Clarinet in B-flat
Details
- Origin: Elkhart, Indiana, USA
- Date: c. 1930
- Maker: C. G. Conn
- Collection: E 197
Description
13 German silver keys and 5 rings pillar and axle mounted. Simple (Albert) system with patent C#. Constructed with hard rubber, German silver ferrules, non-original barrel of blackwood.
Has an unusual key setup, especially the lower joint. The upper joint is shorter than usual because the C# – G# key is located on the lower joint.
“P-EE- / M&E / P.I.U. / Factory 34” on upper joint , “C.G. Conn / Elkhart / Indiana” written on bell within dotted oval
Conn Instruments was an American manufacturer of musical instruments incorporated in 1915. It bought production facilities belonging to Charles Gerard Conn, a major figure in early manufacture of brasswinds and saxophones in the USA. Its early business was primarily based on brass instruments manufactured in Elkhart, Indiana.
Albert system clarinets are a system of keywork and fingering for the clarinet developed by Eugène Albert. In the UK, it’s known as the simple system. It’s derived from early 19th century 13-key systems developed by Iwan Müller, and is most related to the Oehler system used by many German and Austrian clarinetists. The Albert system is still used today, primarily by clarinetists performing Belarusian, Russian, Ukrainian, Greek and Turkish folk music, Klezmer, and Dixieland styles. The Albert system’s unkeyed tone holes make it easy to slur notes.
The articulated C# on this instrument was invented by New York clarinet maker William Meinl (1901) – see an instrument of ours made by him here: Clarinet in A (E 182).
Jimmy Dorsey, the famous big band musician, was known for using a clarinet outfitted with the Albert system. Listen to Dorsey’s Prayin’ the Blues, where he plays on an Albert system clarinet here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0wUamdAtY61s1xAOkGwZ0n?si=a261bc0b62864235
Sources
- “Jimmy Dorsey.” IMDb. IMDb.com. Accessed June 15, 2022. https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0234153/mediaviewer/rm317151232.
- Font, Oscar. “Albert System – The Jazz Clarinet.” Albert system the jazz clarinet. Accessed June 15, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20120325030127/http://usuarios.multimania.es/albertsystem/.
- “C.G. Conn History.” Conn Musical Instrument Factory – DannyChesnut.com. Accessed June 15, 2022. https://www.dannychesnut.com/Music/Conn/conn/.
