The Complete 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert

Goodman, Benny and His Orchestra

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The Crowning of the King of Swing

Tickets for admission into Carnegie Hall on January 16, 1938, cost $2.75, a steep charge at the time. But this was no ordinary event. It was the first-ever jazz concert at the storied hall, and it featured not just the most popular swing band in the land, the Benny Goodman Orchestra, but the clarinetist's trio and quartet and members of the bands led by Count Basie and Duke Ellington.

This was swing's "coming out" party, and as is audible on the (alas, noisy) surviving tapes, the crowd was in the mood, to say the least. When Goodman and crew finish "Sing, Sing, Sing," the barnstorming showcase for drummer Gene Krupa that was a favorite of swing dancers, the response is thunderous. The same thing happens on Goodman's bobbing-and-weaving hit "Don't Be That Way," and an extended jam through "Honeysuckle Rose." Swing, as practiced by Goodman's "hot" band, easily warms up the rarefied setting. At least one reason is Goodman's own facility; his classical chops are audible here, as are his instincts for finding—and some-times leaning on—the blue notes.

By the time he stepped on the Carnegie stage, the clarinetist, born in Chicago to Hungarian Jewish immigrants, had already made an even more important contribution to jazz—by employing qualified musicians and arrangers regardless of color. In 1934, Goodman was hired to provide music for the NBC radio series Let's Dance; in search of an authentic swing sound, Goodman retained arranger Fletcher Henderson, whose exuberant scores gave Goodman hit after hit. The next year, with his big band in demand, Goodman put together a trio (and later a quartet) to play during the band's breaks; this group was built around pianist Teddy Wilson, the first African American to appear regularly with a white band. (Anticipating trouble in the Deep South, where Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation, Goodman simply skipped touring in the region.) Later additions to Goodman's groups included vibraphonist Lionel Hampton and the innovative electric guitarist Charlie Christian, who added a welcome dose of modernity. Goodman's moves, which came ten years before Jackie Robinson would integrate Major League Baseball, were not just headline-grabbing publicity stunts: They helped him develop and spread a suave, color-blind sense of swing that for a long time had no peer.

Genre: Jazz
Released: 1992, Columbia
Key Tracks: "Sing, Sing, Sing," "Don't Be That Way," "One O'Clock Jump."
Catalog Choice: The Complete RCA Victor Small Group Recordings
Next Stop: Lionel Hampton: Hamp and Getz
After That: Artie Shaw: The Centennial Collection
Book Page: 317