Benny Goodman

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Benny Goodman, born Benjamin David Goodman,[1] (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American jazz musician who played the clarinet. He was called as "King of Swing", "Patriarch of the Clarinet", "The Professor", and "Swing's Senior Statesman".

Contents

Life

Early life

Goodman was born the son of poor Jewish immigrants in Chicago, Illinois. They lived in Chicago's Maxwell Street neighborhood. He learned to play clarinet in a boy's band run by a charity. He became a strong player at an early age and began playing professionally in bands while still 'in short pants'.

Early influences

His early influences were New Orleans jazz clarinet players in Chicago, notably Johnny Dodds, Leon Ropollo, and Jimmy Noone.

First band

Goodman joined one of Chicago's top bands, the Ben Pollack Orchestra, at the age of 16, He made his first recordings with them in 1926. He started making records under his own name 2 years later.

Later life

Goodman left for New York City. He became a good session musician during the late 1920s and early 1930s. He was known as a solid player because he was prepared and reliable. He played with the nationally known bands of Red Nichols, Isham Jones, and Ted Lewis. Then he formed his own band in 1932.

In 1934 he auditioned for the "Let's Dance" radio program. Since he needed new charts every week for the show, his friend John Hammond suggested that he purchase some Jazz charts from Fletcher Henderson, who had New York's most popular African-American band in the 1920s and early 1930s. The combination of the Henderson charts, his solid clarinet playing, and his well rehearsed band made him a rising star in the mid-30s.

Fame

He performed at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles on August 21, 1935. Due to this show, he became a nationally known star. His radio broadcasts from New York had been too late to attract a large audience on the East Coast, but had an avid following in California, and a wildly enthusiastic crowd for the first time greeted Goodman. This received national publicity and turned the Goodman Band into an overnight sensation. Some writers have declared this date to be the start of the Swing Era.

Loss of fame

Goodman continued his meteoric rise throughout the late 1930s with his big band, his trio and quartet, and a sextet. On January 16, 1938, his band made a famous appearance at Carnegie Hall. By the mid-1940s, big bands lost a lot of their popularity. Reasons include: talented musicians were entering the service, or getting better-paying factory jobs, gasoline and rubber rationing during WWII, two long musician recording strikes, the rise of popular singers like Frank Sinatra.

Death

Goodman continued to play on records and in small groups. Periodically he would organize a new band and play a Jazz festival or go on an international tour. He continued to play the clarinet until his death in 1986 in in New York, New York.

Other projects

Goodman also helped racial integration in America. In the early 1930s, black and white jazz musicians could not play together in most clubs or concerts. In the Southern states, racial segregation was enforced by law. Benny Goodman broke with tradition by hiring Teddy Wilson to play with him and drummer Gene Krupa in the Benny Goodman Trio. In 1936, he added Lionel Hampton on vibes to form the Benny Goodman Quartet. Goodman's fame was great enough that his band had no financial need to tour in the southern states, where his lineup would have been subject to arrest.


References

  1. ↑ Firestone, Ross (1993). Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life and Times of Benny Goodman. New York: Norton, pp. 19. 
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