Jazz[edit]
Jazz clarinetist Pete Fountain
The clarinet was originally a central instrument in jazz, beginning with the New Orleans players in the 1910s. It remained a signature instrument of jazz music through much of the big band era into the 1940s.[4] American players Alphonse Picou, Larry Shields, Jimmie Noone, Johnny Dodds and Sidney Bechet were all pioneers of the instrument in jazz. The B♭ soprano was the most common instrument, but a few early jazz musicians such as Louis Nelson Delisle and Alcide Nunez preferred the C soprano, and many New Orleans jazz brass bands have used E♭ soprano.[4]