Ken Burns Jazz

1	Waitin' for Katie / Ben Pollack & His Orchestra 3:03
2	Clarinetitis 2:28
3	It's Tight Like That / Jimmy Bracken's Toe Ticklers 2:51
4	Who? / Red Nichols & His Five Pennies 3:04
5	Royal Garden Blues / Ted Lewis & His Band 3:00
6	King Porter Stomp 2:55
7	Body and Soul 3:27
8	Roll 'Em 4:17
9	You Turned the Tables on Me 2:52
10	Sing, Sing, Sing 8:42
11	Don't Be That Way 4:20
12	Avalon 4:15
13	Flying Home / Benny Goodman Sextet 3:19
14	Rose Room / Benny Goodman Sextet 2:49
15	Let's Dance 2:35
16	Memories of You / Benny Goodman Sextet 3:15
17	Benny Rides Again 4:45
18	Air Mail Special / Benny Goodman Sextet 3:22
19	Why Don't You Do Right? 3:13
20	Rachel's Dream / Benny Goodman Sextet 2:55
21	Undercurrent Blues 3:06
22	Goodbye 2:50

Barnes & Noble

He was a leading clarinetist in Chicago jazz in the Twenties. By age twenty-five Benny Goodman was a dance-band leader and, in 1935, playing at the Palomar Ballroom, he caused a riot when he played hot. The Swing Era was proclaimed and the King of Swing was crowned, all at once. The Goodman orchestra now meant swing music around the country, and soon members Harry James and Gene Krupa became superstars too. But Goodman's greatest achievement was in integrating the bandstand, when he hired Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson, and later Charlie Christian. Goodman now had matchless small combos as well and, when he played Carnegie Hall in 1938, jazz became a concert music. The Goodman bands' production of dance hits was unrivaled, and for forty years concertgoers as far-flung as the Soviet Union were transfixed.

All Music Guide

Benny Goodman's volume in the Ken Burns Jazz series ranges from one of his first recording appearances, on a 1927 side by Ben Pollack, all the way to the late '50s. Of the 22 tracks, there are many highlights including "Body and Soul" from his trio (with Teddy Wilson and Gene Krupa), plus two songs from his legendary 1938 Carnegie Hall concert. More than most volumes in the series however, this one was forced to bypass the original versions of Goodman classics ("King Porter Stomp," "Don't Be That Way") in favor of usually inferior radio versions. Still, Ken Burns Jazz is a cheap, easy way for listeners to introduce themselves to the exuberant swing of Benny Goodman. John Bush