Benny Goodman

David Benjamin (Benny) Goodman, nicknamed The King of Swing ( Chicago , May 30 1909 - New York City , June 13 1986 ) was a famous American jazz musician .

Contents

 * 1 Youth
 * 2 Influences
 * 3 Career
 * 4 Carnegie Hall Performance
 * 5 waning popularity of Big Bands
 * 6 Goodmans significance for the music
 * 7 Benny Goodman as a classical player
 * 8 Marriage and later years
 * 9 Discography
 * 10 Listening
 * 11 See also
 * 12 External links

[Youth edit ]
The son of poor Jewish immigrants, he learned clarinet playing in a youth orchestra which was funded by a charity. At school he met drummer Dave Tough. He appeared at a young age is a talented musician and played with The Austin High School Gang. At the age of twelve he imitated all the famous bandleader and clarinetist Ted Lewis. It was during such a concert that Ben Pollack discovered him. Benny Goodman was in 1926 with Pollack's orchestra make his first recordings. [1]

Influences [ edit ]
His influences were those of the jazzklarinettisten in Chicago, notably Johnny Dodds , Leon Roppolo, and Jimmy Noone . He began at age 16 playing in the orchestra of Ben Pollack, one of the top orchestras in Chicago and made ​​them his first recordings in 1926. The first recordings under his own name came two years later.

[Career edit ]
At the end of the twenties he was a session musician in New York City . His reputation was that of a well-prepared and reliable player. He played with the famous American bands of Red Nichols , Isham Jones andTed Lewis . He formed his own band in 1932. In 1934 he began performing for the radio program Let's Dance. Before the show, he had every week new music required and John Hammond, with whom he had befriended, advised him of what jazz music of Fletcher Henderson buy. Henderson was the bandleader of the most popular African-American band in the late twenties and early thirties.

The combination of his clarinet playing, the music of Henderson and a well-rehearsed band made sure that he rapidly gained prominence in the mid-thirties. After his fabulous performance at August 21, 1935 at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles, he also gained national prominence. His radio appearances created a fan base in California, where he was received with open arms. Therefore he drew the attention of the national media and became famous instantly. Some writers have regarded this date as the start of the swing .

Carnegie Hall performance [ edit ]
On 16 January 1938, he played the famous concert at Carnegie Hall in New York. He was the first to play jazz in this famous concert hall, and there was initially a lot of opposition to a jazz concert in this temple of classical music. The concert, however, was a huge success and enhanced the reputation of jazz as an art form.

Waning popularity of big bands [ edit ]
In the mid-forties, the big bands lost much of their popularity. The reason for this was that many talented musicians went into the army or better paid (factory) work going to do. Rubber and gasoline were rationed during World War II, the recording industry was faced with two long strikes, and stars like Frank Sinatra gained popularity. Goodman continued to make recordings and played in small ensembles. He formed an occasional new band and played at jazz festivals or on international tours.

Goodmans significance for the music [ edit ]
Many suggest that Goodman same success with jazz and swing was as Elvis Presley with rock 'n' roll . Both artists made black music popular with a young white audience. Many years before Goodman's arrangements were played by the orchestra of Fletcher Henderson, and Goodman did this himself, but his young fans had never heard of Henderson. Goodman, however, pressed his clarinet virtuoso and creative game indeed his own stamp on the documents, and was one of the most innovative jazz musicians of the bebop .

Benny Goodman (third from left) in 1952 with some of his musicians, gathered around the piano from left to right: Vernon Brown , George Auld ,Gene Krupa , Clint Neagley , Ziggy Elman , Israel Crosby and Teddy Wilson (on the piano).

Goodman is also responsible for a major step forward in racial integration in America. At the beginning of the thirties, black and white musicians could not play together in many clubs and concerts. In the southern states it was forbidden by law. Benny Goodman countered this and started with Teddy Wilson and Gene Krupa Goodman Trio. In 1936 he added Lionel Hampton to the vibraphone and formed the Benny Goodman Quartette. From 1940 until his untimely death in 1942, played the innovative jazz guitarist Charlie Christian in the band. Because of his fame Goodman did not for financial reasons by touring the southern states, where the composition of the band surely would have led to arrests.

Benny Goodman as a classical player [ edit ]
What many do not know about Benny Goodman, is that he was also an accomplished classical player. End had thirties he already made ​​a recording of Mozart's clarinet quintet and in the late forties he played works by mostly 20th-century composers, including Igor Stravinsky , Leonard Bernstein and Morton Gould . [2] He also continued throughout the thirties and Forty occur with major American orchestras where he was especially appreciated because of the combination of expressiveness - borrowed from jazz - with perfect classical technique. He appeared in the sixties as a soloist with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Paul Decker Fanz in Mozart's famous Clarinet Concerto .

[Marriage and later years edit ]
Benny married in 1942 with Alice Hammond, the sister of his friend John Hammond . They had two daughters, Benjie and Rachel. He remained until his death play the clarinet. He died at the age of 77 and is buried at the Long Ridge Cemetary in Stamford, Connecticut.

[Discography edit ]
(Included LPs and CD reissues of Goodman)
 * A Jazz Holiday (1928, Decca)
 * Benny Goodman and the Giants of Swing (1929, Prestige)
 * BG and Big Tea in NYC (1929 GRP)
 * Swinging '34 Vols. 1 & 2 (1934, Melo Dean)
 * Sing, Sing, Sing (1935 Bluebird)
 * The Birth of Swing (1935, Bluebird)
 * Original Benny Goodman Trio and Quartet Sessions, Vol. 1: After You've Gone (1935 Bluebird)
 * Stomping at the Savoy (1935, Bluebird)
 * Air Play (1936, Doctor Jazz)
 * Roll 'Em, Vol. 1 (1937, Columbia)
 * Roll 'Em, Vol. 2 (1937, CBS)
 * From Spirituals to Swing (1938, Vanguard)
 * Carnegie Hall Concert Vols. 1, 2, & 3 (Live) (1938, Columbia)
 * Mozart Clarinet Quintet (with the Budapest String Quartet) (1938, Victor)
 * Ciribiribin (Live) (1939 Giants of Jazz)
 * Swingin 'Down the Lane (Live) (1939 Giants of Jazz)
 * Featuring Charlie Christian (1939, Columbia)
 * Eddie Sauter Arrangements (1940, Columbia)
 * Swing Into Spring (1941, Columbia)
 * Undercurrent Blues (1947, Blue Note)
 * Swedish Pastry (1948, Dragon)
 * The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (1950, Columbia)
 * Sextet (1950, Columbia)
 * Benny Goodman dance parade Volume 1 (1950, Columbia)
 * Benny Goodman dance parade Volume 2 (1950, Columbia CL 6100)
 * BG in Hi-Fi (1954, Capitol)
 * The Benny Goodman Story Volume 1 (1955 ?, Decca)
 * The Benny Goodman Story Volume 1 (1955 ?, Decca)
 * Mozart's Clarinet concerto (with Boston symphomy) (1956)
 * The Great Benny Goodman (1956, Columbia)
 * Peggy Lee Sings with Benny Goodman (1957, Harmony)
 * Benny in Brussels Vols. 1 & 2 (1958, Columbia)
 * In Stockholm 1959 (1959, Phontastic)
 * The Benny Goodman Treasure Chest (1959, MGM)
 * With Swing Benny Goodman And His Orchestra (1960s ?, Columbia / Harmony)
 * Benny Goodman in Moscow (1962, RCA Victor)
 * Benny Goodman And His Orchestra (1977)
 * The King Swings Starline
 * Pure Gold (1992)
 * 1935-1938 (1998)
 * Portrait of Benny Goodman (Portrait Series) (1998)
 * Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert '38 (1998)
 * Bill Dodge All-Star Recording (1999)
 * 1941-1955 His and His Orchestra (1999)
 * Live at Carnegie Hall (1999)
 * Carnegie Hall: The Complete Concert (2006) again remastered

Listening [ edit ]

 * Benny Goodman's Boys play "Wolverine Blues" (1928), with Benny Goodman on clarinet, Jelly Roll Morton on piano and Tommy Dorsey on trombone.

See also [ edit ]

 * List of jazz composers
 * List of big band leaders

External links [ edit ]

 * About the Carnegie Hall concert
 * Biography with sound clips