two. Welcome to the clarinet ninja podcast. My name is Jay Hassler and I'm
here today to share the second half of the conversation I had with Ricardo Morales. In this conversation, uh, we
talk a lot about a gentleman named Jim Ogdamini. Jim was the bass clinup player
at the Metropolitan Opera when Ricardo got his job there. Jim was one of the finest bass clin players uh there ever
was and undoubtedly one of the warmest, kindest, most genuine individuals who
was always there to make you laugh, uh help you with anything that you needed and just generally speaking be the kind
of person you want to have around as a human and as a clarinetist. We also talk
about the value of art, the transformational nature of art. We talk
about the two sides of the coin, teaching and learning and why that is a
valuable thing on both ends and how it really enriches everybody's life if you
do it with the right spirit and uh with the right intention. We also talk, as
one might want, about some clarinet equipment and uh Ricardo's got some some
things going on that I think it would be good for everyone to know about in terms of mouthpieces and reads and liatures and you know the equipment that he is
currently using. And the last thing I do want to highlight is we remark on a video made by Ron Odrich who uh actually
has the clarinet that Robert Marcellis played the Mozar Certo on. It's a
tremendous video. So, I'm going to link it in the description. Uh, Ron is a wonderful man, a great player, and knows
just about as much about the clarinet as anyone I've ever met in my life. The
video is terrific and I'm going to post it in the description because if you like the clarinet, you should see this video. Please enjoy the second half of
the conversation I had with Mr. Ricardo Morales. I was listening to a podcast about Miles Davis, and it made me think
of you because you know what he loved? you know, the boxing. Ah, yeah.
And it was it was it was interesting because the overarching idea was about
channeling of energy and frustration and anger. But it just reminded me of that
time when you were in the woods and I was at your house watching the Tyson Holyfield fight and even though you
couldn't see the fight, you explained exactly why Tyson bit his ear off. Yes.
I was I was it was it was bad but I understood I understood why it happened
you know I actually I do I I I do I have a
great love for uh you know boxing for watching etc. But but I find that uh you
know boxing like in music is very similar. I like to say this all the time because there both music and boxing
there's a very fine line between kicking ass and getting your ass kicked. Yeah,
very much. In boxing, you know, you're winning and then for a moment you lose the respect for your opponent and I have
always found that is when you're in imminent imminent danger of getting knocked out. the minute you disrespect
your opponent or where you think that you're so good and the same thing with music and it's very you know the minute
you're like ah this is pretty good and sick happen or you know and that is what it is and that's the the good thing
about that is uh interesting about music it's like yeah when you're really
pushing for the for the for the extremes you want to do this beautiful phrase I
have this specialendo and you go for it I work it's great or sometimes
close but no cigar but you know but the thing is that you know
um it is it is that that part of the job where I'm grateful that we're in the
arts and that we are not doing a triple bypass sorry it's already help me out to
close this up you there yeah right a lot was a risk for sure yeah so then but for
sure is it's something that is very important then other thing that people don't realize that is very very uh
important is that and I try to encourage that to my students uh more more so these days
to try to remind them uh because you know when you see the greatest ones you know
uh Tyson Muhammad Ali all those great
guys they are you know like us in the in the ring it's like being on stage you're
basically by yourself, you have to execute, but they have a support team.
That is a very important thing that we have to remember that we really ought to
embrace because you know the the buffalo have the trainer, the nutritionist, the
cutman, the you know the the guy who deals with your uh with your problems,
you know, the you have the guys that bringing the bucket with the water. So you have all kinds of people there, you
know, so you're when you go to a fight, you have those three minutes of hell, but they you come back and you have five
to 10 people back there, you know, checking for you. So that is important. You have the guy that's trying to, oh
please, this gu is getting you, you're getting caught with this, look, keep your right hand up or whatever. So
people are looking for you. And that's the thing that we have to embrace that. And from our teachers, our colleagues,
our friends, you know that, you know, we we have a community for for a concert. We have our teachers, we have our
friends that we play for, our colleagues that we play and we learn from. We have a repairman that helps us and you know,
make sure that our instrument feels good for so when you're nervous on stage, you can feel secure about what you have. So,
you know, it does take a village for all of us to be able to do what we do. almost a sales pitch, you know, in the
in the in the classes that that I that I have. I call the Planet Ninja Dojo. Super fun. And the I've got it's an
adults class. There's no kids cuz I've I've kind of tailored things for adult learners. But that community aspect of
what you're talking about is there because we are there all together online. Everybody has heard everybody
play. Everybody has seen everybody develop. Everybody has learned from what the other person has learned from. And
it's it's really one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. And you know, it it means a lot when somebody that's heard you play every week for the
past 5 months says, "Man, that sounds really great." They they mean that because they've heard what came before
that and this is a product of something else. It's amazing. Yeah. It's been very fun to play a small role. I've written a
lot of curriculum. I've done a lot of stuff. I've made a lot of stuff. It's really, really great. But what's the most fun for me is that like it it's not
just one person that gets to have the experience. We're all there and it's and and it's a powerful thing when there's
more than one person involved. Yeah, for sure. That's that sounds great because that that is Yeah, it's very important
to to learn from from everybody. There's no such thing as uh I I found that
there's no such thing as a utterly terrible performance. You learn, you know, uh things that you like from great
performances and from performances that you may not prefer. See, I don't even call it a terrible performance. a
contest that you may not may not be your favorite, then you can still learn
because there's all all kinds of preparation in that process. And even if the if you're in your mind or in your
opinion, the the process wasn't as successful, there's still many things that happen that you can learn from all
the time. I I take a position that that sometimes people don't they don't get
behind, which is that I if I'm going to hear a performance, I I want to be moved. I want to be changed. Whether
that's because I loved it so much or because I hated it so much. Yeah. That those are number one. Number two, then
every other feeling of like that was okay is is that I should have just stayed home and watched Law and Order.
If I was that's okay. Yes. Yes. If you got me to hate it, then then I get to
explore a little bit about myself, right? Why did I hate that? Was it that was something that's hateable or is
there something in me that made me feel like I needed to hate that? I mean, is is that because Ricardo said that that wouldn't be good that I've got to hold
on. No, I mean, honestly, cuz this important teacher to me said, "You don't play like that. Does that mean that that
he can't play like that or she can't play like that? They can play however they want to." Yeah. And and if and if they challenge me, I'm going to get
something new. I'm going to come out transformed. Yes. And you know transformation is often times painful
you know it's traumatic but it's it's necessary for for growth and and that is
uh really important. Yeah for sure. Uh I'm actually talking about something like that. Uh we are playing a concert
uh we playing uh Tira Burana you know and it was very interesting Jan Carlo Guerrero uh uh like uh Costeran uh
conductor EXON you say that he he's all over the place he was until recently music director in Nashville they won
like like over 10 Grammys is amazing but I remember something that he said he wanted a particular style for uh the
strings to play in in this number in Carana he it uh very raw, you know, to
sound a little bit wild and crazy and you know, uh and the expression he used,
which I loved. He was like, "Okay, my friend, this is excellent." And I hear the for the answer, but no, no, I really
Let's try it. Let's play in a way that will make your teachers mad at that. And it was completely crazy
and it worked really well, you know. And and the thing that it it is uh
liberating it is liberating in in th in those in that sense because sometimes
when we put a frame you know um I've learned that the frame that we put in
the way that we play and the things that we like has to remain flexible. It can
should be able to expand and expand either way up down sideways contract. uh
and it is important because that's how we uh how we grow as musician how we think about music and because it's
flexible you know and the the there are certain things that we never know about
people that are very important to know because for example there was a teacher
that shall remain nameless for now where that I know that is uh which I talked
with Jim Ognet was you know we were playing at the and we just we both
attended Indiana University. This particular teacher he said had at the time uh when Jim had been going to
school at Indiana, he had a supposedly a list of the students that he thought that were going to make it or not. Yeah.
And I don't know why anybody would make a list like that. That's sort of weird to begin with. And then even worse that
the assistant, the teaching assistant had access to it. Okay. and he was a
very good friend of Jim and he said, "Yeah, man. I'm sorry." I saw the list and yeah, I'm so sorry to tell you
you're not in it. You know, but the people were brought that was starting with this person and that yeah, the
teacher thought that he was never going to make it now. And uh so then this same teacher I guess
it's 20 years later whatever I was playing and I was studying with uh uh
Anon Weinberg one of the teachers at Indiana University. He was visiting professor for a number of years. I think
it was about seven years and I just so happened to be there for the last two and a half that that he was there. I
loved studying with him. I love him. He's great. He's still alive. He's doing well. British. Okay. And just fantastic.
And at the time he was very young. Some of the faculty were a little bit of the older school, very conservative, mostly
just orchestral style. And then my teacher was, you know, he was British, played the different clad style, etc.
Bravo and But he was young, he was in his prank, played great, very good-looking with his posh accent. Of
course, he was everybody hated him because he was really great. Easy to
hate, the most talented, goodlook with the accent and the whole thing like a so forget it.
But yeah, easy to hate because he was so great. And then so I and I loved him. I
started with him and I admire him and I uh so at that time you know he didn't ever encourage me to change anything but
out of love and respect I was, you know, imitating him a little bit. thought myself was getting a little bit more
British. My my idols by the time I switched I was primer Jaspire Reel you
know all that that whole thing that that time and this particular teacher was not
fond of that at all. Okay. So I remember that uh I had to play a jury and that so
he made me play a bunch of stuff you know Neil Satur I was like 16 dude I didn't even
have to do that one but it was like a little uh a little interesting uh uh
dynamic because I think it was like five amongst them there among
faculty they were like you know and I was just uh the point there but the thing is that so I played and then he
was a teacher I warn you, you're going to be tested, so please practice. Do this, do that. Okay, fine. And that day,
uh, you know, I was sort of fearless. I I had a very good day. So, it's like I could feel I I was into the the test.
So, I was like, and so then the was like quiet and
then fine. But with that fine, you'll never get a job in the United
States. And that's why and then that was the end of it. Okay. Now I was 16 years old. Okay. And then I
start thinking this is one of the things that I find that is very important as a
teacher that I've really had tried very hard to keep in mind you know uh that it
is so uh Jim Ok when we used to joke around hey man we're the rejects we were
we used to joke that we were both on the met. were the rejects. But the thing was
that it is very important the words that one uses to teach and the reason why is
that what he was saying at that time okay may have be you know what it was
true in a sense in a sense because you know that style is not the standard
style that we expect for you know orchestral dish especially you know more
more you know more streamlined very much bonat school America uh you know French
American school blah blah blah and that was not uh and that was definitely not what I was doing okay but you know
uh this this happened obviously this is like I mean such a long time ago and
then it's like that's what I the only thing I can remember from from that day
and the thing is that yes perhaps he was correct about GM that he wasn't going to
make it. Maybe in his mind he was having a list of okay well yeah the next person
to replace Larry Combmes or when Sally Daer retires okay and perhaps that's it but Jim had not picked up a base planet
when he was there because what happens is that he went to the Marines and and
then after the Marine and then he was in the trouble symphony is you know so
we're talking probably about six to 10 years after he graduated from there that
he heard a broadcast and hear Jimmy about playing and he was like, "Oh my god, this is so awesome." And so he felt
inspired. He got a bass player and then a couple years later then uh the the
that opportunity happened and you know Jim had one of the most compelling sounds and beautiful musician and I was
so so lucky to be able to and so honored to play with him. He was I learned a lot and he was just really fantastic. But
the thing is that there as a teacher what I find is that it's important to
allow for the seeds to grow. Okay. So you know
I you know I I now say much more you know when when I give you some
instructions or whatever number one word that always has to be in the tip of your
tongue at all times is why. I will not be annoyed to explain why ever. Okay?
Because there there are reasons for everything and then there will be points where there will be well that is just
subjective. That's what I like or whatever. And therefore when you get to that point then they that have basically
gives you carb blush it's a it's an open road where you can you can go either way and but that it is important because
everybody has a different time for blowing and and we all do things
differently. We have different goals and different uh accomplishments at different time. And it is important that
uh as a teacher to be able to find a way to uh uh guide but to be
excellent for the student because you know be one is a
student technically speaking you you spend time with somebody uh being your student uh two years four days they they
spend you know uh and And hopefully if you're lucky they continue developing
and then they you're you become friends and they're your colleagues. They have their own ideas on the most beautiful
thing is to be able to you know have been able to uh you know help somebody to develop their own ideas and then you
can learn from them also. So it's like a a very nice opportunity. So you know
Yeah. So, one of the cheesy lines that I that that I have in my mind that I like is that the the thing that I like the
best about teaching is the learning that I get out of it. Yeah. Because it's
really great to be able to hear everybody get these different ideas. I agree with you. I I I get what you're
saying. The funny version of it to me is it's really encompassed in a classic movie called The Bad News Bears. The
coach really learns from the kids as much as the kids learn from the coach. He got himself straightened out. The energy that comes back from talking to
somebody and somebody learning something and they're transforming and and you're playing a role in it, I mean, it's a big
deal. It's a big deal. And in the jazz world, somebody's learning to play tenner saxophone. And at a certain
point, they pick their favorite tener saxophone player and they they transcribe, transcribe, transcribe, and
then they pick another one. Transcribe transcribe and then another one. And then by the end of three or four of
those iterations, you become who you are, right? And I feel like the way we
do it with direct human contact more more so obviously that happens in the
jazz world too. If if you ship a kid off into the world, they've been studying with you at 18 to 21 and then they come
back 6 years later, they're going to be dramatically different. And in a less
stupid analogy, it's much more like the Odyssey, right? I mean you are then you come back and you're a changed person
and at that point you get to see some of your own ideas completely twisted around
in a way that you would have never done yourself. For sure. Yes. Yeah. And that that's the most beautiful part of it.
That that's the most interesting part that it's great. We dodged the initial question about the interruption that
LeBlanc made in the clarinet world because since then you've played about six different clarinets,
right? And and and it was interesting to me because I'm I'm going to I think you
sound great on you're still playing the uboles, right? Yes. That was not my favorite choice you made. Uhhuh. Because
it disrupted what I wanted you to sound like. And you know, I get to you play a couple times a year usually, right?
Amelia and I had a great time and you getting us tickets on Christmas Eve was amazing, beautiful. You had a wonderful
time. But for me, it was also beautiful to hear you play in a way that wasn't
this wasn't my choice, right? Like I like I I I'm not hearing you play with that sound that I heard you play with in
your living room 1996. Yes. I don't know whether it was you or whether it was me, but I was like, you know what? I'm on
board. I'm on board. I'm with this. I I can get with this now.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So, but you know, that's the thing. I mean like the journey is part of it you
know it's well to get on board with the Leblanc thing just to so we don't lose
the thing that I love about that client was that it had a roundness and it was one of the first
one that I noticed that it had a particular tuning ratio that was different than the status quo at the
time but mostly the color which I really like it encourage clarity but a softer
edge you see to to the sound and that I always liked you know the thing is that
uh what I would say is that as a musician uh even though the there's a
certain time where you start questioning and trying different things and making
sure that uh I just never even uh that I never want to be like the hamster that
looks very busy in the in the wheel and going nowhere, right? And you know and
sometimes you you know you put the hamster in the little ball and they go here and there whatever and just as people we we try different things and
some things take to to a completely different place that might be great sometimes we have to take a few steps
back and then come around to the other place but I find that all those uh all
those uh changes are part of the journey because it's it just makes you question
things in a particular way. It's like I mean we talk about like in food, let's say we have our absolute favorite meal
and you have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. I don't think even if it's your absolute favorite thing, I
don't think that we would love it so much if that's all we had to eat for a long time. You see what I mean? that
that there would be a place where we would, you know, be seeking uh a different a different taste and and then
it would speak something different. And, you know, uh and our needs change because the way we are when we're, you
know, 20 and 25 or whatever is different than when we're 50 and and the playing
environments change, etc. We're 50 now, man.
Dude, some something out there. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. Not
sure. Yeah. Yeah. But the thing is that I I just find it to be like that. And
you know one of the things that Anton Warberg my teacher from Indiana had uh
he had written this beautiful book is called unfinished sentences. And it was on thoughts on music and things like
that that were very very cool. And one of the things that I remember that is in what because they they're not just some
some are like you know just a couple of thoughts you know two or three sentences and then you to think about things and
this particular one was interesting what he say is like what every great woodwin
instrumentalist has started in a particular school of playing no great
one ever belong to one. What I get from that is that many
many artists were always searching searching and the thing is that while we
talk about the certain things about tradition and clinet etc. If we go back
to in real time many of those people that we call our are our staple
tradition are not necessarily that at that time when that started develop new
it's new for example if we think about cariser uh you know the he started very
young in the bifil harmonic and he had sorry came from east Berlin and they he
moved and then when you hear his first recordings of the first baronas has the iconic first recording of his motor
control with the vapor that had a little beat up silver clarinet like uh in the
cover. It was like for do is a much different sound than his last recording
that he did. And the thing is that it's absolutely beautiful the first one and the last one is absolutely gorgeous and
they are completely the opposite. The first one had more of what was then uh like what I would call the uh the old
the the older German style which had a brightness to it and a clarity but it was very sweet but uh bright and then
you know as he developed he had he had very many years in the perfect car and
years with the orchestra lots of recordings and he transformed his sound he he said many times that his father
was a bass planet player so he was always in a bass clan in his home. So
for him the client, you know, he wanted the client to be an extension of just
that B sound that he had been hearing at home. And when you hear his live record of the motor with some martins in the
fields, it's really beautiful. It's so it's way darker. It's a completely different color and a different
inflection altogether. Absolutely beautiful, but it's different than that. And they're both him and when we talk
about oh traditional German sound now is his sound which is the last sound not
the earlier one but for him he tells the story that when he won the music
competition he won second prize but they were not either awarding first prize so he got a second prize and I think it was
deleludes who was one of the uh the jury members uh for those of uh of the
younger generational that don't know how you drew play. He even though he's uh he
has story in the Paris territory with some pictures of Kahuza, he was totally with Kuza played together
at the opera etc. his sound was much uh lighter play with vibr and all these
kinds of stuff in the old French excuse me the old French school lights told me
the story like well you know that uh he came and well you play the clin very
well but you do have a a strange style you know and then and that's what
said to ler said oh thank you ma fortunately the only thing I really like about my playing is my
sounds so that was really interesting. So, well then and then I heard like 10
seconds later Cal Operman came and said, "You don't know jack about the clarinet, right?"
Yeah, exactly. But but you know, but that is the thing. I mean, it's like when we are thinking about those things,
it's like uh it is true in real time things are moving. We don't really realize it because in in general we are
basically the way we do it is we're driving forward but always looking at the back at the rear view mirror you
know so yeah you know because when we talk even even if we are to go back to B okay let's go back to BA I admire Ba
I've always admire Ba I more now more than ever it's just I think that that's
really stupid in every way the thing is that
uh We think of that oh the traditional fresco but it's traditional but it isn't
because it doesn't sound like le with whom he studied and there's that
Victoria did that very lovely recording of historical clarinet and then you can hear uh some of the players and so you
can get to hear that he sounds fantastic but he does not sound like his teacher at all and when he came to Philadelphia
the orchestra he had to get a different kind of sound so he he started working with uh some French guys that had moved
down the street in P Street. He knew something with a little bit more power and these French guys, you know, uh and
uh his brother was the famous one agree shed bill or whatever. So the they were
just there, hey, can you make me a couple Muses? I need something with a little bit extra something for playing
at the academy. So, so that that was uh you know different you know and then uh
and then the same thing with Marcelos who we also love very much he started with Borat and he doesn't sound at all
like Borat at all and you know if if for the people who have not heard Ron Odri's
podcast talking about his experience with Marcelos Marcelos was playing with the national symp with a meor maleor
mouthis that was supposed to be one of the was a burandisan and they were living consist But his was like
fantastic. So he loved it. And then the week before or the month before he went to Cleveland, he was playing some gig
and the clar fell on the floor and snapped them off. So he wouldn't do anything about it. So he had to get
something new to get going. And then you know so happened that Goti knows of that
this guy's from Chicago, you know. So he sent him his found his best map. He said
by Casper and then that's when he started using that by coincidence. You see? So uh and then he was a little bit
wanted to get something different in his sound. So that there was this very new small other company in the in France
that was making reads more red or whatever and then there's this new model
climate that that uh you know that buffet started making in 53 by
Robert. So when we hear the motor control that he recorded like in 1960
he's playing you know a a buffet that is seven years old model the model so it's
way younger than the to guy is right now so it's a younger instrument no reads you know uh so it's
like uh very much in the in the upper front in the front of what's working the
newest stuff because he's searching for things and even though he respects and place I started uh with this and that
the sound is not the same or the approach is not the same even though the fundamentals are the same but there's
room for a lot of difference and it is one of the things that many times we
forget that part of the equation and then we have to always be careful of
using the tradition and all the fundamentals to try to find our our own contribution I'm going to link the
videos you're talking about Ron's talking about Marcelos and the clarinet because that is, you know, I made a lot
of videos about the clarinet and I I stayed up till 2 in the morning watching that video. I woke up the next morning,
jumped out of bed and I couldn't wait to call Ron Odrich on the phone and say, "Man, that was the most amazing video in
the world." I called him at like 2:00 in the afternoon. I like, "Ron, that video was
amazing." And it he revealed to me what he was doing at 92 years old. He was
practicing the clarinet. I mean, it was unbelievable. But to think that like he has that clarinet. That's amazing. He
has the reads. I mean, he that video is beautiful. The sentiments are beautiful. Everything about is beautiful. Yeah.
People should see it. I mean, it is my favorite video about the clarinet. That's all. It's great. For sure. But it
it is interesting, right? Like I It makes me think I use pop culture analogies a lot of the time. I didn't
know that the hit Billy Ocean song that was on the radio at the same time as
Michael Jackson's Thriller were not going to be seen historically the same.
Get out of my car didn't have the cultural significance that Thriller did, but at the time as a kid consuming it in real
time, I didn't know. Yeah, I like the Billy Ocean song. Right.
Oh my god. A little Yeah. Well, we all we all have our club. Cindy Loper was
versus Madonna. Oh my god. It is interesting to think about what's
going to be the thing from a certain period of time that hangs on. And speaking of that, you know, again, I
I'll cut it out if you don't want to talk about it or if it's not appropriate for you to talk about from a business standpoint. What reefs are you playing
on now? Oh. Uh, I'm I'm playing some ri that uh I uh that I designed that that
are uh made in Austria and uh so I'm very lucky to have a company over there
that's uh devel uh developing them. I've been using that for the last four years. I mean, you know, the the the usual
stuff is always good to have around the vandor because it's always good as a as
a as a base. But, uh, yeah, the these other things that that I have worked on
uh that I have very happy to use is a little bit different just to get a
little bit different parameters of the things that that I want to have. I just want to add in this little needling of
you. When when I went to Philadelphia with my kiddo and and and you you were gone. I had lunch with our friend Ri.
She told me about this mouthpiece that has your name on it and now you're telling me there's reeds that have your name on them. It's as if you're making
me feel like I don't exist because I've got this YouTube channel that loves to talk about clarinet stuff and I don't
have any of these things. Oh, I even have a liature. I have a liature, too.
You just like to the knife, man. Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, I I like I I I'm a
very well business person. I make it for the love of I'm sort of shy, you know, but like it would help me more than it
would help you, but even more even that's even a better reason the the
hands. Don't worry, I'll hook you up. Yeah. So this written are called liberte because uh design here in Philly you
know stat of liberty and the whole thing you know it's nice to have a little a little h throw yeah throwback of you
know just uh for for Philadelphia and the Frenchiness of the old of the old
town so it's yeah so you've been playing those for four years and and those are actual cane reads yes yes so these are
French cane reads and they're just manufactured at one point I remember you very vividly calling Kane Reeds antique
reads. They are antique reads. You know the thing is that you know it's
just like when people were talking about electric cars now it's getting more and more and here we only had Tesla but you
see the other companies uh trying to throw a little bit of a little bit of shade to to Tesla but I mean China has
so many other there's like 10 other car manufacturers that don't even SUVs and
big cars and luxury is all electric over there. you know, so eventually I'm sure
that uh it works and some of them uh they they do work and they do work for
and they serve a purpose, you know, and there are sometimes that uh you know they I I've used it many times and I
still use them to make sure for my students to correct and to play. So you know whatever whatever works for sure.
Well, I mean, I I was I was at I was at a show the other day and I got a little
fired up because I think that I what I want and we've lost the thread on this.
I want a a synthetic read that can easily I can go back and forth with the
cane read so that I'm not always playing I don't want to play a synthetic read all the time. Right. I would like to go
back and forth. Yeah. But I haven't found one that offers that. Yeah. I feel
they're idiosyncratic enough each one of them that it doesn't feel like any particular cane that I can put on right
I think that they are getting closer and closer and the thing is that what people
what we have to realize is that there's uh the other element is that most of our
mouthes well I will say all our mouthes are basically geared toward Cambridge
right so there are very few mouthes that have been designed specifically for synthetics, right? So
then so you know it's always like it's pretty close is that you're going to get
it, you know, but well the the part to me and I know I'm pushing back a little bit and I'm doing it for fun. Well, what
does that mean specifically designed for a synthetic? I mean like what does that even mean? That sounds like a sales
pitch. No, no, no. The the thing is that okay so Kane when we say I mean in the
most technical sense you know the material for uh cane we are using arunas
is a plant and it is uh wild and very vibrant and you know we are forcing
grabbing this drying it out over years and then putting a shape and wetting it and expecting this piece of cane from
the bar region to satisfy our musical disappears you know. So it's one thing but that's how we uh do it and I have
found that the reality is that Kane and the synthetics for now they come from a
different side like cane is overly vibrant and we use it a little bit harder trying to temper it so we can do
uh uh get the uh quality and the warmth and the control that we want. Whereas uh
many of the fintellics are materials that are basically yeah they're dead materials and then that they're
manufactured and then they are designed to try to emulate that vibrancy of a
plant. Right. Right. So in that sense you know in that sense is not even there
they are completely different and what is coming one of them is coming from a place that is like lifeless and then
trying to create this particular kind of vibrancy and the other one was alive and
then it's dead and there's a little bit of life again but it's coming from a place where that kind of flexibility is
more normal for it you see so that's why and that's why I say it so then it's
like look we have we have the the all the manufacturers right now that make B
pieces I I would say that I'm not going to say all of them but I say let's say
for argument at least 90% of them have their testers and their makers playing
mostly on Kane K can reads right so that's why it's pretty good but you know
Kane has a different uh shell life shell life than that that the other material
uh the synthetics etc. So that's why and and then you have to think that because
it has a different kind of vibrancy just just that the fulcrum the place of fulcrum might be different in order to
get the kind of color and the sound. So there so all things considered is still pretty good for what it does. The only
trick is that I think that it's more challenging the smaller the instrument.
the smaller the instrument, I mean like uh because you know uh if you're talking about saxophone or uh bass claret or the
bigger instrument, the the the K because it's so much bigger is that much more unpredictable and then the kinetic
sometimes ends up being uh a little bit more stable and more productive. I have found that it is harder to define even
in classical saxophone somebody who's playing synthetic versus k is a little bit trickier. Maybe the more the
instrument is much uh different and they have more uh you know more things they do more vibr and things like that. So
it's a little bit harder to define a client. The smaller it it is then that
uh that piece of cane or that piece of synthetic material has to vibrate in a very specific way very quick you know in
order to get a particular color. So that's why I'm like I want them to be like absolutely the best but in the
meantime that that's part of the process. I mean it's fine. I mean, it's like we had hybrid cars. That Prius was
good. There's all kinds of stuff and you know, as things progressed, you turned the best. Are you suggesting that we
should go back to a plastic cover read? Remember those? Uh, the what? The plastic cover. Oh, yeah, man. Those were
pretty good. That's a nice hybrid read. I used those for a long time, man. I love them. They look cool. I
thought they were look very cool. Well, that that's actually one one of the things that that I think about.
sometimes is I I I heard you tell the story. I s on a video somewhere and I know you've heard you tell it in real
life about looking at the clarinet and how beautiful it was and it was the perfect mix of wood and metal and then
then there was an aesthetic quality of the clarinet that you really really loved. I mean it sounds a little crazy
but that is one of the reasons why I chose it because you know the stat all shiny too bragados are too much for me.
I don't like, you know, the obo is similar to planet, but I had too many kids. Looks a little little too
complicated. I made too many kids. I don't like that. And the bassoon, man, that's just weird,
man. I'm sorry, man. I play with I play with some of the best bassoon players in the world. It's a little weird to to my
It's pretty good, but fine. But I thought, yeah, it's the perfect very
nice amount of keys and the open holes. I like that.
So, it makes sense that you were attracted to a you had the right an assessment you're going to get
from 11 year old. Well, listen, I did a video comparing all the different finishes on a Vandor
leure. The same legature. Yes. and you know and I and I had like graphs and
like you know which overtones are coming out and it basically came down to I like the one that's in black because it looks
cool. Yeah. Yeah. Because it pretty much the the the finishes didn't make that much of a difference but when I had the
black one on it made me feel like I was Michael Knight in kit on Night Rider and
I like I like how that felt. It felt good. No. Well, yeah. But that is true. A lot of times a lot of time with so I
mean there are some that they do have a particular kind of sound that will uh uh
will promote a certain partial of the sound but when we're talking about play
it is much more of a personal feel. Yeah. It impacts the feel for sure the
sound a lot less. Right. Yeah. Yeah. I think that there Yeah. I'm not trying to dismiss that there's a difference. It's
just I can tell you this. It's hard to quantify in a YouTube video. Yeah. But also but but you know that everything
goes in layers. If you feel better about it and you like it then you feel uh freer to play music that you feel uh
more at ease. That's that's part of the equation why uh we we do those kinds of
things. So it's like you know it might be it might be voodoo magic man. Conversely a long time ago back
when I played more saxophone I had a beautiful silverplated tenner saxophone.
But man, if you've got a silver played tener saxophone, people notice. And and I liked playing the saxophone. But I
didn't want to be noticed playing the saxophone. I just finally sold the instrument cuz I was like, I can't do
this. Can't have this. I can't have this beautiful shiny silver saxophone in my hand. I don't want anybody walking up to
me and saying, "What's that? I I but but but if it was a clarinet that
had a a fancy thing that people were interested in, I'd be more interested in that because I I feel like that's more my thing. Yeah.
But you see that's the thing like whatever speaks to us. Yeah. That's whatever makes open that case. That's
Well, so speaking of opening the case, what what what uh what type of wood are you currently playing on your planet? So
I have you know traditional uh grandilla and they have been like the new range or
whatever that So I mean yeah I asked that question forgetting that you probably have 15 sets of clarinets
within arms reach of you right now. Well not that many. It's not that many. No, but but it's interesting is that it's
just like everything goes uh I find that gratilla is the bass
right and that is where you get the thing and and actually but depending on the quality of the brand it affects the
sound a lot for sure the density etc. But I you know I I I like the other ones
and I know that uh you know now people are making box with clar you know I used
to play on the walk with cocaolo and and sometimes it makes you know cocabolo with gratilla or what have you
and at the end is also what makes you feel good. I mean like there there are certain elements that do uh I would say
that they don't necessarily make the 100% the difference but that it
encourages a particular kind of right so so it the aesthetic of the
sound does influence the the the play in a in a way I remember back when we were
young they were doing things for you at at LeBlanc they built that F# that vented like a sliver key and then they
and then on a on a separate clarinet they put the B flatted underneath the register. Yeah. And and but they were
two different clarinets but you without hesitation just put the two parts that you like together. Yeah. And you
remember what she I'm sure you do. You remember what she used to call it? Fully loaded. That's
very good. I mean that actually works really well. I mean that's the thing. I mean it's like you know now it's I'm
very happy to see that more the makers are more open to adding some stuff. I mean like uh you know way back in the
90s just in the early 2000 to just use a cocoa bowl barrel was like whoa whoa
whoa you know it was a little weird and now you know we have all these type of
different woods and you know even buffet is doing the correction key and the custom thing and so there's a more to a
certain extent more openmindedness to try different things. So it's nice and sometimes it's better to just to go back
all reliable, you know, 17 keyhand like I just playing to see. Well, I mean the
clarinet I have next to me doesn't have the 18th key on it. Right. Right. That's what I'm saying. Well, and then this is
this is the one that sits here and and I I love it. It's a great clarinet. It's a green line, so I can let it set there
and it's cool. But, you know, consequently, I've never learned to use the extra key. I'm terrible with the
extra key. Ah, yeah. But don't worry, that's a matter of hours to quote
over. All you need to do is returning scale on a flat major on E major and
that'll take care of yourself. But that's all a lot of times I'll get into a fight
with people, you know, hopefully I I feel like it's fun. I hope they do, too. where like
I have certain ways. If I see an E, like a low E, it's right-handed. Only if I
have to finger it left-handed, will I finger it left-handed? Yeah. For me, that really helps me organize my brain
when I'm playing. I I'm not processing extra things. Some people have gotten
aggressively uncomfortable with me when I promote that idea. It's Yeah. I mean the thing is uh what I like about the
idea is that you have it's good to have a default setting. Okay, that's the
thing. I mean because since we have so options, you know, it's not like the German client they are just one log and
then that's it. I think that it is important to find a way to have yourself organized. That is actually not a bad
thing. I think that everybody has to find a way to deal with the idiosyncrasies of the planet. how they
work the best. You know, I found in many ways and it's just little interesting
that Joseph Rabbi, my my colleague who as principal and the met with me, you
know, lovely lovely player and lovely guy. Uh we he marked the part all the
time, you know, so I saw a lot of the parts and it was interesting and I I
thought it was weird and then it became interesting. It was cool to me that he will mark where he will use the left the
left for the B and then the right and the it was almost to a tea. I would say
it was like n over 90% of the time for me was the
opposite but the thing I just liked it because I used to start I accept that
it's probably the opposite. So I look at him and I used to go and he felt comfortable and he you know he was one
of these players that you know he played at the Met he play Israel American symphony one of these guys that you know
just had to play all the time and be very solid. It's just interesting that
we just had like a different I mean of course also I'm left-handed he was
right-handed. Maybe that had something to do with it. I I have one last topic I want to get on here which you you met
one of my really good friends uh last year. I don't know if you remember me and my friend Evan Christopher. They
played some sort of piece and and you and he I talk to him all the time. Our kids hang out. Super close friend. You
and he couldn't be more different in what you sound like on the clarinet. But you guys both have this thing that
you hear it, you can play it, and it's exactly the same. The the process behind
it is the same. He's making his up. You are often times playing something that's already been written down. What's
interesting to me is the ability to have a very very clear idea of what you want
to play and being able to hear it before you play it, but then also be able to
have the immediate assessment of whether you executed on what it is that you plan to do. All happening within split
seconds of time. And he does the same. He does it's the same thing. Obviously, the music's entirely different. The clarity, I mean, he's playing on Albert.
I mean, everything is different. But I'm curious to know like is that something that was built into your playing through
your history of learning musicianship the way that you did or is that something that you have put effort into?
Uh I I think that uh six of one has the other. Okay. Uh in the sense that you
know uh like when I when I was younger I
think I used to have like perfect pitch. Now I don't but I only have like perfect
piece for I won't call it perfect piece. I have note recognition on the clinet like like basically like I you
know I I could hear something play in the piano that's pretty good. If I hear it play on the clinet oh I know exactly
what which notes which finger they're using. It's like a little weird like that. Right. Right.
So that is that that is part of it. I think that come I just uh
uh when I was little my dad uh actually this is very funny because you know I
used to play in this uh uh band Puerto Rico you know as a young kid that was
the the band of San Juan but it was like semi-professionals of the time or whatever it was like let me do it
professionals and amateurs and people who had day jobs and they go together to play sing I'm just telling
And we had a very eclectic group of people there. Let me tell you, you know, there were
guys were teachers in the music school, but that like percussion, not really
claret, but we're playing clarinet in there where there was this guy who was fantastic technical uh player. He kept
his clarinet in the trunk of the car all day long in Puerto Rico. Okay. Assembled
or in the case? So it's like 90 90° crazy like insane man just bring it up.
Okay, let's go. It's hilarious. So whole castle I
mean it was eclectic just there and my dad I love that they were really a bunch
of crazy people you know and then and but when we play the music it just worked to play dancers and Spanish
dancers and all that. But then my dad got into this. Hey Ricky, Ricky, how
does uh how does this guy play? You know, he's at home. He'll be like, "Hey, tell me, you know, just to get me to
imitate, you know, how some of those guys play and you know, so it was sort of like it was a little joke, you know,
a little bit of imitating. But what that did when you are 12 or 10 is that it actually opens your ears to to be more
objective of what you're hearing." And you know, you don't have the technique. Oh, yeah. uh this person is using that composition
and therefore the Marcel is able and therefore you should I mean like you don't really know you're just hearing
and then you try to imitate just like how we learn uh language or whatever. So that's that was I think one of the
things that that helped me develop a little bit of the the hearing for for
playing the clin. Well, it it's interesting to me when I hear you play, I hear complete
confidence in the idea of what you want to play, but then the execution of it. I
remember Alex and I used to get those tape recorders that would take you down to half speed, right? And we we record
we'd record our lessons, right? So, we could listen back to them, but then we would listen to you play at half speed on really complicated things. Your
fingers were so clean at half speed, you could really Oh, that's wild.
It was bananas, man. I think we hear ourselves playing half speed. It was a disaster, man. All sorts of like notes
in there. Hey, maybe one of those now just
in case. Oh my god, that's funny.
Uh I would say that I had it was a a great a great time to be able to uh
share music with you and practice and work with you and Alex. I'm so happy that you know uh we've kept in touch and
that our friendship has brought over the years is just a it's a very big gift
that I that I feel that I received. So I thank you for the gift is what I got out of the
whole thing. But, you know, it's amazing because I mean, you know, Alex and I are still friends. For anyone who doesn't know, we're talking about Alex Lang
who's playing in the Phoenix Symphony. And I mean, you know what he's doing now, right? Yes. He's the way he's
really great at Yeah. Know, I mean, he's he's doing some big things with with Gateways. He's doing amazing. He's doing
amazing things. He's he's uh he's actually in a position to make decisions, make choices, and make
recommendations. And yeah, it's a very exciting thing that he's doing, and it's something that means a lot to him. And and for me, the thing that I I feel
incredible about is like I have a life full of people who are really great at
stuff. That's an understatement. I think to myself like, what's wrong with you,
man? Why are you
get it together, man? You just got it going on, man. You got it going on. All right, man. Thank you for being here.
Yeah, this was great. Thank you for having me. All right, man. I love you. I love you, too. So, that's it. My lengthy
conversation with Ricardo Morales in two episodes. If you haven't heard the first one, please go back and check it out. Uh
Ricardo shared some really wonderful stories about how he came to be who he is and his family and the importance of
music and how he got to be the clarinet player that we all know and love. So,
thank you, Ricardo. This was a wonderful confirmation of our friendship and uh it
means the world to me that you were here uh on the first episode, first two episodes of the clarinet ninja podcast.
