This is from the Benny Goodman show in 1967, where Goodman talks a little bit about jazz and improv before going on to play “Airmail Special” (sorry it’s a little soft!)
This is a 1959 take on the song, featuring Benny Goodman on clarinet, Lionel Hampton on vibes, Andre Pervin on piano, and Shelly Manne on drums.
Alright folks, apologies for the real quick entry as i am airmailing all the way to Auckland now. Will try and update when I can next week after NZX!
Categories: Music
Cab Calloway was a bandleader who fronted his big band not with an instrument, but with his lively personality and antics as he sang and danced around the stage. Cab’s band was hired as a replacement for the Ellington band at the Cotton Club, but soon became the co-house band with Ellington. He would be the quintessential figure to model after if you want to know how to dress 40s style, in a zoot suit and fedora (though he doesn’t wear those in the clip to come).
Here, in the movie Stormy Weather (1943), he sings “Jumpin’ Jive”, and the Nicholas Brothers come centrestage for one of the most amazing tap routines I’ve ever seen.
Many often only think of Fred Astaire with tap from the era, and when I mention, “the Nicholas Brothers”, and people draw a blank stare. To me, the Nicholas Brothers are amazing for what they presented – a raw and more energetic way of tapping, and while entertaining, never cheesy. They have the amazing hands when they tap as well, something that Fayard still had when I had the chance to watch him sing on stage, in Herrang Dance Camp 2004 (Sweden). I am fortunate enough to have had a chance to meet the legend, have a quick chat with him, and of course have a picture with him, before he passed on in Jan 2006. To learn more about the Nicholas Brothers go to - http://www.nicholasbrothers.com/index.htm
Categories: Dance History
The following sequences are from the movie Hollywood Hotel (1937), featuring the Benny Goodman Orchestra. Benny Goodman was hailed as the King of Swing, and was largely responsible for spreading the music and culture to the whole country, especially to the West Coast, because his 1934 engagement with the radio program “Let’s Dance”. And many would pin the official start of the Swing Era on Goodman’s gig at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles on 21 August 1935 (although in effect, it has been going on for a while now, with all the hot bands playing up in Harlem and the Lindy Hoppers dancing where they had a chance).
This clip shows the Swing anthem “Sing Sing Sing” (which to me has too much and too long drum solos, especially in the album versions), with Gene Krupa on drums, and Harry James on trumpet
The following unusual medley combines “I’ve Got a Heartful of Music” and “House Hop” with the Benny Goodman Quartet, with Teddy Wilson on piano and Lionel Hampton on vibes, playing “Avalon”. The young Harry James, who would come to lead one of the more successful big bands later, takes the solos on trumpet again.
Goodman made history by integrating his band by having Hampton and Wilson, not just on recordings but also in life performances – a daring move in a time of seggregration. But Goodman was not interested in racial lines, he was interested in having great musicians. Thus Goodman made a good Swing icon for he had a rags to riches story, and he bridged the entertainment divide not only with an integrated band, but also for being a white band that played hot jazz normally associated with black bands (no doubt because of Fletcher Henderson’s arrangements, and Goodman’s own disciplinarian approach to leading the band).
Categories: Music · Personalities
