Benny Goodman

This is the 35th installment of the complete works of Benny Goodman as reissued in the Classics Chronological Series. Consisting of 21 selections recorded between April 29, 1951, and May 28, 1952, this album conveys the essence of the Goodman big band as it sounded throughout the Truman and Eisenhower years. Although during the early '50s many big bands had been forced to downsize or disintegrate (even Duke Ellington and Count Basie struggled), Goodman had everything going for him: sustained popularity, high-fidelity production, rock-solid repertoire, Fletcher Henderson's arrangements, and a band peppered with excellent players. These included vibraphonist Terry Gibbs and guitarists Mundell Lowe, George Van Eps, and Drifting Johnny Smith, best known for having recorded with saxophonist Stan Getz for the Roost record label. The music heard on this compilation first appeared on 10" 33 1/3-rpm records. Most of the tunes are instrumental; "Toodle-Lee-Yoo-Doo" is sung by Nancy Reed. Tracks one through 12 were drawn from the Columbia LP Let's Hear the Melody and the remainder originated on an album that found Goodman's group unobtrusively backed by string players from the Denver and Philadelphia symphonies. ~ arwulf arwulf, All Music Guide