For the 2nd installment of Jamfather Gems, we decided to reach way back to the era of Grandfather Gems. Music appreciation spans many generations in the Melamed household. My father was a devoted jazz fan, who exposed me to a myriad of jazz flavors: Big Band, Bebop, Dixieland, Jazz Vocalists, etc. One of his personal favorites was the great jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman.
Why should we care about a musician who’s been gone nearly 30 years? Because there is a really important story to be told. Benny Goodman had a deep cultural and societal impact that has not only shaped the foundation of the music today, but can also teach us a valuable lesson on racial equality.
Benny Goodman had a very similar upbringing as many children of Jewish immigrants around the turn of the 20th century. He was born in 1909 in Chicago to a poor family of 12 children (his father was a tailor from Russia). When Goodman was 10 years old, his father enrolled him and two of his brothers for music lessons at the local synagogue, where he excelled immediately. Originally trained in classical music, Benny quickly took to the New Orleans sounds. By the age of 14, he joined early big band pioneer Bix Beiderbecke.
Nicknamed the “King of Swing”, Goodman earned that moniker many times over. In 1935, Goodman teamed up with legendary arranger Fletcher Henderson, who was African American, to create swing music. A shift from the regimented and constrained big band sound, the development of “Swing” music gave the artist more freedom to be musically expressive. The impact was huge, and catapulted Goodman into the national spotlight. He became very popular, touring around the country, and was frequently on the radio.
Even as his popularity rose, Goodman was still a “jazzmen.” At this point, jazz was the thing of the speakeasy and of a rougher element – not yet an acceptable part of polite society. In 1937, Goodman’s publicist suggested that Benny play Carnegie Hall as a way to legitimize his jazz music. Goodman was reluctant at first, but later took to the idea and threw himself into the project with a determined effort.
Being the first jazz musician to play Carnegie Hall was a huge event. But, aside from the musical breakthroughs, there were deeper and more profound social issues at hand. Benny was undoubtedly a victim of anti-Semitism. For that reason, and for his love for great music, Benny was essentially color blind. When forming a band, he chose the best musicians; being black or white had no impact.
Goodman was able to leverage his broad popularity to integrate his band with some of the greatest black musicians of his era. Legendary vibe player Lionel Hampton first reached national prominence because of Benny Goodman. Ditto for the great, great guitarist and early bebop pioneeer Charlie Christian (who sadly died very young at the age of 25 from TB). Teddy Wilson, one of the great early jazz pianists, also made his way into Goodman’s integrated band.
Bringing an integrated jazz band into the classical Carnegie Hall must have attracted attention, because tickets to the 1938 concert sold out immediately. The black musicians, quintessential to Goodman’s band, were forced to use the service entrance because of their skin color. Stars on stage, 2nd class citizens when entering the building… Jim Crow laws had a way of affecting the entire nation. Unthinkable by todays’ sense of ethics, this was the norm back then. Benny Goodman deserves the acclaim as a forward thinking, social progressive, whose impact is just as profound (or perhaps more so) as his epic musical contribution.
The Carnegie Hall concert itself was a huge success, and the impact at the time can only be likened to when the Beatles hit the US shores to play their first concerts in North America. The highlight of the show was a rousing rendition of the Louis Prima classic “Sing, Sing, Sing.” That song is still regarded as one of greatest live performances from the 20th century – to this day it remains fresh and vibrant as it did 76 years ago. It is also probably the first recorded jam… when most songs came in under 3 minutes, a 12 minute rendition was unheard of.
At the song’s end, pianist Jess Stacy goes on an impromptu solo that is soft is and luscious. The band follows with an inspired improvisational run that changed the shape of music. Check out Harry James trumpet solo that gives you goose bumps. And Benny’s sensual playing is sublime – effortless and powerful. But the real star is legendary drummer Gene Krupa doing his thing with a rock beat that is still influencing drummers today. This is the stuff of legends – the world shifted on this single performance.
Big band jazz remained popular through WW2, but after the war, a fundamental shift in jazz was occurring. By the late 1940s big band’s popularity began to wane. With smaller bands, there was less structure, allowing for individuals to pursue more free form musical expression. Bebop was born, and the impact of such artists as Charlie Parker, Dizzie Gillespie, Max Roach, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, etc. had changed the face of music forever.
A lot of today’s jam music borrows heavily from the bebop sound and I’m sure many of you are aware of the work by the aforementioned musicians. So rather telling you to listen to Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, Jamfather Gems is going to point you into an overlooked group that deserves recognition: The Benny Goodman Sextet.
From 1950-1952 Benny Goodman evolved as an artist. Having disbanded his big band and foraying into classical music, Goodman returned to jazz. His goal was to take five other artists and fuse them into a tight-nit sextet that could play as a single cohesive unit, and the result was simply remarkable. While bebop was more free form and individually expressive, Goodman’s sextet is more melodic, leaning heavily on the group dynamic. One of the challenges Goodman faced was assembling a band of superb musicians. A victim of his own success and popularity, many members of Goodman’s big band formed their own orchestras. Lionel Hampton, Harry James and Gene Krupa became stars in their own right and all fronted their own orchestras. Ever the excellent judge of talent, Goodman assembled a first rate band. Terry Gibbs on Vibes is every bit the equal of Lionel Hampton, and Teddy Wilson became his sextet pianist – and a darn good one at that.
The album opens with “Lullaby of the Leaves” progressive minor chords, and Goodman’s sweet clarinet entering after a few bars. He then he trades back and forth with Gibb’s vibes with effortless ease. It’s apparent from the opening number that this is something very special.
The guitar work on “How Am I To Know” by Mundell Lowe borrowed on the light ethereal work first made popular by Charlie Christian and then Wes Montgomery in the 1950’s, and gave way to musicians like George Benson is the 1970s. That particular sound is a cornerstone of fusion jazz and quite recognizable – even though this was 1950…a full 20 years earlier than the birth of Fusion Jazz.
“Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” is a great upbeat number with Goodman taking charge. Again Goodman and Gibbs exchange a few bars each and then segues to Wilson’s fine piano solo and then to Gibbs dancing around the melody with fine precision. A very satisfying number.
An aching ballad, “I’ll Never Be the Same,” does with music as well as the most tender of lyrics. You feel the pain and remorse in a warm embrace of melancholy. Goodman’s sad, sweet work is just beautiful. “Farewell Blues” is a dixieland treat with Sid Bulkins Krupa-esque style driving the beat. We are given a rare treat in “Four or Five Times,” where Goodman handles the vocals. The only song on the album with singing, Benny displays a pretty decent baritone voice.
I highly recommend this album, as it is holds up extremely well over the annals of time. Goodman’s sextet is an often overlooked period in his career, but it is, in my opinion, his finest work. The album is the expression of a true master. Benny Goodman has contributed so much to music and to righting the social injustices of the day. He is a musical legend and his indelible mark should not be overlooked. Enjoy.
-Richard “The JamFather” Melamed