments about great writing, and he's quite perceptive in his comments about artists and the entertainment biz. I liked his playing. much more than Bennie's, but PeeWee and Pres are my favorite clarinetists.
Interesting that he mentioned Bill Evans as the last tasteful thing in terms of exploring what you can in jazz. I always saw him as boppy and very complicated.
I liked the "young" Artie Shaw more than this argumentative, arrogant old Artie ( although he was like that when he was young it didn't seem quite as obnixious). Very opinionated and combative with the host Earl Beecher. In other interviews Artie had great disdain for many of his fans, even calling them morons. He hated being asked repeatedly by his fans to play his greatest hit, Begin the Beguine. He said he had no hankering for the past and that we can't go back. Yes we can, Artie- it's called memories and nostalgia. As smart as he was he never understood that fans associated his songs with happy moments in their lives and wanted to hear them played again, even years later. But selfish Artie didn't care what his fans wanted. He wanted to play something new for HIS own amusement, even though it wasn't nearly as good and fans didn't like it. This is typical of many musicians, remember Rick Nelson's Garden Party? Most musicians as they get older want to force their newer material on an audience that came to hear the older hits. But rarely is the newer material as good as the great hits made during their peak , earlier creative years. For example, neither Lennon nor Mcartney ever created anything nearly as good after the Beatles broke up. Even if these artists are sick of playing their old classic hits, they should do it to please those fans who made them rich and famous!! Artie comes across in all these interviews as being VERY difficult and argumentative, and that is proven by the fact he was married 8 times!!
