Now, A Jazz Moment with NEA Jazz Master Artie Shaw.

Music: "Concerto for Clarinet," CD: The Essential Artie Shaw, Legacy C2K-69239 (disc 1, cut 1)

Shaw's virtuosity was remarkable.

Artie Shaw: I remember somebody asking me once, a clarinetist asked me, do you do that every show?, ending with the concerto for clarinet. I said, yeah that's the show. So he says, you end on the top C every show? I said, well yeah, he said, Jesus, don't you get scared? So I said, put your hand on the table and raise your index finger. So he did that. I said, are you scared? He said, you mean it's like that? I said, it's either like that or don't do it.

"Concerto for Clarinet," CD: The Essential Artie Shaw, Legacy C2K-69239 (disc 1, cut 1)

You do things that some people think are impossible, and that's what separates the men from the boys.

This Jazz Moment was created by the National Endowment for the Arts.