Here's what the critics say...

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"It was a grand discovery to hear Clarinetist BEATTY…He plays with a broad tone emphasizing the lower and middle registers with a mixture of Creole delicacy and fiery imagination. The highlight of the festival's entire performances came from JIM BEATTY of Portland, Oregon, who played to standing ovations throughout and was a true show stopper"

-London Times, England

"BEATTY played some wonderful, singing clarinet. With his black suit and his dark hair slicked down, he looked like a Howe Street investor! He certainly was business-like on the bandstand, playing solos that were orderly and efficient. As the night went on, he got much looser, running off nimble lines that danced from low register to high. He bubbled with good sounds; a musical kettle set on boil."

-Sacramento Traditional Jazz Magazine

"The best known and the very best traditional jazz musician is JIM BEATTY, who plays a magic clarinet. He offers a "tour de force" in style and technique with solos that speak of the great New Orleans players. His playing brings back that "inspired abandonment" of Jazz's forefathers…he should be included among the ranks of the great soloists of the decade."

-Jazz Scene Magazine

"JIM enjoys a special strength with his blackstick…his ability to make his notes stand out, pierce through the sound of the band and use the fullness of his instrument to dominate the proceedings in New Orleans style which captivates an audience. He has a library of tunes beyond traditional jazz and delivers other jazz standards, popular hits and light classics with Juliard perfection…and New Orleans emotion. His clean, firm playing, deft handling of may swift tumbling and ascending notes with impressionable vibrato causes even dancers to stop and listen at the edge of the bandstand"

-Hot Jazz Magazine