The Clarinet Ninja Podcast teaches adult clarinet players how to learn faster and play better using science-based practice methods. Host Jay Hassler brings you interviews with world-class clarinetists like Ricardo Morales (Philadelphia Orchestra), Dr. Molly Gebrian (neuroscientist and author), and master craftsmen like Brad Behn. Whether you're just starting clarinet, returning after years away, or looking to refine your skills, you'll get proven practice techniques, equipment advice, and inspiration from the pros. Perfect for adult learners who want to improve their clarinet playing efficiently.
Without Hope and Without Despair: Remembering Gary Foster
Gary Foster played on more than 500 film soundtracks and was one of the finest jazz alto players in Los Angeles.
He was also my teacher. He died this past May, one day short of his 90th birthday.
In this short, personal episode, I share three things Gary said to me in my twenties that I’ve carried ever since: a line from Isak Dinesen about working without hope and without despair, a story about a metal mouthpiece that taught me what real confidence looks like, and one comment that broke my heart at 22 and turned out to be the most important thing anyone ever told me.
I’d love to hear what someone said to you that stuck. And go listen to Concord Duo Series, Volume Four by Alan Broadbent and Gary Foster. It’s the best jazz album you’ve never heard. Intro by James Danderfer: https://www.jamesdanderfer.com/ Clarinet Ninja Dojo: https://www.clarinetninja.com/dojo-landing
27 Jul 2026
Ron Odrich (Part 4): He Was Leonard Bernstein's Dentist and Played Jazz With Buddy DeFranco
Dr. Ron Odrich studied clarinet with Daniel Bonade and Robert Marcellus, played jazz alongside Buddy DeFranco, Eddie Daniels, and Clark Terry, and spent decades as an elite periodontist, including serving as Leonard Bernstein's dentist. In this fourth and final conversation, we set the clarinet talk aside and get into the real subject: how he's managed to pursue music, dentistry, painting, and writing all at once, for an entire life, without burning out.
Ron talks about chasing joy instead of discipline, why creative work is what actually recharges you, and how the family that raised him shaped his relationship with drive and passion. If you've ever felt exhausted just trying to get good at one thing, or wondered how to find your own passion, this one will stick with you.
This is the fourth episode in a series with Ron. Catch up on the first three wherever you're listening. Study clarinet with Jay: clarinetninja.com/dojo-landing
Join the Clarinet Ninja community (Facebook): facebook.com/groups/6777812678921667
Talk to Jay one on one, free: calendly.com/theclarinetninja/30min Enjoying the show?
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25 Jun 2026
Ear First: From Rhapsody in Blue to Buddy DeFranco and Bird | Ron Odrich, Pt. 3
Ron Odrich didn't start the clarinet the way most people do. As a kid, he snuck the clarinet off the stand in his father's house (his dad was a professional doubler), soaked the reed, and taught himself the opening glissando from Rhapsody in Blue entirely by ear. No teacher. No sheet music. No idea what the notes were called.
By the time his father found out, Ron could already play it. His father called in a teacher the same day. That intuitive, ears-first relationship with the instrument never left him. And in this third installment of Jay Hassler's conversation with Ron Odrich, you hear where it led: to first chair at Bryant High School without being able to read clarinet notation, to a meeting with Buddy DeFranco at Birdland at age 12, to serious classical study with Bob Marcellus, playing with the Airmen of Note, to hearing Charlie Parker live at the Three Deuces and eventually meeting Bird backstage, and through a 15-year hiatus before finding his way back through a chance connection with Eddie Daniels.
Along the way, Ron and Jay get into what it actually means to play jazz by ear rather than by formula. What separates the musicians who are "playing the song" from those who are just running patterns over chord changes. And what it feels like to play an instrument so fluently that there are no obstacles. This is the Clarinet Ninja Podcast, hosted by Jay Hassler.
If you're an adult clarinet player looking to get better, check out the Clarinet Ninja Dojo: https://www.clarinetninja.com/dojo-landing
Who has been a guest on The Clarinet Ninja Podcast
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Larry Guy
Josh Goo
Lynne Snyder
Lynn Snyder
Julian Bliss
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
569,692
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.7 / 5
13 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 41 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
34
Social presence
0
YouTube
86
Engagement
32
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