Taken literally, the title of
Fremeaux's
Quintessence series promises that listeners will encounter the concentrated, unadulterated, essence of the musical legacies documented therein. Released in 2007, this label's double-disc anthology of recordings made by virtuoso clarinetist
Benny Goodman in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Stockholm between July 1935 and November 1954 lives up to this heady assignment by presenting a well-chosen array of 36 outstanding studio, live, and radio broadcast performances, with the
big band featured on disc one and a dazzling series of small groups lined up across disc two. The
Benny Goodman Orchestra essentially defined
big-band swing music for the U.S. and the world during the 1930s and early '40s. Beginning with the classic 1935 realization of
Jelly Roll Morton's
"King Porter Stomp," 18 examples of
Goodman's mastery of the large
jazz ensemble unfold chronologically.
Goodman's star soloists in this realm included trumpeters
Bunny Berigan,
Cootie Williams and
Charlie Shavers, trombonist
Kai Winding, saxophonists
Georgie Auld,
Don Byas and
Stan Getz, pianist
Jess Stacy and drummer
Gene Krupa. Vocalist
Peggy Lee is featured on
Irving Berlin's
"I Threw a Kiss in the Ocean." Goodman's arrangers as represented here spell out the grand tradition of
big-band arranging. They include
Fletcher and
Horace Henderson,
Gordon Jenkins,
Edgar Sampson,
Eddie Sauter,
Buster Harding,
Toots Camarata,
Buck Clayton,
Mary Lou Williams and
Chico O'Farrill. Disc two is a fascinating survey of
Goodman's experiments with the duo, trio, quartet, quintet, sextet and septet formulae. It presents the historic 1935
Goodman/
Teddy Wilson/
Krupa combination, the marvelous addition of vibraphonist
Lionel Hampton in 1936, singer
Martha Tilton's superb rendering of
"Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" backed by the quartet in 1937, and subsequent interactions with pianists
Count Basie,
Mel Powell and
Johnny Guarnieri; guitarists
Charlie Christian and
Billy Bauer (who was closely associated with
Lennie Tristano at that time); trumpeter
Fats Navarro and saxophonist
Wardell Gray; bassist
Slam Stewart, drummer
Dave Tough, vibraphonist
Red Norvo and
jazz accordionist
Ernie Felice (on
"I'll Always Be in Love with You"). Don't miss the lovely version of
"Lazy River," rendered as a duet with pianist
Jimmy Rowles. This delightful collection concludes with an extended jam by a seven-piece ensemble on
"Air Mail Special," air-checked off of a live radio broadcast from Stockholm, Sweden on April 4, 1950. With
Goodman on this occasion were trumpeter
Roy Eldridge and saxophonist
Zoot Sims. Cumulatively, the players and their music add up to what the producers intended for us to have: an excellent mini-history of
Benny Goodman containing some of the best
swing and bop recordings that ever appeared under his name. There are almost too many
Benny Goodman collections on the market -- let it be known that this one ranks with the best. ~ arwulf arwulf
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