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A Tribute to Benny Goodman
featuring the Stan Rubin Orchestra
They say, "Swing Is
Back!!"
Well, Stan Rubin and his Orchestra NEVER LEFT!
---SRO
 "Swing is a form of music
that grew out of jazz," explains Stan Rubin. "The beauty of big-band swing is
that it combines musical structure with improvisation, the hallmark of jazz, but
swing doesn't abandon the melody like some modern jazz."
Speaking with an unbridled
passion, the acknowledged "crown prince of swing" - Stan declared, "I loved the
swing era, the whole period with soldiers in uniform for a cause we supported,
the atmosphere of innocence. People then knew musicians the way they knew
baseball rosters. If I had been old enough at the time I would have skipped
school to go to the Paramount Theatre in New York to see shows like Benny
Goodman with Frank Sinatra."
As ruler of his particular
kingdom, Stan has put his money where his mouth is: He invested $300,000 in a
library of swing, a collection of the arrangements played by the likes of
Goodman, the Dorsey Brothers, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Harry
James and a half-dozen others who swung America from the 1930s into the early
50s. And he continues to keep this brand of music on the menu, through live
appearances by the Stan Rubin Orchestra at the Swing 46 Jazz and Supper
Club in New York City. Here they play tunes that keep your toes a
tappin’ and bring a flood of nostalgic memories with tunes like “It’s Been a
Long, Long Time,” “Goody Goody,” and Glenn Miller’s, “In the Mood,” which Mr.
Rubin calls “the Beethoven’s Fifth of the swing era.” These are not simply
contemporary versions of swing classics — they are virtually exact arrangements
from the historic kings of swing — Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Tommy Dorsey,
Harry James and a dozen others.
The Swing Era returns to
Lebanon in a tribute to bandleader, Benny Goodman – who directed
one of the most popular bands of the swing era. For a kid who liked jazz,
Chicago was a great town to grow up in. Musicians had begun working their way
north from New Orleans about the turn of the century, and by the early 1920s
giants like "Jellyroll" Morton, Sidney Bechet, "King" Oliver and Louis Armstrong
were playing in Chicago and making history.
Kids who paid attention to
this development were going to make history themselves in a few more years - Bud
Freeman, Davie Tough, Eddie Condon, Milt Mesirow (Mezz Mezzrow), Gene Krupa, "Muggsy"
Spanier, Jimmy McPartland, Jess Stacy - and a kid in short pants who played the
clarinet.
Benny Goodman was only 10
when he first picked up a clarinet. Only a year or so later he was doing Ted
Lewis imitations for pocket money. At 14 he was in a band that featured the
legendary Bix Beiderbecke. By the time he was 16 he was recognized as a "comer"
as far away as the west coast. By 1934 he was seasoned enough to be ready for
his first big break. He heard that Billy Rose needed a band for his new theatre
restaurant, the Music Hall, and he got together a group of musicians who shared
his enthusiasm for jazz. They auditioned and got the job. And from there on the
rest is history…
Benny Goodman was indisputably the King of Swing - the title was invented by
Gene Krupa - and he reigned as such thereafter until his death in 1986 at age
77. Over the years he played with the greatest figures in jazz: Bix Beiderbecke,
Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Mildred Bailey,
Bessie Smith and countless others. Many of those who played with him as sidemen
later achieved fame as leaders of their own bands, as soloists, or even as movie
or TV actors - Harry James, Ziggy Elman, Gene Krupa and Lionel Hampton to name a
few. A list of Benny's hits would fill a book. In fact it filled several books
by his devoted discographer/biographer Russ Connor.
That crowded career,
spanning more than six decades, had an almost unparalleled impact on popular
music and the importance of the clarinet in both jazz and classical music.
Thousands of youngsters throughout the world were influenced to play the
clarinet through listening to Benny Goodman's recordings and live performances,
and the style of those who turned to jazz was universally patterned after what
they heard Benny play, whether or not they realized it. The popularity of the
"big band" format is another of the legacies of this musical giant.
More about Benny Goodman can
be found by clicking on the following link:
www.bennygoodman.com
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