Michel Pilz 1977 - Amazing Jazz Bass Clarinet Solo 

Awesome it sounds like a hybrid of a trumpet and a sax!

I wish I could get those amazing high notes on my bass clarinet. Simply, amazing.

Guys like him make me have pride in my bass clarinet and where it takes me.

He is singing, ie, producing vibration in his vocal folds, in addition to altissimo register. Coltrane used extensively this device.

This video is so sweaty I think even the bass clarinet was sweating. The 70's was a moist decade.

strange very tenorsaxophonelike sound he has. never heard of this guy. great solo. thanks for posting; can´t get enough of this instrument...

The dislikes come from sax players

Yes I love this stuff. I play bass clarinet so i really apreciate the mastery of this guy. I have listened many bass clarintetist in jazz and classic. Is rare found a good solist. Many players are sax players who doubles on clarinet, so they get nasal sound on the clarion register and dont get the same the skill on the fingerings, donald garrett for example. Im still miss somebody who works in hardbop repertory, otherwise Michel Pilz rules absolutely in skill, sound and improvisation. Thanks!

You may be cool, but you will never be as cool as that bassist. (1:21)

This guy is amazing!!! such talent!!!!!!

Tone sounds a lot like tenor sax. Does anybody make metal mouth pieces for bass clarinet?

the fact that he can reach the clarion register with a 2.5 amazes me

Sounds like a bari sax. I actually like bass clarinet’s sound better than a clarinet’s

That was amazing!!!!!!

Wooaaaaah... Good groove and energy !

He is using a vandoren b46 with vandoren reeds 2´5 which is an average strengh. Many players use this setup, is quite standard for jazz. The huge sound only comes from the massive breath support. I play bass clarinet and personally found his sound my favorite for jazz, but is quite challenging push this amount of air inside .

I am on the verge of being that. Bass clarinet has been my tool for the past decade.

OMG I LOVE THIS! sorry i just had to say this. I play the bass as well and i sound so bad...this has encouraged me to practice more

the 70's were a time of enlightenment

Fantástico!!!

just great

bass for life

them high notes doh Echo

sounds like each instrument is going in its own direction. Where is the unity? What brings them together?

I love bass clarinet

that is epic

Damn he is crazy on that liquorice stick

cool thank you

Rip cymbals

great

This is not squidward.

I´m a big enthusiast of sclavis´ work, in fact I make one song from Suite africaine in a band. He a is very creative guy, highly talented player and well recogniced. But i prefer Pilz, this is just a matter of taste. He overblows every note in dolphy´ way but whit great sound in clarion and nice intonation. I still miss somebody making mainstream stuff, playing the changes... Check this guy: Todd Marcus Have a nice day!

Wow. Middle school. You can totally call a professional a musician because of all the experience you've had.

That is amazing i'm not that good of a bass clarinet player

It's called Source, from the album Light Lines. Although I wouldn't call it a 'standard' since it isn't as widely known as standards like Giant Steps or Take the "A" Train

Interesting!

Squidward is that you! ❤️

That fuckin bass/cello (Not sure) player is INTO it

Good lad.. ;-)

@bajerovaquero : actually there is a song structure in there (based on the track Criterium from Light Lines)... so its not entirely free..

Just search Michel Pilz on RU-vid you will found three more songs from the same concert. I mean the first three related videos in the left panel. In this week I´ll upload one more cut! Enjoy!

NO, THIS IS NOT "just noise" this is a jazz solo meaning that he is improvising instead of reading sheet music. just like an electric guitar might have a solo in a rock band. if you truly believe that this is "just noise", whatever you have to say on here is just pixels on a screen. if you don't understand what this is then you probably don't understand any other instrument playing sounds.

at the risk of sounding like Laurence Welk after a performance, wonderful wonderful!

@JonnyYoo647 That's a bummer, this guy can bop

michel pilz utilise aujourd'hui un bec cristal pomarico tres ouvert 2 etoiles et le vandoren,et joue une selmer,il a un jeu completement hallucinant jouant de la clarinette basse c'est un vrai extase de s que je l'entends...

@SuperSax875 its not a "kazoo" its just him jamming on the high register. i can sound low and non- squeaky too.

I guess you REALLY like this stuff! :-)

Ok, first I would like to state that this sounds nothing like a tenor saxophone. I would also like to point out that this a very atypical bass clarinet sound as well. He's using a way soft reed and a pretty wide air stream/sound. That's why his low register sounds very 'huge', it just vibrates like crazy because the reed takes no back pressure at all. For a more normal yet full and beautiful tone you should listen to bill holmans bari doubler and chris potters bass cl doubling. both are amazing.

Some of the quartal and lydian augmented sounds were familiar to me. Other things the pianist did lost me. Maybe I better hear this one again about 72 times! I liked it a lot...it had a kind of late 60's early 70's vibe. I bet these guys grew up on Dave Liebman, Ritchie Beirach, and Bobby Hutcherson.

@barisaxwizard i agree

damn

How will I ever do this?

@bajerovaquero i agree with SuperSax875 his sound isnt big it's just loud and for a bass clarinet it sounds a lot like a kazoo.

wow what mouthpiece is he usig and what reed??

didn't know Remus Lupin plays jazz too

Herbie Mann should be on the list

how does he play 1:25 to 1:28 is it just a higher register of polyphonics or something else?

No dip he was squeaking

Oh whoops didn't mean to submit twice :P

If someone is able to noodle up and down on his instrument it shows to the audience that he's trained these noodles a lot, but is it nice to the audience ? Wayne Shorter in Art Blakeys "dat dere" is also running from high to low, but because he's holding the starting tones, his solo is much more meaningful to me. So his run from high to low is telling. Forgive me my critic.

I am a jazz bass clarinetist and I just noticed something as he was playing. Although his technique is very impressive and he really glides across his notes, he seems to lack something crucial - soul! Unlike great players like John Coltrane, he doesn't really seem to be saying anything in his solo. And so yes, at times he indeed seems to be playing random notes.

There is substance to this solo. It's like a solo on alto saxophone. Although, I must agree in the sound is too bright. It's like the bass clarinet is being forced to solo. He needs a heavier reed.

@nazarito97 vandoren b46 with vandoren reeds 2´5

@acfinney don't really agree about it not being enjoyable... this kind of jazz is meant to wash over you... and there is actually a form there... I believe its a track from the Light Lines album called Criterium... Maybe this jazz is not populist or easy listening but it is very enjoyable for those with the ears to hear... not for everyone sure. :-)

He has decent tone, he is just playing it like a saxophone [which it obviously isn't] so it isn't going to sound like a bc is supposed to. If he wanted that tone, he would have played accordingly. The upper registers don't have too much of the distinct color anyways and he was all over the place. Good as an example of bass clarinet in improvising, but not of the instrument itself.

what song is this?

it doesn't sound like a bass clarinet. cool! (:

@bajerovaquero if you want a big bass clarinet sound look this up on youtube "Bass Clarinet Solo / Carmen Fantasy 2/2"

Bert on drums?

i know right what are the drums doing

Zawinul on keyboards ?

Eb? or Bb? it sounds like a low Eb

@knutini i lol'd so hard with your comment xDD

I can go 2 octaves higher on mine. I wish mine could go to a low C instead of a low Eb but it costs too much.

@JonnyYoo647 That's weird. I WISH I could play like him.

I sound NOTHING like that...

the bassist is the afro-bach

I could play blue suede momy mony and another one bites the dust. Newb

Yep. I think. I can do a C 3 octaves above the staff. lol.

i play both tenor sax and bass clarinet.. not even close to the same sound coming from experience

@barisaxwizard10

I´m also a decent bass and bass clarinet player. Sorry not single chord or time signature, just german free jazz from the 70´s (and this is not wrong in any way)

guy in the back at 0:20

Sounds more post bop if you ask me. It's definitely not entirely free

badeedledeedledeedleleedee...

I'm not a fan of the tone. He's playing it like a saxophone, which is cool and all, but it totally cheaps the bass clarinet out from its potential dark, round tone. But the fluidity in the upper register is amazing.

wtf this isnt david murray

This guy is the reason why people call bass Clarinets a saxophone. 😢

@sporefreak105 There's no soul in most avant-garde jazz music. What little there is isn't effectively communicated. They don't value expressing it.

@Silversword112 yes but ive heard amazing bebop solos and this is to random

I like what he plays but It's all Clarion and Altissimo so he misses the unique beauty of the BC which is the Chalmeau register. The low notes are so resonant and moving that they vibrate your insides. Why play a bass clarinet if all you're going to play on it are the upper registers? The greatness of this instrument is that it has such a giant tonal range from low Eb or C up 4 octaves or more. For what he played here you could play a soprano clarinet for that or just an alto or soprano sax. When you listen to Eric Dolphy, that's what the beauty of this instrument is about. The bass notes.....like that's why it is named Bass Clarinet, you know?

don't play bass clarinet like saxophone it has its own unique sound Michel

he sounds like david jackson of van der graaf generator but i think jackson is better and van der graaf is fucking mind opening

hey that does sound like a tenor sax but the tenor sax cant really go that low.

Под эту музыку Мафия в переходах убивала людей

he reminds me of robin williams.... hmh....

Hey band-members: who cut your hair?!!

Huh? I don't get it. I sounded like this after a couple years of playing. Fortunately I practiced, took lessons and learned the right way. I don't know what this was. Everyone please stop praising.

I'm a jazz bass clarinetist my self, I think he plays very well technically, however he lacks soal in his playing. Unlike John Coltrane or any other great player, he doesn't really seem to be saying anything. And so yes, the notes do sound random at times.

Theres a reason the bass clarinet is rarely used in jazz. Because who the hell would really want to listen to this? Sure he might be extremely talented but this isn't something I would want to listen to.