The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert
| Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by Benny Goodman | ||||
| Released |
1950 November 2, 1999 (Reissue) | |||
| Recorded | January 16, 1938 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length |
Disc One 48:59 Disc Two 53:05 (Original release) | |||
| Label |
Columbia Legacy Recordings | |||
| Producer |
George Avakian (original)[1] Phil Schaap (reissue) | |||
| Benny Goodman chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert by Benny Goodman, Columbia Records catalogue item SL-160, is a two-disc LP of Swing music first issued in 1950. The program it captured has been described as "the single most important jazz or popular music concert in history: jazz's "coming out" party to the world of "respectable" music.[2]
The first ever double album, it was one of the first records of Benny Goodman music issued on the new long-playing format, and one of the first to sell over a million copies. A landmark recording, it was the premiere performance given by a jazz orchestra in the famed Carnegie Hall in New York City. This album was also sold in a set of nine 45 rpm records in the same year by Columbia.
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [2] |
| Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [3] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [4] |
The reception to the original 1950 long-playing double-album was exceptional, as had been the band's appearance at Carnegie Hall. Over time as technology improved the material was re-released, with digital versions produced both in the 1980s and 1990s.
Bruce Eder, writing for AllMusic, generally praises the 1999 double-CD release, noting the compromise between clear reproduction of sonic detail and retaining surface noise from the source material.[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings includes the 1999 release in its "Core Collection," in addition to giving it a four-star rating (of a possible four).[3] Penguin authors Richard Cook and Brian Morton describe the release as "a model effort, masterminded by Phil Schaap, whose indomitable detective work finally tracked down the original acetates and gave us the music in the best sound we'll ever get; with powerful, even thrilling, ambience."[3]
Track listing
| Side one | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Don't Be That Way" | Edgar Sampson, Benny Goodman, Mitchell Parish | 4:23 |
| 2. | "One O'Clock Jump" | Count Basie | 6:38 |
| 3. | "Sensation Rag" | Edwin "Eddie" Edwards | 1:19 |
| 4. | "I'm Coming Virginia" | Will Marion Cook, Donald Heywood | 2:07 |
| 5. | "When My Baby Smiles at Me" | Bill Munro, Andrew Sterling, Ted Lewis, Harry Von Tilzer | 0:50 |
| 6. | "Shine" | Cecil Mack, Ford Dabney, Lew Brown | 1:03 |
| 7. | "Blue Reverie" | Duke Ellington, Harry Carney | 3:18 |
| 8. | "Life Goes to a Party" | Harry James, Benny Goodman | 4:15 |
| Side two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Honeysuckle Rose" | Thomas "Fats" Waller, Andy Razaf | 13:55 |
| 2. | "Body and Soul" | Johnny Green, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, Frank Eyton | 3:23 |
| 3. | "Avalon" | Vincent Rose, B.G. DeSylva, Al Jolson | 4:16 |
| 4. | "The Man I Love" | George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin | 3:26 |
| Total length: | 48:59 | ||
| Side three | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "I Got Rhythm" | George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin | 5:09 |
| 2. | "Blue Skies" | Irving Berlin | 3:18 |
| 3. | "Loch Lomond" | Traditional | 2:58 |
| 4. | "Blue Room" | Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart | 2:42 |
| 5. | "Swingtime in the Rockies" | Jimmy Mundy, Benny Goodman | 2:30 |
| 6. | "Bei Mir Bist du Schoen" | Scholom Secunda (music), Jacob Jacobs (lyrics) adapted by Sammy Cahn, Saul Chaplin | 4:00 |
| 7. | "China Boy" | Dick Winfree, Phil Boutelje | 4:53 |
| Side four | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Stompin' at the Savoy" | Edgar Sampson, Benny Goodman, Chick Webb | 5:51 |
| 2. | "Dizzy Spells" | Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson | 5:44 |
| 3. | "Sing Sing Sing (with a Swing)" | Louis Prima | 12:08 |
| 4. | "Big John's Special" | Horace Henderson | 3:48 |
| Total length: | 53:05 | ||
1999 compact disc reissue track listing
Disc one
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Benny Goodman 1950 Introduction" (recorded 1950) | 0:22 | |
| 2. | "Don't Be That Way" | Edgar Sampson, Benny Goodman, Mitchell Parish | 4:12 |
| 3. | "Sometimes I'm Happy" | Vincent Youmans, Irving Caesar, Clifford Grey | 4:13 |
| 4. | "One O'Clock Jump" | Eddie Durham, Buster Smith | 6:47 |
| 5. | "Applause; transition to Twenty Years of Jazz" | 0:41 | |
| 6. | "Sensation Rag" | Edwin "Eddie" Edwards | 1:12 |
| 7. | "I'm Coming Virginia" | Will Marion Cook, Donald Heywood | 2:15 |
| 8. | "When My Baby Smiles at Me" | Bill Munro, Andres Sterling, Ted Lewis, Harry Von Tilzer | 0:52 |
| 9. | "Shine" | Cecil Mack, Ford Dabney, Lew Brown | 0:55 |
| 10. | "Blue Reverie" | Duke Ellington, Harry Carney | 3:32 |
| 11. | "Applause; transition back to Goodman Orchestra" | 0:22 | |
| 12. | "Life Goes to a Party" | Harry James, Benny Goodman | 4:05 |
| 13. | "Setting up for Jam Session" | 0:40 | |
| 14. | "Honeysuckle Rose" (solos: Lester Young, Count Basie, Buck Clayton, Johnny Hodges, rhythm section (Basie, Freddie Green, Walter Page, Gene Krupa), Carney, Goodman, Green, James, Young, Clayton) | Thomas "Fats" Waller, Andy Razaf | 16:42 |
| 15. | "Applause; setting-up & tuning-up for BG Small Groups" | 1:00 | |
| 16. | "Body and Soul" | Johnny Green, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, Frank Eyton | 3:10 |
| 17. | "Applause as Lionel Hampton enters" | 0:27 | |
| 18. | "Avalon" | Vincent Rose, B.G. DeSylva, Al Jolson | 4:04 |
| 19. | "The Man I Love" | George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin | 3:35 |
| 20. | "I Got Rhythm" | George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin | 4:51 |
| 21. | "pause track" | 0:06 |
Disc two
Tracks 20-28 are edited tracks from a 12" 78 rpm record, recorded in 1950 and sent to radio stations to help promote the album release.[5]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Blue Skies" | Irving Berlin | 3:14 |
| 2. | "Loch Lomond" | Traditional | 3:04 |
| 3. | "Applause; Benny Goodman's 'No Encore' announcement" | 1:14 | |
| 4. | "Blue Room" | Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart | 2:36 |
| 5. | "Swingtime in the Rockies" | Jimmy Mundy, Benny Goodman | 2:38 |
| 6. | "Applause; Martha Tilton returns to stage" | 0:21 | |
| 7. | "Bei Mir Bist du Schoen" | Scholom Secunda (music), Jacob Jacobs (lyrics) adapted by Sammy Cahn, Saul Chaplin | 3:54 |
| 8. | "Applause; setting-up for BG small groups" | 0:32 | |
| 9. | "China Boy" | Dick Winfree, Phil Boutelje | 4:45 |
| 10. | "Stompin' at the Savoy" | Edgar Sampson, Benny Goodman, Chick Webb | 5:55 |
| 11. | "Applause; BG Quartet continues but changes program" | 0:24 | |
| 12. | "Dizzy Spells" | Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson | 5:37 |
| 13. | "Applause; transition back to Goodman orchestra for finale" | 0:41 | |
| 14. | "Sing Sing Sing (with a Swing)" | Louis Prima | 12:02 |
| 15. | "Applause until encores" | 1:03 | |
| 16. | "If Dreams Come True" | Edgar Sampson, Benny Goodman, Irving Mills | 2:34 |
| 17. | "Applause for second encore" | 0:21 | |
| 18. | "Big John's Special" | Horace Henderson | 3:41 |
| 19. | "pause track" | 0:06 |
| Benny Goodman 1950 Tune-By-Tune Introductions | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 20. | "Introduction" | 0:26 |
| 21. | "Don't Be That Way" | 0:18 |
| 22. | "Twenty Years of Jazz" | 0:15 |
| 23. | "Blue Reverie" | 0:24 |
| 24. | "Life Goes to a Party" | 0:27 |
| 25. | "Body and Soul" | 0:45 |
| 26. | "Avalon" | 0:23 |
| 27. | "Swingtime in the Rockies" | 0:17 |
| 28. | "Conclusion" | 0:15 |
Personnel
The Benny Goodman Orchestra
- Benny Goodman, clarinet, vocal, and leader
- Chris Griffin, Ziggy Elman, Harry James, trumpets
- Red Ballard, Vernon Brown, trombones
- George Koenig, Art Rollini, Babe Russin, Hymie Schertzer, reed instruments
- Jess Stacy, piano
- Teddy Wilson, piano (BG trio and quartet only)
- Lionel Hampton, vibraphone (BG quartet only)
- Allan Reuss, guitar
- Harry Goodman, bass
- Gene Krupa, drums
- Martha Tilton, vocal
Additional personnel
- Buck Clayton, trumpet
- Bobby Hackett, cornet
- Cootie Williams, trumpet
- Harry Carney, baritone saxophone
- Johnny Hodges, soprano[6] and alto saxophones
- Lester Young, tenor saxophone
- Count Basie, piano
- Freddie Green, guitar
- Walter Page, bass
Literature
- James Lincoln Collier: Benny Goodman and the Swing Area. ISBN 0-19-505278-1
- Irving Kolodin: Liner Notes (Benny Goodman – Carnegie Hall Concert)
- Richard Morton & Brian Cook: The Penguin Guide To Jazz On CD, Sixth Edition, London, Penguin, 2002
- Catherine Tackley: 'Benny Goodman's Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert', Oxford: Oxford University Press 2013 ISBN 978-0-19-539831-1
References
- ↑ The controversy surrounding Benny Goodman’s famous 1938 carnegie hall concert
- 1 2 3 Eder, Bruce. The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert at AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
- 1 2 3 Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008) [1992]. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed.). New York: Penguin. pp. 574–575. ISBN 978-0-14-103401-0.
- ↑ Swenson, J. (Editor) (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 86. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
- ↑ Liner notes from 1999 reissue.
- ↑ Sohmer, Jack (1938-01-16). "Jazz Reviews: Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall-1938: CompleteBenny Goodman — By Jack Sohmer — Jazz Articles". Jazztimes.com. Retrieved 2012-01-06.