CD Review: Oran Etkin, “Wake Up, Clarinet!”

Aug 24, 10 • In Music

Toots Thielemans once joked that when you mix jazz with anything else, you often end up with nothing. He was defending his decision to mix jazz with Brazilian music for his first Brasil Project album, so his point was ultimately that good jazz doesn’t have to be pure, but you get the idea — and if you’ve ever listened to a Kenny G or Dave Koz record, you probably agree that jazz generally doesn’t benefit from being blended or watered down. Rules are made for exceptions, however, and here’s a fine one: Oran Etkin’s Wake Up, Clarinet!, which offers a delightfully breezy 22-minute course in basic jazz for the younger set. Dedicated to, in his own words, helping kids “develop a rich musical vocabulary and creativity,” Etkin teaches the Timbalooloo Method, using games and stories