Benny Goodman

The Development of Swing Jazz through Benny Goodman Although the conception of jazz occurred well before the 1920s, swing style jazz did not exist until the 1930s. This style was brought about by elaboration on the style of the 1920s era and the use of “big bands” and swung eighth notes. The emergence of this sub-genre is often attributed to individuals such as Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, and Glen Miller. The music of Benny Goodman helped develop what we think of as swing jazz today, through

Benny Goodman was born on May 30, 1909, in Chicago Illinois. He was known as “The King of Swing” to many people during his lifetime. Benny Goodman had to start somewhere though. Benny grew up in a poor Jewish family during his childhood. Benny was ten years old and he was already good at the clarinet. Benny Goodman got his education from the Hull house and started his career. By the age of thirteen, people thought he was good enough that they paid him money to perform jazz music. Later on,

Benjamin David Goodman was born in Chicago on May 30, 1909, the ninth of twelve children born to David and Dora Goodman, who both emigrated from Russia but met in America. David Goodman eked out a minimal living for his family by working for a tailor in a sweatshop. To help alleviate the family’s poverty, the children were urged to work as soon as they were old enough. For entertainment, David would take his youngest children to Douglas Park on Sundays to hear free band concerts. It was here

Britany Reed Dr. Keast Music April 15, 2015 Benny Goodman Benny Goodman the “King of Swing”. A man who owned the American Jazz and an amazing swing musician, clarinetist, and bandleader. This naming him as the infamous “King of Swing”. Goodman led the most popular musical groups known in America. Goodman was recognized as putting the most important jazz concert in history out to the public in 1938. Singlehandedly being the most recognized clarinet player for this era and doing it flawlessly

Over the course of his career, Benny Goodman had fifteen top ten songs. Despite this, his most popular song was considered to be Let’s Dance, which won a Grammy award for “Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band”. Lets Dance completely epitomizes the swing era and exemplifies Goodman’s music, making it the perfect conclusion to his career. Some of Goodman’s other hits included, as Don’t Be That Way, Avalon, Flying Home, Memories of You, Clarinet a la King and many more. Goodman’s passion

from that list would be Duke Ellington and Barry Goodman, the reason for this would be that they were able to inspire the masses to get up and start swinging their partners around in one of the Swing inspired dances. ¨Several black orchestras...Basie, Ellington, Chick Webb, and Jimmie Lunceford became famous during the period,[but,] the swing age was...[mainly] [consisting of] white [lead] [bands] whose outstanding bandleaders included Benny Goodman, Harry James, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, and Glenn

to me that it was all put together by a guy named Benny, and I understood why. Benny Goodman, born Benjamin David in 1909, one of twelve children, grew up in a Chicago ghetto with his family, who fled Russian anti-Semitism. Encouraged by his father, an immigrant tailor, to learn a musical instrument, Goodman took up the clarinet at a young

Issue”). Benny Goodman, however, broke this barrier, initially in 1935 with the first interracial jazz performance, and again in his 1938 Carnegie Hall concert featuring black musicians. Benny Goodman’s career did not commence with the Trio’s 1935 performance; a clarinet player from a young age, Goodman initiated his professional career in 1925 as a member of the Ben Pollack Orchestra. During his time with the orchestra, he recorded his first solo on the song “He’s the Last Word.” In 1931, Benny

its origins in Swing and Jazz. This type of music was most popular in the 1930's and 1940's. Big Bands usually consisted of anywhere from 10 to 25 instruments. Some of the great musical sound and some of the great musicians associated with it Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. He led his popular Count Basie Orchestra for almost 50 years and was a leading figure of the swing era in jazz

The swing bands showed a highly organized approach to performing Jazz. Fletcher Henderson’s band started the evolution that established the legacy for big bands to follow, both white and black. Henderson’s band merge into the sections we now call big bands, the contrapuntal lines necessarily became more formalized and thereby less improvised. “The first signs of sectional activity appeared in the clarinet trios that is heard in Jelly Morton’s arrangements.” There are four sections including, the