Music Pick: Benny Goodman
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Benny Goodman (1909-1986) was playing hot jazz clarinet professionally from the age of 12 and parlayed his gigantic talent to escape the hardscrabble Chicago West Side Jewish ghetto to fame and fortune. He broke many musical and social barriers, being the first white star to hire black jazzmen to play in public integrated sessi...ons, and headlining the first jazz concert at the Big Apple's Carnegie Hall. The magical sounds of this January 16, 1938, landmark event vanished for 12 years till Benny stumbled across the long lost recording he had arranged and forgotten about in 1950. Every one of the 27 selections is noteworthy but the feature "Sing, Sing, Sing" is simply sublime. Goodman on clarinet, Harry James on trumpet and Gene Krupa on drums were scheduled soloists. On a whim, Benny turned to pianist Jess Stacey to take a chorus and was so knocked out by his delicate pianism he let him go on for a full two minutes. This one still gives chills after innumerable listenings.
Benny Goodman (1909-1986) was playing hot jazz clarinet professionally from the age of 12 and parlayed his gigantic talent to escape the hardscrabble Chicago West Side Jewish ghetto to fame and fortune. He broke many musical and social barriers, being the first white star to hire black jazzmen to play in public integrated sessi...ons, and headlining the first jazz concert at the Big Apple's Carnegie Hall. The magical sounds of this January 16, 1938, landmark event vanished for 12 years till Benny stumbled across the long lost recording he had arranged and forgotten about in 1950. Every one of the 27 selections is noteworthy but the feature "Sing, Sing, Sing" is simply sublime. Goodman on clarinet, Harry James on trumpet and Gene Krupa on drums were scheduled soloists. On a whim, Benny turned to pianist Jess Stacey to take a chorus and was so knocked out by his delicate pianism he let him go on for a full two minutes. This one still gives chills after innumerable listenings.
posted by Walt Zlotow at 4:21 PM
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