Without Hope and Without Despair: Remembering Gary Foster
The Clarinet Ninja Podcast: Clarinet Lessons & Practice TipsShow Notes
Gary Foster played on more than 500 film soundtracks and was one of the finest jazz alto players in Los Angeles.
He was also my teacher. He died this past May, one day short of his 90th birthday.
In this short, personal episode, I share three things Gary said to me in my twenties that I’ve carried ever since: a line from Isak Dinesen about working without hope and without despair, a story about a metal mouthpiece that taught me what real confidence looks like, and one comment that broke my heart at 22 and turned out to be the most important thing anyone ever told me.
I’d love to hear what someone said to you that stuck. And go listen to Concord Duo Series, Volume Four by Alan Broadbent and Gary Foster. It’s the best jazz album you’ve never heard. Intro by James Danderfer: https://www.jamesdanderfer.com/ Clarinet Ninja Dojo: https://www.clarinetninja.com/dojo-landing
More from The Clarinet Ninja Podcast: Clarinet Lessons & Practice Tips
Dr. Ron Odrich studied clarinet with Daniel Bonade and Robert Marcellus, played jazz alongside Buddy DeFranco, Eddie Daniels, and Clark Terry, and spent decades as an elite periodontist, including serving as Leonard Bernstein's dentist. In this fourth and final conversation, we set the clarinet talk aside and get into the real subject: how he's managed to pursue music, dentistry, painting, and writing all at once, for an entire life, without burning out.
Ron Odrich didn't start the clarinet the way most people do. As a kid, he snuck the clarinet off the stand in his father's house (his dad was a professional doubler), soaked the reed, and taught himself the opening glissando from Rhapsody in Blue entirely by ear. No teacher. No sheet music. No idea what the notes were called.
On February 2, 2026, Ken Peplowski played his last notes aboard The Jazz Cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. He was 66 years old, he was in the middle of a comeback, and by all accounts he sounded extraordinary.
What does it take to build a career on an instrument that modern jazz largely left behind?
What is ClarinetFest, and is it actually worth going to? In this episode, Jay sits down with ICA President Cathy Wood, ICA Executive Director Jessica Harrie, and Enthusiast Committee co-chair Josh Goo to answer exactly that.