The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert

Occupation

The Famous Carnegie Hall Concert 1938 is a jazz album of swing clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman. It contains the recordings of the concert of 16 January 1938 in New York's Carnegie Hall. Under this title was published in 1950 in the U.S., a double LP with Columbia Records, in Germany in the 1950s at Philips

  • 6.1 The Benny Goodman Orchestra
  • 6.2 Additional musicians
  • 8.1 History Edition
  • 9.1 Notes and references

History of the concert

Erroneously, this concert has often been described as the first appearance of a jazz musician ever at Carnegie Hall; However, there were there earlier jazz concerts.

For a historical event was the appearance of Benny Goodman and his Big Band but by then already quite evocative names of the participating musicians, and also the numerous guest musicians, although the legendary Carnegie Hall otherwise rather "higher" art forms - of course, primarily of classical music - was reserved and jazz at that time still in many sectors of the population was considered disreputable, raw and somehow " dirty ". The musicians felt that way. So Harry James said before entering the stage: " I ​​feel like a whore in church. "

It was decided first, the concert should include the usual Goodman repertoire. The co Irving Kolodin beat Benny before but, also to present a musical history of jazz, in the examples of the early Dixieland, new versions of famous Louis Armstrong or Bix Beiderbecke solos, a Duke Ellington number, and the like should be heard. Since Ellington's musicians could best interpret the music, you committed therefore Johnny Hodges, Cootie Williams and Harry Carney for the corresponding number ( Jam Session ); However, Duke Ellington himself was not prepared to play second fiddle to Goodman. John Hammond brought instead, Count Basie and some of his musicians ( such as Lester Young, Freddie Green, Walter Page ) into the program

The expectations for the concert had been driven up by the press, so that the musicians were very excited. The jazz magazine Down Beat from February 1938 wrote: Benny, pale as an old man, exhorted all to go out together, and the boys pushed each other through the stage wings, were full of photographers, musicians, listeners with seats on the stage (... ) and the press. Olin Downes, the reviewer of the New York Times reported: " Excitement was in the air, an almost electric tension".

The concert at Carnegie Hall

Goodman opened the concert with a title, which was originally written by Edgar Sampson for the Chick Webb Orchestra and arranged by him for the Goodman band: Do not Be That Way. Due to the success of the concert, it became a Goodman classics. The co Irving Kolodin wrote in the liner notes: " The later popularity, the plate sales and last but not least the inclusion of the public justify Benny's decision to make just this number as ' icebreaker ' to the beginning. "

The second title Sometimes I'm Happy following One O'Clock Jump was the present Swing Count Basie colleagues. This was followed by a medley of jazz history ( " Twenty Years Of Jazz " ), which was Kolodins idea and could not convince: I'm Coming Virginia should be the spirit of the late Leon Bix Beiderbecke revive. Bobby Hackett's version of Beiderbecke solos is regarded as a success, the imitation of the Original Dixieland Jass band ( Dixieland One Step ) and by Ted Lewis ( When My Baby Smiles At Me ) but degenerated into pure parody. This was followed by Shine as Louis Armstrong tribute, Blue Reverie as a tribute to the Duke and Life Goes To A Party, where Gene Krupa and Harry James have their great performances. The contemporary criticism particularly emphasized the importance of drummer Gene Krupa, whose spectacular solos caused in the course of the evening, multiple spontaneous applause for the success of the concert out.

The subsequent jam session ( Honeysuckle Rose ), involved in the Johnny Hodges, Count Basie and his musicians, was quite chaotic: Only the solo part of Lester Young was able to convince; there were too many musicians involved in the session.

Now the Benny Goodman band offered her well-known program: In the trio Goodman / Krupa / Wilson, who in 1935 came to a party at Mildred Bailey concluded, they played their hit and later jazz standard Body and Soul. Here are Avalon and the Gershwin classic, The Man I Love and I Got Rhythm quartet line-up - added came vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, who had given in 1936 at a impromptu session with Wilson and Krupa its debut, the birth of the Benny Goodman Quartet.

In the following Blue Skies Big Band was joined by again; it includes solos by Vernon Brown, Arthur Rollini and Harry James. Loch Lomond is Maxine Sullivan Jazz processing of the traditional Scottish song of the same name. Arranged for the concert, it was by Claude Thornhill. With Blue Room, the popular songwriter duo Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart should be honored. Jimmy Mundy is the author and arranger of the following Schlager Swingtime in the Rockies. Soloist is trumpeter Ziggy Elman. With me you're beautiful (with the " Frahlich " Trumpets insert Ziggy Elman ) was 1937/38, the big hit of the Andrews Sisters. The song came from a show of the 2nd Avenue Yiddish Theatres, which was led by Shalom Secunda. The " Frahlich " (or " Freilach " ) is in turn a traditional Jewish dance from the environment of Klezmer music, which was particularly fond played at weddings.

Again in the trio ( Goodman / Krupa / Wilson) of the 1920 - hit China Boy was played; it was followed by a quartet line-up - again with Hampton - Goodman hit Stompin 'At The Savoy and Dizzy Spells, a classic from the Goodman repertoire. This piece was ( similar to A Sm -o- oth One, Pous 1/2, Air Mail Special ) developed in sessions of improvisation.

Sing, Sing, Sing by Louis Prima was the finale of the concert. Jimmy Mundy's arrangement led to the success of the piece. Mundy had changed the Prima style only to the extent that only small similarities with the original were to be recognized and associated with the Fletcher Henderson - piece Christopher Columbus. As it looks after Goodman's solo, the piece and the evening would end, Jess Stacy falls with a grandiose, Gene Krupa atmospherically dense singsong solo anew in the keys. As a bonus, Big John 's Special is being played; a piece from the repertoire of Fletcher Henderson band from the early 1930s. Goodman gave the song new popularity. The title is a tribute to a then well-known New York bartender named Big John Elman. Goodman and James played the solos.

Benny Goodman commented later to Nat Hentoff: " The famous concert at Carnegie Hall was a tremendous experience because it was more than just a concert. It had special meaning. Since a couple of musicians took to the stage and played tunes of ( George and Ira ) Gershwin, ( Irving ) and Berlin ( Jerome ) core in arrangements of Fletcher ( Henderson ) and Edgar Sampson, stood up and played their choruses as they wanted to play; each of them was completely himself and nothing else, and it managed to captivate the attention of such a huge audience two and a half hours. "

Aftermath of the Carnegie Hall concert

For the effects on Benny Goodman's career writes the Goodman biographer Lincoln Collier: " Word spread quickly that the event had been a great success. The Downbeat dedicated the concert a cover story, was what the music was concerned, however, mixed opinion: The show was typical of Goodman's normal repertoire, with all its ups and downs. Was particularly critical of the ( far too long ) jam session with the Basie musicians. Praise was ' Sing Sing Sing ' and the Ellington part. "The advertising value of the concert, however, was invaluable. Most people thought that this was the first swing concert; they did not care that it had previously given jazz concerts. The success brought an even broader interest in Goodman with it. His film ' Hollywood Hotel' started off straight, and on January 26 he played at the Paramount. Goodman was now at the top of American pop music industry, was the central figure of the booming new swing and on the way to the first million.

The drummer Gene Krupa was Goodman's main sideman; the great success he had recorded with Goodman, induced him to form his own band; after April concert at the Boston Symphony Hall, he left the band; then the trumpeter Harry James walked out of the band; in March 1939, Teddy Wilson founded his own group.

The pieces of the double LP

Pieces of the double CD

Disc 1

  • Solos: Young, Basie, Clayton, Hodges, rhythm section ( Basie, Green, Page, Krupa ), Carney, B. Goodman, James, Young, Clayton

Disc 2

The musicians of the concert

The Benny Goodman Orchestra

  • Benny Goodman, clarinet, vocals, and band leader
  • Chris Griffin, Ziggy Elman, Harry James, Trumpet
  • Red Ballard, Vernon Brown, trombone
  • Jess Stacy, Piano
  • Teddy Wilson, piano (BG trio and quartet )
  • Lionel Hampton, vibraphone (BG Quartet)
  • Allan Reuss, guitar
  • Harry Goodman Bass
  • Gene Krupa, drums
  • Martha Tilton, vocal

Additional musicians

  • Count Basie, piano
  • Harry Carney, baritone saxophone
  • Cootie Williams, trumpet
  • Buck Clayton, trumpet
  • Freddie Green, guitar
  • Bobby Hackett, cornet
  • Johnny Hodges, alto saxophone
  • Walter Page, bass
  • Lester Young, tenor saxophone

History Album

The concert was recorded, although it was neither a radio broadcast was another recording of the concert by the organizers planned. Albert Marx, record producer for Brunswick Records and the husband of Helen Ward, the first singer in Goodman's band, however, took a picture, in which he used the sound engineering at Carnegie Hall and the Columbia Broadcasting System. 28 - acetate plates were recorded. Marx gave Goodman a copy of the plates. In 1950, after moving Goodmans (from his longtime home in the 1155 Park Avenue 200 East 66th Street) took over his brother's wife Rachael the apartment and found hidden in a cupboard a tin box with the acetates. After delivery to Goodman heard this, together with John Hammond to the recordings and discover their potential. Then they offered to Capitol Records in the recordings, but declined. A second offer was made to Ted Wallerstein, the president of Columbia Records. Then the recordings were purchased and produced by Howard Scott and George Avakian. After mastering on 25 September 1950, the album is even released on 13 November 1950 as first double LP.

Reception

Bruce Eder evaluated the double album (1987 ) at Allmusic with the highest score of five stars; the versions of Do not Be That Way, Sing Sing Sing and One O'Clock Jump were " invaluable " (and probably also in the case of the first two titles definitely ).

Jack Sohmer wrote for Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall Edition - 1938: Complete in Jazz Times: On the most famous concert in the history of jazz from the appearance of the Benny Goodman Orchestra on January 16, 1938 in Carnegie Hall, not only as the outrageous coup for the Jazz is and for a multiracial public appearance, but it was also the Door for Further Veranstaltunghen at the prestigious place like John Hammond's From Spirituals to Swing concert series (1938 /39) with an all- star line-up. The author mentions the additions to the edition, in | | Honeysuckle Rose | | a solo chorus of Buck Clayton, who now complete solos by Harry Carney and Freddie Green, and big band numbers Sometimes I'm Happy and Edgar Sampson If Dreams Come True. Especially Carneys extended solo improvisations were here represented better than in many photographs of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. The highlight of the Mini Suite Twenty Years of Jazz was Ellington's Blue Reverie, with Johnny Hodges ' masterful playing on a Bechet -inspired soprano saxophone, and Carneys wide - sounding baritone and Cootie Williams' plunger trumpet.

Edition history

Later LP and CD editions vary in the title information

  • Benny Goodman The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert ( CBS 66202, 1970)

Since 1999, the double CD is marketed under the title "The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert". Columbia 450983-2 contains additionally the "Sensation Rag " ( with B. Goodman Quartet ).

Literature and sources

  • Joachim -Ernst Behrendt: The Jazz Book, Frankfurt / Main, Krüger, 1976
  • James Lincoln Collier: Benny Goodman - King of Swing, Munich, Heyne, 1997
  • Irving Kolodin: Liner Notes [ to Benny Goodman - Carnegie Hall Concert ( Philips B 07000 L)]
  • Martin Kunzler: Jazz Encyclopedia, Reinbek, Rowohlt, 1993
  • Richard Cook & Brian Morton: The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, Sixth Edition, London, Penguin, 2002
  • Nat Hentoff & Nat Shapiro: Jazz says - Ya Hear Me Talkin'To, Munich, Nymphenburg, 1959
Record label Genre Vernon Brown (musician) Singing John Hammond (producer) Ted Lewis (musician) Avalon (Al Jolson song) Blue Skies (1926 song) The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond Sholom Secunda Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing) Nick LaRocca Lew Brown Al Jolson Billy Rose Irving Berlin Sammy Cahn Saul Chaplin Horace Henderson Stage Door Canteen Mitchell Parish Vincent Youmans Irving Caesar Clifford Grey Eddie Durham Buster Smith Will Marion Cook Honeysuckle Rose (song) Fats Waller Andy Razaf Johnny Green Edward Heyman Vincent Rose George Gershwin Ira Gershwin Irving Mills JazzTimes Joachim-Ernst Berendt Richard Cook (journalist) W. C. Handy Chicago
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