C. Benny Goodman was at the height of his legendary career back in 1938 when his publicist suggested that he play a concert at Carnegie Hall Benny laughed he certainly was a star on a radio with the camel caravan program and staging on film he of course had already had the label king of swing a tap permanently attached to his name but it was so outlandish the a suggestion that a jazz band might play inside the citadel of American high culture. Goodman is said to have laughed at the suggestion. Eventually he began to warm to the idea but he was still scared to death and so was everybody else in the band. He went as far as to ask Beatrice allele a singer in comedienne to appear on the program with him just in case things didn't go so well she might pep up the festivities wisely she turned that invitation down and saw here Rock who was the one of the primary booking agents into the Carnegie Hall stage welcomed the idea and it all took place on January 16th 1938 and it would be the stuff of legend is made of but fortunately Benny agreed. And soon forgot that he had a microphone placed directly above the band and by wires in those days of course it went to a recording studio across the street and into a recording studio in New York fortunately. We have those results today and I'll get into more of that later but just to show how to nervous everybody was trumpeter Harry James of course one of a great members of what's been known as the original Benny Goodman orchestra. Was so nervous he said I feel like a horror in church. So everyone was odd their best behavior and you can tell that they were a little nervous going into their 1st tune of the evening Benny wanted to make sure it wasn't just a standard program so it didn't start with last dance he went to to a tune he had just recorded and that was climbing up the charts and everybody was stiff as a board until Gene Krupa took a solo on don't be that way. 0 . 0 Yeah. Thanks. Thank. The the. Few shaken off cobwebs. Medicaments 130 Carnegie Hall concert began with Don't be that way after that particular performance the next tune was kind of lost for years because for whatever reason the recording of sometimes I'm happy which came up next didn't turn out all that well when it was eventually discovered and so they went on to what ended it was actually the 3rd. Song played in the program which was Count bases 1 o'clock jump for those of you who are not familiar with the story Benny was was out late to driving his car home one night when he heard a program from Kansas City he knew he was in Chicago at the time so isn't it funny how those old a.t.m. Signals used to bounce around and you could get a signal from a long way away and Count Bass he was doing a remote from Kansas City his home town Benny just went ballistic and just thought it was a marvelous marvelous band and sent John Hammond to go find him and him and brought him to New York and of course that sort of be it commenced a career that also became legendary so campy she was certainly a part later on in the Carney Hall concert of Benny Goodman in 1938 but here was another salute Benny's version of 1 o'clock jump. Thank you. It does. The 80. 8. 80. 8. . You cheering just a seat at the piano and of course an exquisite solo by Benny and the trumpet of Harry James that was the 1 o'clock jump from Benny Goodman scurvy Hall concert of 1938 at 9 o'clock it was 42 degrees here in the Denver metro area and boy did we have a glorious day for January hit 66 degrees tomorrow will be pretty much the same at 65 degrees so if you have a chance to get your Lasalle out for a spin that looks to be your pick day Saturday will be a little cooler with a high around 51 and Sunday looks like we'll get a little snow a little moisture which we certainly need high only about $32.00 and a low around 19. It's hard 80 years later to put some things in context about this particular concert but another thing that strikes me is I wonder how many African-American musicians had made it to the stage of Carney hawk by January 16th 1938. And I'll bet you 100 to one that there was no mixed group you know the words white and black musicians who appeared together on that stage until of course the Benny Goodman Cortez did so on that date of course Benny played the clarinet along with Gene Krupa at the drums and Lionel Hampton at the vibraphone and the wonderful Teddy Wilson at the piano as we go through the highlights of that concert that evening I thought the next logical choice would be a wonderful version. Of a quartet favorite Here's Avalon. The Benny Goodman quartet with their famous for sion of Avalon. You know it's interesting to look back 80 years and just think. You know some of their cost of living comparisons. As the United States was nearing the end of the depression of course in 1938 it's interesting to think that a new house an average new house cost $3900.00 average income was a little over $7900.00 a year. The new car average $860.00 average rent was $27.00 a month intuition at Harvard University for the year was $420.00 a movie ticket was a quarter and gas was $0.10 a gallon by the way the postage stamp which I think is due to go up later this month was $0.03. We are listening to the Goodman Carnegie Hall concert of January 16th $1038.00 it's legendary and it's probably the most important jazz concert in history so to celebrate the 80th anniversary of that create event we are listening to portions of that great program I encourage you certainly to go get a copy. Of the entire program with it's mostly up since some less successful moments but it certainly meets the criteria of legendary material and legendary jazz. Cajun you would like to have you join us and the Colorado friends of Cajun and Zydeco music Saturday February 3rd for our annual The Mardi Gras celebration it's an evening of music dancing costumes with Jesse Lewis Shea Ed Poole ard at Boulder's Avalon Ballroom doors open at 630 was at a code dance lesson starts at 7 in the band strikes up at 8 o'clock Texas tickets are available and are a weapon on our website a Cajun you dot org And it's always a pleasure to get your comments suggestions and requests here on you we certainly welcome them if you have any suggestions for future broadcasts of Swing Shift be sure to give me a call at 303-825-0619 as we move forward through the concert that evening next stop was Miss Martha Tilden who joined the band in 1905 and stayed through 938 before she going out on her own she was known as Litton Martha Tilton back in the day and she saying a very popular tune of 938 and one of Benny Goodman is hit Here's a lock Loman. How road and I'll take the low road but the ins got. Me to get on the bonnie bonnie. Sunday. And. Run. Down the. Meet again on the bonnie bonnie. 8. Gaining land. And. Then. Morale. Martha Tilden of course Benny Goodman version. Who Walk Alone. And of course that also featured the 2nd trumpet player famous trumpet player of the original Benny Goodman orchestra remember there are only 3 Here is Harry James of course and Ziggy Homan who would later go on to even greater fame with Tommy Dorsey Sorcha strong and Chris Griffin who also is probably sung member of that trio but an excellent trumpet player who stayed with with Benny even after most of the original members who left later in 1938 him early 1939. We are going to listen next to very much an up tempo thing next. Just kind of flies right along and here is Swing Time in the Rockies. You. To. Swing Time in the Rockies you know it's interesting that apparently 2 sets of recordings were made at the recording studio across the hall with that single mike up above the band back in 1988 in one set ended up in the Library of Congress and the other set headed up in Benning Commons closet where it was discovered by his sister in law she was clean and wondered what in the world he was well thankfully this is 1950 now more than a dozen years after the concert Benny realized what it was and it turned out in putting all of that together that it was the 1st ever double album it was one of the 1st records of Benny Goodman music issued in a new long playing format that had been introduced by Columbia only a couple years earlier and it was the 1st to solo for a 1000000 copies. It was certainly was a landmark. Recording that probably strangely enough. Was brought out at the right time when L.P.'s were really establishing themselves as the primary source of recorded music in the in the average everyday household but it's also interesting that many of the tunes that were actually recorded at the Carnegie Hall concert didn't make it to the initial release because it was thought by the executives at Columbia that the sound quality just wasn't good enough for them to release it on the original LP version so therefore back in 1999 a disc was issued and now we're talking C.D.'s of course that 2 cd performance was made available of the entire concert and this included. Phil shap of. Recording fame going to the Library of Congress and getting some of those old acetates from the Library of Congress and putting them together on the program after trying to clean them up digitally as much as possible so a complete more complete album of the concert is now available Interestingly enough in these days of computers if you actually want to see some of the performances there out on You Tube you can actually see newsreel footage of this particular legendary concert from 80 years ago this week. A couple of tunes after swing time in the Rockies the wonderful Benny Goodman quartet. Made in another. Appearance and the program and this time it was a tune that Benny it originally introduced as a big band member that also had been authored by Chick Webb but here we're going to listen to the wonderful quartet play stomp and then at the Savoy. Thank. You. Now 6. Stopping of the Savoy. Nextstep is perhaps the most so widely listened to song from the program it was supposed to be the ending piece for the concert that evening and that of course is Benny's signature piece Sing Sing Sing and there's numerous great solos in there but pay particular attention to the guy who surprised everybody with just a remarkable piano solo just AC towards the end of the piece. Is why. Use what you do has. thank. You when You. thank you. From January 16th 198880 years ago the Benny Goodman performance of Sing Sing Sing from Carnegie Hall. And that was the conclusion of the regular program that evening he went on to do so I'm rather low key figures to try to carve down the Audiencia Kearney hall that evening and I'm going to play one for you I think we have enough time. I own in 1980 less Allen I remember when the reissue came out one of the radio stations here in town actually played this and I are still remember having an out of body experience as Benny was playing if dreams come true and there I was driving my dream my 938 Sally hears if dreams come true. 18 Thank you. As we pass the 10 o'clock hour it's my duty to remind you this is k.j. New Boulder Denver and Fort Collins Stay tuned now as I will forge Yes.