Most modern clarinet bodies are made out of African blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon). There are actually many different trees in the African blackwood genus, such as black cocus, Mozambique ebony, grenadilla, and East African ebony. It is this heavy, dark wood that gives clarinets their characteristic color.
Paul Ackerman. Paul Ackerman (February 18, 1908 â December 31, 1977) was an influential music journalist. Ackerman was born in New York, New York. From 1943 to 1973 he was the music editor of Billboard magazine. He wrote the liner notes to Harry Belafonte's 1958 album of folk ballads, Love is a Gentle Thing.
Steve Silverman is an award-winning writer, covering sports since 1980. Silverman authored The Minnesota Vikings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Who's Better, Who's Best in Football -- The Top 60 Players of All-Time, among others, and placed in the Pro Football Writers of America awards three times.