Always Goodman 1967

Benny Goodman was born in 1909 in Chicago.
In these clips recorded in 1967, a very comfortable looking Benny is explaining his audience about the art of improvising.
Benny asks Hank to playthe tune Always straight and after that the band will perform the tune in a jazz mode.
He is surrounded by a group of very capable and talented musicians.Benny claims that this combination had never played together as such.
If you surround yourself with this caliber of musicians it will be tough to go wrong anyway.
His musical advisor is pianist Hank Jones. Next to Benny on horns are Clark Terry on trumpet and flugelhorn and Zoot Sims on tenor sax.
The bass player is Milt Hinton and Gene Bertoncini on Guitar
with Ed Shaughnessy on Drums

Rose Room Goodman 1967

Benny Goodman and the art of improvising.
In this clip Benny explains that often two different melodies can be played over the same set of chords. He suggests Rose Room and In a Mellowtone.
Funny, maybe I have heard and seen this Benny clip before, but lately I have been doing this as well with my Kelowna band. We do this in Ab, and yes...Benny does that as well.
Of course Ab is more or less the standard key for Rose Room, so...it all make sense
Clark Terry on trumpet and flugelhorn, Zoot Sims on tenor backed up by a very good rhythm group with Hank Jones on piano, Gene Bertoncini on Guitar, Ed Shaughnessy on Drums and Milt Hinton on bass.

Airmail Special Goodman 1967

Benny Goodman in the art of improvising.
In the conclusion of this 1967 program Benny asked the musicians to suggest a final tune for the broadcast, and they decide on the swingy tune called Air Mail Special. They go all loose and some wonderful improvisations come out with Benny on his clarinet and Clark Terry on trumpet and flugelhorn, Zoot Sims on tenor backed up by a very good rhythm group with Hank Jones on piano

The world is waiting for the sunrise Goodman

Benny Goodman at the Tivoli in Copenhagen. Probably recorded in the early eighties with a local swing group. It seems that Benny is enjoying every second of this performance. The smile while announcing the tune and even a continuous smile while playing. Obviously a tune he specially enjoys because of the wonderful swinging performance level of the group.

I'm Confessin' goodman Jimmy Maxwell

Benny Goodman, during his gig in Copenhagen's Tivoli, introduces an old collegue.
Trumpet player Jimmy Maxwell (1917-2002) was one of the great lead trumpet players in big band jazz. He played in a local band led by the pianist and arranger Gil Evans while still in high school, and went on to perform with many of the best known band leaders in jazz.

They included Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Jimmy Dorsey, Woody Herman, and briefly Duke Ellington. He was regarded as a key specialist in the demanding role of lead trumpet, where he was responsible for moulding the sound of the section.

He became best-known in the jazz world for his work with Benny Goodman (1939-43 and occasionally in later years, including his 1962 tour of the Soviet Union).

He played with the National Jazz Ensemble and the New York Jazz Repertory Company in the 1970s, and did a great deal of session work on records, television and film. He was heard in a rare role as featured trumpet soloist on the soundtrack of The Godfather in 1972.

If I had you Goodman Asmussen

Svend Asmussen (born February 28, 1916 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is a jazz violinist from Denmark, known as "The Fiddling Viking". Asmussen grew up in a musical family, starting violin lessons at age 7. At age 16 he first heard recordings by jazz violin great Joe Venuti and began to emulate his style. He started working professionally as a violinist, vibraphonist, and singer at age 17, leaving his formal training behind for good. Early in his career he worked in Denmark and on cruise ships with artists such as Josephine Baker and Fats Waller. Asmussen later was greatly influenced by Stuff Smith, who he met in Denmark. In the late 1950s, Asmussen formed the trio Swe-Danes with singer Alice Babs and guitarist Ulrik Neumann. The group became very popular in Scandinavia for their music hall style entertainment and also toured the United States. Asmussen also worked with Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, and Duke Ellington. Asmussen was invited by Ellington to play on the Jazz Violin Session recording in 1963 with Stéphane Grappelli and Ray Nance. In 1966, Asmussen appeared alongside Grappelli, Stuff Smith, and Jean-Luc Ponty in a jazz violin summit in Switzerland that was issued as a live recording. He made an appearance at the 1967 Monterey Jazz Festival, which included a celebrated violin summit with him, Ray Nance and Jean-Luc Ponty.Benny Goodman in performance in Copenhagen's Tivoli. In this clip Benny invites the famous Danish jazz violinist Svend Asmussen to join him in "If I had you"

After You've gone Goodman Asmussen

A stunning performance of two musical giants. Benny Goodman and Svend Asmussen do an impromptu approach to the tune "After you've gone" .
Svend, obviously aware of Benny's skills, paricularily when in competition mentions to Benny: "Not too fast",
Benny smiles and replies "OK, you start".
I don't think Svend has to take a step back on technical skills.The musical exchange starts with a chorus of improvisation around the melody without any rhythm and then the full group brings it to one of the swingiest versions of this tune I ever heard.

Lady Be Good Goodman

I got this tape recently and don't have much information on it. It looked it was filmed in the later part of Benny's life, probably in the early eighties. These are clips from Copenhagen's Tivoli. The musicians around a very relaxed Benny all seem eager and obviously pleased to play with the great man

Poor Butterfly Goodman

Benny Goodman - early eighties(?) - Tivolo - Copenhagen - local musicians(?)
I don't know much of this set of performances of Benny. Even the tune was not announced. Sometimes I find it hard to come up with the title of a tune when I hear it being played. However, as a bandleader I would announce Poor Butterfly and instantly that melody appears in my brain's memory bank and I would then just be able to play it. Funny, isn't it.