Richard Pennycuick recalls Artie Shaw's Clarinet Concerto: >It's not a concerto in the usual sense. It runs 9:32. There's a slow >introduction, a section with a boogie ostinato (if that's not a tautology) >and solos by trumpet, trombone, piano and clarinet. A short reflective >section gives way to clarinet and drums in the manner of Benny Goodman's >Sing Sing Sing, followed by a riff with all the band gradually joining in >while the clarinet soars over the top, indulges in a short cadenza, and >it's over. I do remember the Concerto, and thinking it very exciting at the time. But the Artie Shaw track I recall above all others is his instrumental version of Begin the Beguine: it is simply superb and IIRC was the recording that pitchforked the song into popularity. Shaw certainly blew a mean clarinet. Julia Werthimer <[log in to unmask]> California, USA