Virginia MacDonald: Forging a New Voice for Jazz Clarinet
The Clarinet Ninja Podcast: Clarinet Lessons & Practice TipsShow Notes
What does it take to build a career on an instrument that modern jazz largely left behind?
Virginia MacDonald grew up the daughter of one of Canada's most celebrated jazz saxophonists - sitting in smoky Toronto clubs at age four, surrounded by musicians like Neil Swainson and Pat Larbara as if they were just the neighbors. She picked up the clarinet at six because she thought the keys looked like buttons. Nobody told her the instrument had a problem. By the time she figured out that almost nobody was hiring clarinet players for contemporary jazz groups, she'd already decided she was going to make it work. In this conversation, Virginia talks about growing up in an artistic household, learning jazz by ear instead of out of books, her complicated relationship with her first classical clarinet teacher, and how transcribing Kenny Dorham and Clifford Brown solos, instead of clarinet players, helped her find her own voice on the instrument.
We also dig into her debut album as a bandleader, her collaboration with bass clarinetist/composer Todd Marcus, and the philosophy behind her compositions.
Topics covered:
Growing up in Toronto with a jazz legend father and visual artist mother
Choosing the clarinet at age six ("I thought they were buttons")
Learning jazz by ear and why structured practice felt foreign
The barrage: her first classical clarinet teacher at 15
Why she transcribed trumpet players, not clarinet players Kenny Dorham, Clifford Brown, and the In and Out record that changed her playing
The shrinking clarinet lineage in jazz and what she did about it Her debut album on Cellar Music, including Last Call at Dimitri's and Eternal Return of the Same
Her "Frankenstein" R13 and the crystal mouthpiece she hated for two weeks before never going back
Practicing on the road: why it's a blessing and a curse Links:
Virginia MacDonald's website: https://virginiamacdonald.ca/
Album on Bandcamp: https://virginiamacdonald.bandcamp.com/album/in-search-of
Cellar Music label: https://www.cellarlive.com/
Stream everywhere: Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal
Clarinet Ninja Dojo (adult clarinet learning): https://www.clarinetninja.com/dojo-landing
Book a free session with Jay: https://calendly.com/theclarinetninja/30min
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