The last ten years of Willie Humphrey's life saw a continuation of the routines he had established. He played two nights a week at Preservation Hall, along with periodic tours, occasional engagements at the Palm Court Cafe and other venues, and private functions. As one of the oldest performing musicians in New Orleans, he was held in high esteem, and was considered by most observers to be the dean of traditional New Orleans clarinetists.
During this final decade, however, his playing finally started to show the effects of age. His finger technique had always been impressive, but with occasional hints of wildness or uneveness. This tendency became mor pronounced as he approached his 90th birthday; his fingers would not always do exactly what he asked of them.
Few jazz musicians ehibit the same tone quality late in life as they had in their youth. Subtle changes could be heard in Willie's tone through the years. But at this late stage in life, Willie's sound became more gnarled and unsubtle, sometimes leaning toward harshness.
Humphrey's mind stayed as sharp as ever, though, and this included his musicial imagination. His improvisational imagination continued to develop, even if it became more difficult to express his musical ideas through the clarinet. We can find many recorded examples in Willie's last decade of wonderfully conceived musical ideas that are marred by performance problems. But we can be thankful that such flaws showed up so late in Humphrey's career - and that his musical conceptions were so strong that we can overlook some performance weaknesses and enjoy his amazing improvisations.
Here's a perfect example of that dichotomy: brilliant conceived clarinet playing paired with some performance problems like a gnarled sound, some uneven fingering, and some squeaks. But so what? This is one of my favorite recorded performances by Willie Humphrey. It's "Hindustan," from the Sony album Preservation Hall Jazz Band Live! I don't know the exact recording date, but Willie was likely 90 or 91 years old when it was recorded. From his first ensemble notes, it's clear that he came to play, and his two-chorus solo is simply brilliant. And yes, in some ways he sounds like a 90- or 91-year-old clarinet player - but a supremely talented one.
During this period Willie aquired a protege in the person of clarinetist Brian O'Connell. O'Connell had been part of the Minnesota traditional jazz scene before moving to New Orleans in 1981. Around 1983 he began working the door at Preservation Hall, giving him frequent opportunities to hear Humphrey perform. O'Connell was impressed by Humphrey's playing as well as being struck by his impression that Willie was "someone from another time," as he put it. O'Connell asked, through Allen Jaffe, if Willie would give him clarinet lessons. Humphrey was not interested in teaching at that point in his life, so O'Connell began learning from him through the simple device of hiring Willie as a sideman for gigs, notably for the parties that French Quarter resident and jazz lover Andrea duPlessis held on her porch. Sitting beside the veteran clarinetist for the duration of a performance while listening and asking questions turned out to be a satisfactory substitute for formal lessons.
One of the first lessons concerned Willie's huge sound, which could fill any hall. O'Connell assumed, as most clarinetists probably would, that such volume was produced by using an open mouthpiece and a hard reed.* He was surprised to discover that Humphrey used a soft reed and a relatively closed mouthpiece. According to Willie, his sound came from the double-lip embouchure, which he called the "double tuck," that he learned from his grandfather. Most clarinetists today play with a single-lip embouchure; that is, with their top teeth resting on the mouthpiece. The double-lip embouchure was derived from the French clarinet tradition, and is still used by a minority of classical players, such as Richard Stolzman. In a discussion of the matter with O'Connell, jazz historian Bill Russell told him that all students of the famous Tio family of New Orleans clarinetists used the "double tuck."
O'Connell also discovered that, unlike many woodwind- players, Willie was not picky about reeds, and in fact would use every reed in a box. (Many saxophone and clarinet players discard one half to two thirds of the reeds in a typical box.) At the 1991 recording session that produced the Two Clarinets on the Porch album, Humphrey admonished the younger clarinetist to stop changing reeds in search of the perfect one and to play the one he had on his clarinet.
Two Clarinets on the Porch gives us a snapshot of the Humphrey / O'Connell collaboration. The two clarinetists are easily distinguishable; O'Connell has a conventionally attractive sound on his instrument, while the older man has a rich, woody, hoary tone. In spite of their very different approaches, the two work very well together.
Willie began another fruitful association in the 1980s, the Maryland Jazz Band of Cologne, Germany. This group, led by Gerhard "Doggy" Hund, was one of the best of the many European groups performing traditional New Orleans-style jazz. The Marylanders invited many New Orleans musicians to tour and record with them over the years, including Willie Humprey. He toured Europe with them seeral times and made three full albums with them, in addition to scattered tracks which appeared on various collections. In fact, Willie's final issued recording was with this band; my post about that track is here.
The last album under Willie's name as sole leader was recorded in April, 1988, a few years before Two Clarinets on the Porch. Issued as New Orleans Jazz From Willie Humphrey on LP, it was retitled Willie Humphrey In New Orleans when reissued on CD (with additional tracks) in 1996. The album features a nice international quartet: Willie is joined by German trumpeter Norbert Susemihl, Japanese pianist Mari Watanabe, and British drummer Emile Martyn.
There would be a few more recordings, like an album by Brit Chris Barber and "His New Orleans Friends," as the CD bills them. Humphrey is in excellent form on this 1991 recording - more about this album later, perhaps.
Willie continued to tour with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band into his 90s, and played at the Hall almost until the very end of his life. I saw him perform there on April 2, 1994. (I write about that occasion and the other times I saw him here.) His last performance was at Preservaton Hall eight weeks later, on May 27. After that concert, he suffered a seemingly mild heart attack. He was expected to recover, but he died in his sleep a week and a half later, on June 7, 1994.
Willie's funeral was held four days later, on Friday, June 11. The family opted for a private burial, but a brass band played as the coffin was carried out and as the hearse drove away. At the time of his death, Willie Humphrey was the oldest active jazz musician in New Orleans, and a link to the earliest days of jazz.
*An "open" clarinet mouthpiece is one with a wider opening between the tip of the mouthpiece and the reed. Generally, a more open mouthpiece will produce more volume, although control and tone quality may be sacrificed. Similarly, a harder reed can generally produce more volume than a softer one, but can make it harder to control the instrument when playing softly.
Sources:
Interview with Brian O'Connell; April 4, 2001, New Orleans.
Raymond Lee: New Orleans Clarinet: A Discography of Willie Humphrey, Gerard Bielderman, 1996.
James Gill: "Distinguished Musician's Funeral," New Orleans Times-Picayune; June 15, 1994 .
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