The birth of big band jazz
The world sometimes gives birth to creative and innovative individuals. These rare men often leave their mark on the world, forever changing a facet of our society and culture. The arts, specifically music and jazz, have had a more volatile history than history than perhaps any other genre in the spectrum of popular culture. One of these innovators, Benny Goodman, rekindled the flame of jazz with a new and exciting form of swing that brightened the stagnant waters of music. This revolutionary swing style was dubbed Big Band. While other bands conformed to the swing jazz mold, Benny Goodman and his group of your diverse musicians sought to change jazz as a whole, and in the effort ushered in the Swing Band Era. Yearning for success in the music business, Benny Goodman quickly gathered a group of fresh musicians, and in showing the might of his band, the hot new group, which had the credit of sparking the swing era, gained national noteriety. Karen Johnson mentions that jazz clarinetists Johnny Dodds, Leon Roppolo, and Jimmy Noone collectively fueled Benny's inner desire to lead a band (1). Finally feeling seasoned enough to make it in the big band circuit, Karen Johnson adds that Goodman formed a twelve piece big band in 1932 (
Benny Goodman had a strong set of principles and standards that his band members lived up to, and in living by these rules, the Goodman band toured with success and broke racial boundaries of which had never been crossed. Similarly, Crow adds that in order to keep up with the rising demands of his fans, Goodman hired highly acclaimed arrangers Fletcher Henderson and Eddie Sauter to write him music for future gigs(1). Many of his musicians spoke of 'the ray', or the penetrating glare he would give someone who wasn't putting out the effort required to be in the Goodman Band (3). Similarly, it is possible to infer that Benny's band was credited with the start of the Swing Era because of racial issues of the time. As written by Johnson, Goodman was known for being quite the martinet. In the defense of the black bands of the epoch, Time Magazine writes, "Only the negroes Duke Ellington and Count Basie could boast of better big-time swing bands. In bringing in the Swing Era, Goodman, along with his band, changed popular music on a wide-spread basis. Additionally, Newsweek states that the Stan Kenton Band, which grew to be one of the most influential big bands of all time, was inspired by Benny Goodman's creativity (66). Goodman also affected the future sound of swing. With a keen eye for talent, as well as a sense of humanity unrivaled by his peers, Benny Goodman's band soared to previously unreachable heights in mainstream jazz.
Common topics in this essay:
Benny Goodman,
Eddie Sauter,
Tischler Benny's,
,
Angeles August,
Karen Johnson,
Swing Era,
Goodman Band,
Benny Goodman's,
Gene Krupa,
benny goodman,
goodman band,
swing era,
goodman's band,
black bands,
gene krupa,
lionel hampton,
benny's band,
hampton gene krupa,
hampton gene,
goodman quickly,
benny goodman quickly,
lionel hampton gene,
|
Acceptance Essays
