The Benny Goodman Thread.

JHC

Chief assistant to the assistant chief
OK The Goodman Band was not Jazz it was swing but it was a very good swing band and did lead to the Benny Goodman Trio and later Quartet which were unashamedly Jazz ensembles.

Benny Goodman : Born: 30 May 1909
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
Died: 13 June 1986
Best Known As: Clarinettist nicknamed "The King of Swing"

Benny Goodman :
BennyGoodman1.jpg


He was 10 when he first picked up a clarinet, a year or so later he was doing Ted Lewis imitations. When Benny was 12, his father enrolled him and two of his older brothers in music lessons at the Kehelah Jacob Synagogueand and at 14 he was in a band that featured Bix Beiderbecke. By the time he was 16 he was recognized as a "comer" as far away as the west coast and was asked to join a California-based band led by another Chicago boy, Ben Pollack with whome he stayed for about 8-10 years.
at just 20 Benny struck out on his own to become a freelance musician in the big “A”
By 1934 after various gigs he was seasoned enough to be ready for his first big break. Billy Rose needed a band for his new theatre restaurant, the Music Hall, and Benny got together a group of musicians who shared his enthusiasm for jazz. They auditioned and got the job.
The band set out on a tour of America in May 1935, but was poorly received, by August 1935, Goodman found himself with a band that was nearly broke, disillusioned and ready to quit.
On January 16, 1938, Sol Hurok, the most prestigious impresario in America, booked the Benny Goodman band into Carnegie Hall. For generations Carnegie Hall had been the nation's greatest temple of musical art, home of the New York Philharmonic and scene of every important artist's debut (even if they had played in a hundred other concert halls first).
So this was a debut not only for Benny Goodman but for jazz aka (swing) Though many others followed him to Carnegie Hall, there has never been another concert with such an impact. It even made his "classical" Carnegie Hall debut more newsworthy a few years later when Benny returned there to launch his second career, as a soloist with major symphony orchestras and chamber groups.

The BG Orchestra :
TheBennyGoodmanOrchestra.jpg


Benny Goodman was indisputably the King of Swing - the title was invented by Gene Krupa - and he reigned as such thereafter until his death in 1986 at age 77. Over the years he played with the greatest figures in jazz: Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Mildred Bailey, Bessie Smith and countless others.

The Carnegie Hall concert


In late 1937, Goodman's publicist Wynn Nathanson attempted a publicity stunt by suggesting Goodman and his band should play Carnegie Hall in New York City. If this concert were to take place, then Benny Goodman would be the first Jazz band leader to perform in Carnegie hall. "Benny Goodman was initially hesitant about the concert, fearing for the worst; however, when his film Hollywood Hotel opened to rave reviews and giant lines, he threw himself into the work. He gave up several dates and insisted on holding rehearsals inside Carnegie Hall to familiarize the band with the lively acoustics."
The concert was the evening of January 16, 1938. It sold out weeks before, with the capacity 2,760 seats going for the top price of US$2.75 a seat, for the time a very high price. The concert began with three contemporary numbers from the Goodman band—"Don't Be That Way," "Sometimes I'm Happy," and "One O'Clock Jump." They then played a history of jazz, starting with a Dixieland quartet performing "Sensation Rag." Once again, initial crowd reaction, though polite, was tepid. Then came a jam session on "Honeysuckle Rose" featuring members of the Count Basie and Duke Ellington bands as guests. (The surprise of the session: Goodman handing a solo to Basie's guitarist Freddie Greene who was never a featured soloist but earned his reputation as the best rhythm guitarist in the genre—he responded with a striking round of chord improvisations.) As the concert went on, things livened up. The Goodman band and quartet took over the stage and performed the numbers that had already made them famous. Some later trio and quartet numbers were well-received, and a vocal on "Loch Lomond" by Martha Tilton provoked five curtain calls and cries for an encore. The encore forced Goodman to make his only audience announcement for the night, stating that they had no encore prepared but that Martha would return shortly with another number.
By the time the band got to the climactic piece "Sing, Sing, Sing", success was assured. This performance featured playing by tenor saxophonist Babe Russin, trumpeterHarry James, and Benny Goodman, backed by drummer Gene Krupa. When Goodman finished his solo, he unexpectedly gave a solo to pianist Jess Stacy. "At the Carnegie Hall concert, after the usual theatrics, Jess Stacy was allowed to solo and, given the venue, what followed was appropriate," wrote David Rickert. "Used to just playing rhythm on the tune, he was unprepared for a turn in the spotlight, but what came out of his fingers was a graceful, impressionistic marvel with classical flourishes, yet still managed to swing. It was the best thing he ever did, and it's ironic that such a layered, nuanced performance came at the end of such a chaotic, bombastic tune."
This concert has been regarded as one of the most significant in jazz history. After years of work by musicians from all over the country, jazz had finally been accepted by mainstream audiences.
Sing Sing Sing
this is from the Hollywood Hotel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mJ4dpNal_k

Shhhh “A very nasty rumer of the time”
Known by musicians for his stand-offish and “cheap” nature, many sidemen had a love/hate relationship with Goodman. Many musicians claimed that Benny was dishonest when it came time to pay off the band and many more recalled the Goodman “ray”, the dirtiest of looks received when a mistake was made.This could be stereo type casting???

THE TRIO
This section is the shortest but for me it is the best kind of Goodman.
In 1935, The Benny Goodman Trio [Benny Goodman clarinet, Gene Krupa drums, Teddy Wilson Piano] created a style of "chamber jazz" that emphasized highly developed ensemble playing and technically brilliant solos. The Trio took the ensemble sound of the small jazz band to a new level of precision coupled with excitement that attracted a new audience to jazz.

The trio
Trio.jpg


In an era when big dance bands dominated popular music, The Goodman Trio, made ground-breaking hit records and created a popular sensation with their small ensemble.

Teddy Wilson:
TEDDYWILSON.jpg


Gene Krupa:
genekrupa53.jpg


The genesis of the Goodman Trio was a jam session party at the suburban Queens, New York, home of vibraphonist Red Norvo and his wife, singer Mildred Bailey. It was the first opportunity that Goodman and pianist Teddy Wilson had an opportunity to play together. Goodman later explained, "That night, Teddy and I began to play as though we were thinking with the same brain. It was a real kick."
Lady be good (trio)
http://www.4shared.com/audio/FHrZCIdH/04_Oh_Lady_be_good.html

Alternating sets with Goodman’s big band on stage, the Trio allowed Benny more creative freedom than he had with his orchestra.
"Benny liked the trio's transparent, light musical texture. He envisioned the group as something more for listening than just for dancing."

Vibraphonist Lionel Hampton
Hampton.jpg


and guitarist Charlie Christian :
CharlieChristian01.jpg


later joined Goodman to form quartets and sextets, but Benny Goodman and Teddy Wilson were the foundation of all the small ensembles. Working together as a team in the Goodman Trio for over ten years, Benny Goodman and Teddy Wilson made over 100 recordings together

The Quartet Lady be good:
http://www.4shared.com/audio/ZFvqsZQU/14_Runnin_wild.html

All material has been checked and/or taken from the official and other sites, pictures obtained from internet.
 
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gord

New member
colin, once again you have created a marvellous jazz thread,this benny goodman thread could be your best yet. i look forword to many more. now mat has done one too, it could become really exciting when others including myself start to do them. gord
 

Dorsetmike

Member
Mel Powell, greatly influenced by Teddy Wilson was Goodman's piano player and arranger for just over a year 1941/2 and again for a while after WW2 and featured on some small group recordings.

In November 1969 Goodman formed a band of all UK musicians, also using UK arrangers, and recorded an LP in London, he also toured UK and Europe with this band, and returned in the summer of 1970 to do a repeat tour.

The London Date album includes a couple of Beatles numbers. There is a CD availble, Japanese import, not cheap though from Amazon.
 

teddy

Duckmeister
How many roads must a man walk down ... ... before he admits he's lost? :rolleyes:

Depends on whether his wife is navigating.

teddy
 

Corno Dolce

Admiral Honkenwheezenpooferspieler
Hi Br. Colin,

I do prefer the version I posted but the one you shared is also quite grand indeed....:cool::cool::cool:

Cheers,


CD :tiphat::tiphat::tiphat:
 

JHC

Chief assistant to the assistant chief
CD It is interesting to note how the same work can be played at tempos other than the marked ones, and vary so much just look at the works of Beethoven which the experts say were intended to be played much faster than we are playing them to day.
 

Corno Dolce

Admiral Honkenwheezenpooferspieler
Dear Br. Colin,

Mefeels one of the beauties of Jazz is the freedom you have to explore with different tempi, dynamics, phrasing, color, timbre - the whole gamut of emotions and variations........I could go on of course.............

Best of the best always,

CD :tiphat::tiphat::tiphat::tiphat::tiphat::tiphat::tiphat:
 

OLDUDE

New member
Hi Colin,
These "person" threads that you have produced are so complete that you leave little for the likes of me to add.
I can only say three things:

1. My formulative days with jazz were so strongly influenced by the 1938 B.G. Carnegie Hall Jazz concert (just think of the jam session and those involved)
2. Benny G., Teddy W., Gene K, and Lionel H. continue to be my greatest favourites
3. My Cd by Allan Vaché "With Benny in Mind" is my most often recently played CD.

Cheers John,
and keep them coming
 

JHC

Chief assistant to the assistant chief
Thanks John but its the old story (easy when you know how)lol
It was the Goodman small groups that set my future tastes in all music from Jazz to Classical, I just prefer small intimate ensembles
 
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