Travis, I agree with your comments concerning Stolzman and Daniels. Daniels is the superior clarinet player, and by a long shot. The question of a major label backing him is a bit complicated IMO. Marketing is a funny thing and it's oftentimes hard to understand why record cos. make certain decisions. If I had to go out on a limb concerning this example I suspect that Eddie, given his jazz and doubling background, is perceived as a tough sell. And, I'm really going out on a limb with this one, Eddie has a reputation for being very demanding and difficult to work with as far as business goes. Having said all that, while I agree with your assesment of his abilities, I still feel that his classical music sensibility is not quite as developed as that of players such as Leister, Drucker, Wright and others; or of his own jazz sensibility for that matter. You are obviously a fan of his, as am I, so you might be interested in some of this: Eddie was (is) notorious in the NYC scene for being an absolutely obsessive practicer (is there such a word?) to the extent that he would alienate colleagues because he couldn't stop noodling during brakes and would do so quitely even during rests in the music. That accounts for his incredible technique. He is also a bonafide equipment freak; constantly changing mouthpieces and horns and working on reeds while looking for the perfect setup. Driven is an understatement. By the way, he is also an accomplished pianist. Many players in NYC idolized him. All this in interesting contrast to Drucker who couldn't care less about having just the right reed nor horn. Stanley never works on reeds. Drucker is a freak of nature in that regard; he was born to play the clarinet. Wonderful sense of abandon in his playing. And while his playing is not always perfect as far as pitch nor sound are concerned; one just never knows when he'll do something to really surprise and make you say WOW! Cheers.
