Verve Jazz Masters 33 - Benny Goodman 
Audio CD: November 8, 1994 
Original Release Date: November 8, 1994 
Label: Polygram Records 
Bitrate: 320 kbps

Benny Goodman was a jazz clarinetist and band leader famous for the songs "Sing, Sing, Sing" and "One O'Clock Jump. " A prodigy on the clarinet, Goodman joined the professional musician's union when he was just 13 years old and made his first recording as a soloist four years later.  In the 1920s he played in orchestras, on the radio and for stage shows, and made several recordings as a sideman (including for Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday).  In the early 1930s Goodman formed his own orchestra and the Swing Era began.  He became a world famous bandleader, appeared regularly on the radio and in the movies and is often credited with introducing jazz to mainstream audiences.  By the end of his career he'd had well over 100 hit songs, including "Let's Dance," "Blue Moon, and "Six Appeal. " Benny Goodman is considered the first bandleader to perform in public with a racially integrated orchestra. 

Oddly enough, I think that the best aspect of this CD is that these songs are NOT the songs that Goodman is most well known for. Because of this, Benny, in this live performance, did not have to bow to the demands of the "whiter" side of his audience who wanted a more popular sound instead of a sound that was artistically superior; i.e. jazz. While performing many standard tunes, Benny captures the flavor of jazz far more than in a greatest hits CD, and, in my opinion, sounds better for it. ~ A Customer, Amazon

As a Benny Goodman fan and collector since I was in elementary school, I can tell you that for most of my music collecting life, I only focused on Benny's prime period, the 30's to the early 50's. I practically ignored any of his later recordings (not counting his classical recordings in the 60's. For the intent of this review, I am only focusing on jazz.) I saw this disc used for cheap, so being a huge Benny fan, I bought it. Let me tell you that after hearing this, I am now TOTALLY much more interest in Benny's twilight years. The songs here are not the ones he's known for and that's a blessing. I'm tired of hearing the same things over and over again. The absolute gem of this disk is the wonderful version of the Stephen Sondheim tune "You Must Meet My Wife". I dare ANY jazz musician to capture the sheer brilliance and relaxed atmosphere of this arrangement. It is just superb. Practically all the songs are from the 40's except this one. And you can immediately tell that the composition is on a MUCH higher level of complexity than the other tunes. To hear Benny play the work of a contemporary composer is rare. Another gem is the ballad version of Please Be Kind. It is so smooth and relaxed that it can easily be said that this is one of the BEST versions of this song. The engineering is superb and you can hear Benny's full, throaty tone with sterling effect. So Benny fans that are skeptical of his later recordings, fear not. This is a wonderful compilation of the King of Swing's later recordings. Sound is wonderful and the liner notes are very good. Nice one to add to your collection. ~ Brian H. Williams

Verve Jazz Masters 33 - Benny Goodman Tracks:
01  If I Had You 2:49 
02  Sweet Georgia Brown 4:14 
03  I’ve Found A New Baby 3:25 
04  Memories Of You 3:13 
05  After You’ve Gone 4:20 
06  Honeysuckle Rose 4:43 
07  Stardust 3:32 
08  Jersey Bounce 4:08 
09  Please Be Kind 4:01 
10  Have You Met My Wife 3:20 
11  Somebody Loves Me 4:27 
12  I Ain’t Got Nobody 4:04 
13  Poor Butterfly 2:40 
14  A String of Pearls 3:22 
15  That’s A-Plenty 5:20 
16 - Oh, Lady Be Good! 3:38