Benny Goodman - The Benny Goodman Small Bands Collection 1935-45 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Clarinettist and bandleader Benny Goodman was one of the giants of the swing era, with his orchestra pioneering the genre in the late '30s and riding the big band wave through into the post-ear era. However, he also greatly enjoyed playing in more flexible small jazz groups, where his superb technique had more of a chance to shine. This great-value 70-track 3-CD set brings together a significant proportion, but excluding vocal performances, of the titles he recorded in Trio, Quartet, Quintet, Sextet and Septet environments the heyday of his swing orchestra, often recording with artists drawn from the current incarnation of his bands. It comprises recordings on the Victor, Columbia and Okeh labels, and not surprisingly features a host of significant jazz personalities, including Teddy Wilson, Gene Krupa, Lionel Hampton, Charlie Christian, Cootie Williams, Count Basie, Red Norvo, Slam Stewart, John Kirby, Fletcher Henderson, Johnny Guarnieri, Georgie Auld and many more. It's a thoroughly enjoyable anthology of small band jazz that defies being categorised, ranging across both well-known standards and original compositions, and allows us to hear Benny and his colleagues swinging and improvising in some star-studded line-ups Album Tracks 1. After You've Gone 2. Body and Soul 3. Who ? 4. Someday Sweetheart 5. China Boy 6. More Than You Know 7. Lady Be Good 8. Nobody's Sweetheart 9. Dinah 10. Sweet Sue, Just You 11. My Melancholy Baby 12. Tiger Rag 13. Stompin' at the Savoy 14. Whispering 15. Ida 16. Tea for Two 17. Runnin' Wild 18. Avalon 19. Handful of Keys 20. The Man I Love 21. Smiles 22. Liza 23. Where or When 24. Vieni, Vieni 1. I'm a Ding Dong Daddy (From Dumas) 2. Sweet Lorraine 3. The Blues in Your Flat 4. Sugar 5. Dizzy Spells 6. Opus 1/2 7. I Must Have That Man 8. Sweet Georgia Brown 9. 's Wond