Benny Goodman Still Too Good to Believe

by Sandra Gartner, The Rutland Daily Herald, August 15, 1974

Benny Goodman and his Jazz Ensemble cannot be reviewed, but only absorbed and watched with awe. Goodman, who created a subtle swing that came to be known as “chamber music” jazz, dazzled an audience of reminiscent old-timers and a few curious youngsters at the Performing Arts Center here Tuesday night.

“B.G.’s” Sextet warmed up instruments and audience before the “Man” and his licorice stick arrived on stage. “LeRoy Slam” Stewart, who plays bass, does an incredible and unique combination of bass playing and humming. It was impossible to tell where the humming stopped and the bowing began.

Vibraphonist Peter Appleyard, who joined the group in the 1970s, plays with light hands and precision rhythm. Appleyard made the “vibes” sing like bells or sound out like cymbals.

The king of them all is still Goodman, who has been a favorite of jazz audiences since the 1930s, when he played with such people as Harry James, Ziggy Elman and Gene Krupa.

Goodman’s style is the smoothest and sweetest around. He can make his clarinet wail like a horn or fill the sound with honey. The repertoire was versatile, from old favorites like “Sweet Georgia Brown” and “Honeysuckle Rose” to selections from “Little Night Music” by Stephen Sondheim.

Goodman’s daughter, Rachel, played a classical piano-clarinet duet with her father. Miss Goodman is not a great musician like her “old man,” but she does play with poise and feeling.

An innovative feature during the evening was interpretative dancing to the jazz sound by Carmen de Lavallade. Her appearance was an extension of the big band music. She moved perfectly with the notes and instruments, sometimes as a conductor and other moments as a participant.

Watching a jazz performance is an invitation to an intimate undertaking that is a very personal process for the musicians. The audience appreciated the chance and gave Goodman and his ensemble a standing ovation. As one member of the audience put it on the way out from the concert: “They just don’t make musicians like hirn anymore.”

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