Benny Goodman

1909-1986
Who was he?
Benny Goodman was a hugely influential jazz
clarinet player, band leader, and activist.

Probably most famous for Sing, Sing, Sing,

popularising the ‘krupa beat’ with his drummer
Gene Krupa.

Goodman's bands started the careers of many

jazz musicians. During an era of racial
segregation, he led one of the first integrated
jazz groups, his trio and quartet
Early Life + Career Overview
● Grew up as a poor immigrant and moved to slums in Chicago, dad would take him to
free concerts in his local park, received music lessons from classical players as well as
jazz players

● By 13 was playing on boats and dance halls where he met Bix Beiderbeck. At just 16 he
moved to New York and became a session artist

● In 1938 played to Carnegie Hall which shot him - as well as jazz as popular music - into
the mainstream

● Fell slightly out of popularity due to the rise of Parker and Bebop becoming the
dominant subculture of Jazz
Clarinetitis - Context/Recording Details
Recorded in 1928

Trio:

=> Benny Goodman on clarinet

=> Mel Stitzel on piano
=> Bob Conselman on drums

Original composition - showcasing his musical style

Clarinetitis - Analysis
What is distinctive about the track?

- Switching between his high and low register => displaying a strong control

- Idiosyncratic phrasings => asymmetrical dynamics and phrasings

- Fast tempo => improvisation incorporates elements of bebop style

- Flawlessness when playing intervallic leaps & switching between registers

at such a fast pace
 Clarinetitis - Analysis
=> growl tones, glissandos &

accents (0:46)

=> these stylistic choices; like the vibrato & placement of articulations over the
fast tempo, creates a strong contrast to his prior phrasings, which were very
“forward motion sounding”
(1:13)
=> covers 2 octave range
=> displays highly syncopated phrases
=> shows control when playing
such sudden intervallic/octave leaps
I’m a Ding Dong Daddy - Context/Recording Details
● Recorded in 1937, released as part of “Benny Goodman On The Air”, Composed by
Phil Baxter in 1928,

● Named after Dumas, Texas and has become the town’s pseudo anthem

● Commonly used as a humorous show piece to spice up a setlist

● Classic quartet: Lionel Hampton on Vibraphone, Gene Krupa on drums and Teddy
Wilson on piano. One of the first racially integrated groups in America

● Perfect example of Goodman’s showmanship/appeal as he translates intent of OG

tune into a complex yet light hearted instrumental take
1. Treatment Of The Melody
2. Surprising Arrangement Choices
● Chromatic descending figure introduced in piano solo and returns in backings to
drum solo, interrupts flow and surprises audience

● B section solo break hits don't come in until Benny’s solo - Subverts 16 bar form
which audience would have been familiar with

● “Stop start” ending, adds to humour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xs2whQPZug
2. Virtuosity
● Alternates between repeated notes and flourishes, relatively diatonic, focus is on being
ear catching

● Tonal variation matching the bands’ energy

● Difficult intervallic line creates yodelling effect which adds to humour (1:43)
Clarinet a la King
This arrangement was done by Eddi Sauter and Recorded in 1941
Recorded by Benny Goodman and his Big Band

This track shows a development in the harmonic and rhythmic language used
by both Goodman and Sauter's arrangement. This recording came a few years
after his performance at Carnegie hall so he was comfortably in the
mainstream. What Goodman did not know at the time was that soon there
would be major musician strikes across america regarding the recording of
music, so there were few recordings made between 1941 and 1944 due to
ASCAP’s licensing war with music publishers.
Musical Analysis
It starts with an intro that foreshadows the descending bassline in the main harmony of the A section; it seamlessly
flows into the head of the piece. The piece is an AABA structure with many interludes between repeats, these
interludes often a evoke a classical or film music-esque sound as they explore interesting colours such harmon mutes
and saxophone trills and at one point piano, bass, guitar all drop out to create contrast for when the head comes
back and we are back into the AABA.

Goodmans playing and style is showcased strongly during this tune, the whole piece is a clarinet feature, and the
music uses a large range and full ability of the clarinet. As well as technical proficiency, you can hear from his playing
that Benny Goodman also has a profound understanding of the arrangement, as he catches all of the background
hits. The backgrounds in this tune are very busy and give the piece its charm and a strong sense of polish as they
keep the piece exciting - there are some backgrounds that feature tutti accented quavers, and some backgrounds
which feature pads in the tenor range to allowed the altissimo clarinet to pierce over the top.
Additional information
The arrangement was clearly inspired by the classic American Big Band Swing era, with Count Basie and Duke
Ellington being the most clear point of inspiration with most instruments only playing with their section and most of
the time in simple closed voicing, this would lead to be some of the last music that goodman would write or play that
would do commercially well.