Bass clarinet and a bass clarinet solo by Omer Simeon can be heard in the 1926 recording "Someday Sweetheart" by Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers. Additionally, Benny Goodman recorded with the instrument a few times early in his career. Harry Carney, Duke Ellington's baritone saxophonist for 47 years, played bass clarinet in some of Ellington's arrangements, first recording with it on "Saddest Tale" in 1934. He was featured soloist on many Ellington recordings, including 27 titles on bass clarinet. The first jazz album on which the leader solely played bass clarinet was "Great Ideas of Western Mann" (1957) by
Benny Kalama Kainapau, Alvin Isaacs Sr and Tommy Castro. In between his participation with the McDiarmid band, Benny played with the Wally Lavque's band, also at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. He toured the mainland with the Royal Hawaiian Serenaders, appearing in movies and on recordings. Benny Kalama was with Andy Bright's band the years 1952–1955 at the Moana Hotel in Waikiki. In 1955, he began working with Alfred Apaka in Las Vegas, followed by 15 years with Henry Kaiser's Hawaiian Village. Kalama's arrangements are credited with helping Apaka's success. On radio, Kalama was a director and arranger on KGU's "Voice of Hawaii"