Tom Harrison

Mais Yeah! A Tribute to Johnny Dodds

A Tribute to Johnny Dodds

A story, pictures and music for clarinet and piano (optional backing tracks).

Did you ever wonder how the music you love came to be? Could you pick it apart to see how it works? What would you find if you did?

Mais Yeah! is a collection of music and stories inspired by the life and playing style of the great Johnny Dodds, one of the most important figures in early Jazz. Eight original compositions for clarinet and piano are paired with eight short stories about Dodds, his upbringing in New Orleans and his vital contribution to the development of modern music.

Best known for his immortal role in Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven groups, Dodds was famed for his powerful sound in the chalumeau register. His intense use of vibrato, rich and dark tone quality and his emotional blues improvisations set standards in clarinet playing. Dodds and others like him left a legacy encoded into history that can still be heard in music made today.

Through playing the pieces and reading the stories, music lovers will learn about the unique and special combination of traits that made Dodds so influential and the cultural landscape that shaped him. You already owe something to Johnny Dodds, even if you do not yet realise it.

This book is suitable for clarinet players of Grades 1-4 standard. The compositions focus on developing student ability in the chalumeau register and increasing comfort with playing chromatically.

Mais Yeah! features magnificent cover illustrations by Kareen Cox.