The Man I Love George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin 3:26 Total length: 48:59.First issued in 1950, the landmark recording captured the premiere performance given by a big band in the famed concert venue.The event has been described as the single most important jazz or popular music concert in history: jazzs coming out party to the world of respectable music.
Both critical and public reception of the performances was outstanding. The subsequent discovery of the aluminum studio masters made from the original recording resulted in several high-quality CD reissues beginning in 1998. If such a concert were to take place, then Goodman would be the first jazz bandleader to perform at Carnegie Hall. Benny Goodman was initially hesitant about the concert, fearing for the worst; however, when his film Hollywood Hotel opened to rave reviews and giant lines, he threw himself into the work. He gave up several dates and insisted on holding rehearsals inside Carnegie Hall to familiarize the band with the lively acoustics. It sold out weeks in advance, with the capacity 2,760 seats going for a top price of US2.75 a seat (equivalent to 50 in 2019). They then played a history of jazz, starting with a Dixieland quartet performing Sensation Rag, originally recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1918. Once again, the initial reaction of the audience, though polite, was tepid. Then came a jam session on Honeysuckle Rose featuring members of the Count Basie and Duke Ellington bands as guests. The surprise of the session: Goodman handing a solo to Basies guitarist Freddie Green, who was never a featured soloist but earned his reputation as the best rhythm guitarist in the genrehe responded with a striking round of chord improvisations.) As the concert went on, things livened up. The Goodman band and quartet took over the stage and performed the numbers that had made them famous. Some later trio and quartet numbers were well received, and the vocal by Martha Tilton on Loch Lomond provoked five curtain calls and cries for an encore. The encore forced Goodman to make his only audience announcement for the night, stating that they had no encore prepared but that Martha would return shortly with another number. This performance featured playing by the tenor saxophonist Babe Russin, the trumpeter Harry James, and Goodman, backed by the drummer Gene Krupa. When Goodman finished his solo, he unexpectedly gave a solo to the pianist, Jess Stacy. At the Carnegie Hall concert, after the usual theatrics, Jess Stacy was allowed to solo and, given the venue, what followed was appropriate, wrote David Rickert. Used to just playing rhythm on the tune, he was unprepared for a turn in the spotlight, but what came out of his fingers was a graceful, impressionistic marvel with classical flourishes, yet still managed to swing. It was the best thing he ever did, and its ironic that such a layered, nuanced performance came at the end of such a chaotic, bombastic tune. At least three studios were involved in making a synchronized pair of acetates (at two, working together) and a set of aluminum masters (at the third). The acetates became the basis for the original 1950 double-LP album release. ![]() As technology improved the material was re-released in digital format, with new versions produced both in the 1980s and 1990s. Dont Be That Way Edgar Sampson, Benny Goodman, Mitchell Parish 4:23 2. Body and Soul Johnny Green, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, Frank Eyton 3:23 3.
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