Oran Etkin’ Timbalooloo
Wake Up Clarinet!
www.oranetkin.com
By George W. Harris

Clarinetist, saxist and vocalist Oran Etkin leads this quick little cd with a group of kindred spirits (Charenee Wade/v, Jason Marsalis/dr, Fabian Almazan/p, Garth Stevenson/b, Curtis Fowlkes/tb) through 22 minutes of children’s type music. Designed to get kids weaned on the wonders of jazz, the music goes through a variety of songs interconnected with a handful of stories and tales. Sort of like a Raffi with syncopation. Some of the music is a bit outside for youngsters, but it does the job of introducing the genre quite well. Fact is, I just played Duke, Ella and Basie while my girls were growing up, and that did the job as successfully as anyone could desire. Take your pick.