Today, when people talk about the “greatest” jazz quartets, it usually starts with John Coltrane’s “classic” team of the 1960s. Well, no disrespect to ‘Trane, but the FIRST quartet that really changed jazz, as well as the sextet that was really ahead of its time and is still influencing today’s musicians, was led by clarinet player Benny Goodman, aka “The King of Swing”. This three disc, 71 song set features the be-speckled mensch in trio, quartet and sextet formats that literally set the tone for small group jazz, and broke the color barrier in the process. And what have you done lately?
While Goodman is better known for his big band of “Sing, Sing, Sing” fame, it’s really these sessions that he will be best known for even 50-100 years from now. Heck, it’s already almost 90 years since the first recordings of his bass-less trio with pianist Teddy Wilson and drummer Gene Krupa, both who influenced a wide range of future jazzers and rockers.
You don’t even miss the bass, as Wilson and Krupa keep things snapping on torrid pieces like “China Boy” and Goodman shooting his AK 47 of a licorice stick on pieces like the fiendishly frantic “Who”” solo, that has to be transcribed and read to be believed. On the other side of the coin his lyrical trio version of “Body and Soul” is still one of the top 3 interpretations ever recorded, neck and neck with Coleman Hawkins and whoever you choose.
When vibist Lionel Hampton turned the team into a quartet, things went to a new plane of existence. Hampton turned up the butanes on white heat pieces like “Runnin’ Wild”, the maniacal “Dizzy Spells” the and “Avalon” with Goodman and Hamps going mano a mano on speed and dexterity. Hampton’s vibes resonate with haunting emotion on “The Man I Love” and “Sweet Lorraine”. This is the kingdom of swing at its strongest reign.
And then came a young guy named Charlie Christian, who was arguably the first artists to play jazz electric guitar and definitely the pioneer and standard setter for the six stringer up to this very day. Still, when you hear his solos on pieces like the gently swinging “Flying Home” or delicate “Memories of You”, you know something new is on the horizon. This band also was the one that created the seedlings of bebop, with Goodman and Christian sounding light years ahead of anything else at the time with “Seven Come Eleven”, “AC-DC Current” and the ultra cool “Soft Winds”. At this stage, Goodman brought in neo-boppers like Johnny Guarnieri/p, Artie Bernstein/b and Nick Fatool/dr to give the band a modern sound and vibe (no pun intended, well, maybe).
For a handful of sessions, you get some guest ringers like Cootie Williams with his growling trumpet, and Count Basie with his subliminal piano work on tunes like the lithe “Benny’s Bugle” and the astonishing “ I Found A New Baby” that still sounds fresher than 90% of what you’ll hear these days. As far as Goodman’s chops, well, I’ve been working on transcriptions of his solos such as on “I Found A New Baby”, and after 6 months, I’m only able to play it at 2/3 the speed! Goodman was rejuvenated by Christian, and Christian was on the cusp of making it big time until he was struck down with tuberculosis and dying in 1942. This is almost all that Christian recorded, so memorize it!
This is not to say that Goodman’s subsequent team with Mel Powell/p Red Norvo/vib and the hep cat Slam Stewart and his humming bass lines was sloppy seconds. The band sizzles through “Slipped Disc” and Goodman’s solo on “The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise” is still an eye popper. Socially speaking, Goodman was years ahead of Major League baseball and Jackie Robinson, always hiring the best musicians, only asking one question, “can they play?” and not looking over his shoulder for BLM implications. These cats PLAYED!!!