BENNY GOODMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1939-1940 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1098 (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Despite competition from Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Count Basie, and Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman largely held on to his popularity during the 1939-1940 period. The personnel was changing in his big band, but it was still a strong outfit with trumpeters Ziggy Elman and Jimmy Maxwell, trombonist Vernon Brown, Jerry Jerome on tenor, pianist Johnny Guarnieri, and singer Helen Forrest being significant voices. Among the better big band selections on this consistently swinging CD are "Zaggin' With Zig," "The Fable of the Rose," "Shake Down the Stars," and "I'm Nobody's Baby"; however, it is the three sextet numbers that take honors. "Till Tom Special," "The Sheik of Araby," and "Poor Butterfly" feature Goodman with guitarist Charlie Christian, Lionel Hampton, and either Count Basie or Guarnieri on piano. All of the Benny Goodman recordings from this era are well worth acquiring by swing fans. Scott Yanow  
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