NMM 5830. Clarinet in B-flat by Henri Selmer, Paris, 1963 (bottom joint), 1967 (top joint). Rosario Mazzeo Collection, 1995.

Four sections. Stamped on barrel: HENRI / SELMER / PARIS (within a wreath) / [five-point star]. Stamped on top joint: MAZZEO / model / DÉPOSÉ / HENRI / SELMER / PARIS (HENRI / SELMER / PARIS within a wreath) / FRANCE. Stamped on bottom joint: HENRI / SELMER / PARIS (within a wreath). Stamped on bell: HENRI / SELMER / PARIS (within a wreath) / SERIES / [floral leaf] 10 [floral leaf] / B (script). Top joint serial number: V2848; bottom joint serial number: T4778. Selmer Series 10 Mazzeo model 20 Custom Modified. Grenadilla body, German-silver keys, rings, ferrules. 21 keys, 5 rings, 1 left-hand plateau key, rod/pillar mounts. Boehm-Mazzeo System with custom modifications by Dennis Heaney, Santa Cruz, and Norman Benner, San Jose, ca. 1968. Referred to by Mazzeo as: "Famous California Custom Clarinet." Key modifications: extended brass thumb plate over plateau key for left hand; right-hand side key for throat B-flat; elongated and angled register key; elongated and modified shape for left-hand g-sharp¹/a-flat² key; extra right-hand side key with overlapping extensions on other right-hand side keys; c-sharp¹/g-sharp² key extension operated by right hand; articulated, left-hand b¹/right hand c-sharp² modification to hold c-sharp² while depressing the b¹ key; additional a-flat/e-flat² key for left-hand little finger. Length (top of barrel to bottom of bell), 594.0 mm.

Lit.:   Rosario Mazzeo, The Clarinet:  Excellence and Artistry (Sherman Oaks, California:  Alfred Publishing Co., 1981), pp. 119 (illus.), 153-161.

Deborah Check Reeves, "The Mazzeo System Clarinet:  An Historical Review," The Clarinet 26, No. 2 (March 1999), pp. 62-64.

Go to Checklist of Mazzeo System Clarinets

Go to The Rosario Mazzeo Clarinet Collection

Go to Checklist of Boehm System Clarinets by Henri Selmer, Paris, and H. & A. Selmer, Elkhart, Indiana

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