TRIVIA
TRIVIA QUESTION:
Whose January 16, 1938 concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City is described by many critics as "the single most important jazz or popular music concert in history: jazz's 'coming out' party to the world of 'respectable' music." Hint: He played clarinet and would have been 100 this year!
Benny Goodman Band
The Benny Goodman Quartet - Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa
Benny Goodman and his "licorice stick" as he called his clarinet
Answer: BENNY GOODMAN!
At this concert, Benny brought his band including such greats as drummer Gene Krupa, trumpeter Harry James and vibraphonist, Lionel Hampton. Carnegie Hall had been the concert hall for classical music, but on this night, Goodman and crew lit up the hall with hot-jazz composer Louis Prima’s number “Sing, Sing, Sing,” and people began dancing in the aisles, a first for the symphony hall!
Beno “Benny” Goodman was born in Chicago, the ninth of twelve children of poor Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire. The most popular clarinetist in American history, it's clear that without Goodman the “Swing Era” would have been nowhere near as strong when it came, if it came at all.
Goodman is also responsible for a significant step in racial integration in America. In the early 1930s, black and white jazz musicians could not play together in most clubs or concerts. 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.
JazzElPaso Connection will be hosting a tribute to the music of Benny Goodman featuring Mack Goldsbury with the New Impressions (Curt Warren, Ricky Malichi and Eric Unsworth) with Mike Francis on keys! Make plans for this concert at Lancer’s East on Sunday, April 26th at 4 p.m. See Calendar for complete details!
For more on Benny Goodman, see Sources: Wikipedia.com and www.BennyGoodman.com.
