Goodman Quartet Back, Playing ‘For The People’
by Bill Rice, The Times Record, August 20, 1973
It was just too much.
When Benny Goodman and his original quartet strolled onto the Saratoga Performing Arts Center stage for the second half of the Philadelphia Orchestra concert Saturday evening, the record-breaking (for the orchestra) crowd of 9,679 seeming couldn’t believe it was happening.
On clarinet — Benny Goodman. On Vibes — Lionel Hampton. On drums — Gene Krupa. On piano —Teddy Wilson.
When the familiar strains of “Avalon” drifted over the audience the people went into a trance interrupted only by spontaneous cheers and applause following each song and solos within.
There were the same four musicians who played together in the historical 1938 Jazz Concert in Carnegie Hall, generally acknowledged to be a landmark where jazz attained a new level of respectability.
In the 40s the four musicians went separate ways, coming briefly together in 1962 to make a recording.
Last winter Timex presented a one-hour jazz special on television which brought the quartet together again. Seeing them together on television was something.
But seeing them in person … wow！
The first half on Saturday’s program featured the Philadelphia Orchestra and Benny Goodman playing the Clairnet Concerto No. 1 by Carl Maria von Weber.
Alone, the Orchestra performed Weber’s “Jubilee” Overture and Piston’s Suite from the “Incredible Flutist.” William Smith, the orchestra’s very capable assistant conductor, was on the podium.
The Weber Clarinet Concerto proved to be just a warm-up for the second half of the program, which featured the quartet alone.
It isn’t the most interesting piece of music to begin with, and if the “King of Swing” hadn’t been the soloist we doubt the audience would have been nearly as attentive.
Goodman looked wonderful on stage, but very tired at a meeting with press after the concert.
“Awful,” he replied when someone asked him how he felt on stage. He didn’t sound it.
Someone asked him how he felt about the nostalgia of his music.
“It’s not nostalgia. We play. Sounds good. We hope.” It did!
How did he think the Weber concerto went?
“You’ve got ears don’t you? Listen!” It wasn’t as good as his jazz.
Pianist Teddy Wilson had something to say about the fantastic reception given the quartet by the record-breaking audience.
“The kind of music we play is for the people,” he said. “When bop came along it was for musicians only.”
Wilson is the least known member of the original quartet. Featured on “St. Louis Blues”, he proved he is still a player of immaculate taste and musical integrity. He looked as good as he sounded.
Time has taken the greatest toll on Gene Krupa. He looked drawn and tired, but his drums were still able to keep crisp time and his short solo breaks were still creating excitement.
Hampton looked and played like a million dollars, helping his solos along with that familiar nanny-goat sound as his mallets flew over his instrument.
This was really the Benny Goodian Quartet plus one, and the “one” was pretty big stuff in his own right. Slam Stewart, noted for singing along with his soles, was on bass.
This writer heard Stewart over 20 years ago in Saratoga’s Convention Hall. He was playing with Art Tatum. At the time, he was playing, and humming, very authentic jazz solos. The sound of his voice combined in unison with his bass is quite strange when you first hear it.
Unfortunately, his solo on “Lady Be Good” Saturday was more of a novelty number than jazz.
The tunes, all of which were greeted with bursts of applause, included Avalon, Moonglow, Lady Be Good, How High the Moon, Sweet Lorraine, I’ve Got Rhythm and a few others.
It was more than just a nostalgic concert. It was the past somehow, miraculously, coming alive.
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