BENNY GOODMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1935-1936 | The Classics Chronological Series – 789 (1994) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

After a historic up-and-down, cross-country trip to Los Angeles, Benny Goodman & His Orchestra became a sensation, launching the swing era. This set has the first selections by the Benny Goodman Trio (featuring the clarinetist with pianist Teddy Wilson and drummer Gene Krupa) and the initial big band recordings after Benny Goodman was crowned the king of swing, including his closing theme song, "Goodbye," "When Buddha Smiles," "Stompin' at the Savoy," and "Goody Goody" (Helen Ward's biggest hit). The next few years found Benny Goodman at the top of the music world. Scott Yanow
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BENNY GOODMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1936 | The Classics Chronological Series – 817 (1995) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Here's a chronological survey of studio recordings made by Benny Goodman with his trio and orchestra for the Victor label during the spring and summer of 1936 in New York, Chicago, and Hollywood. Riding on solid arrangements by Horace Henderson ("Walk, Jennie, Walk"), Fletcher Henderson ("Remember," "I Would Do Anything for You," "I've Found a New Baby," "You Turned the Tables on Me," and "Down South Camp Meeting"), Spud Murphy, and Jimmy Mundy, it's obvious why this big band went over so well. Mundy's arrangements of Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood" and his own "House Hop" dramatically demonstrate the Goodman orchestra's famously fine approach to making music for slow dancers and jitterbugs alike. Two trio sessions with Teddy Wilson and Gene Krupa produced ripping hot versions of "China Boy" and "Nobody's Sweetheart," a rock-solid "Oh, Lady Be Good," a gorgeous and reflective "More Than You Know," and a pair of pretty love songs sung by Helen Ward, who also pipes up on five of the big-band tracks. At this point in the Goodman orchestra's evolution, the influence of Fletcher Henderson was strongly felt. Today, decades after his demise, Henderson is finally acknowledged as the concealed genius behind some of Benny Goodman's very best recorded performances. arwulf arwulf
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BENNY GOODMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1938, Vol. 2 | The Classics Chronological Series – 961 (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Benny Goodman was busy during the three-and-a-half-month period covered by this CD, cutting 22 selections for Victor including "Margie," "Bumble Bee Stomp," "My Honey's Loving Arms," and "Farewell Blues" with his big band and excellent quartet renditions of "Opus 1/2," "Sweet Georgia Brown," "'S Wonderful," and (as a trio) "I Must Have That Man." Artie Shaw may have been surpassing in the popularity polls by late 1938, but Goodman's band (with Harry James, Ziggy Elman, Martha Tilton, Jess Stacy, and Bud Freeman, not to mention Lionel Hampton and Teddy Wilson) was still a mighty swing machine. Scott Yanow
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BENNY GOODMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1939, Vol. 2 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1064 (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

1939 was most significant in Benny Goodman's history for the discovery of electric guitarist Charlie Christian, who became a part of the clarinetist's new sextet with Lionel Hampton, Fletcher Henderson, Artie Bernstein, and Nick Fatool. On this CD, Christian is featured on such numbers as the earliest version of "Flying Home," "Rose Room," "Stardust," "Memories of You," "Soft Winds," and "Seven Come Eleven," plus the big band version of "Honeysuckle Rose." The Goodman orchestra (which still featured trumpeter Ziggy Elman) is heard on the majority of the selections, including the earliest full-length recording of Goodman's theme "Let's Dance" and a few numbers with singer Mildred Bailey. These Columbia sessions have not often been reissued in full, so this disc makes for a fine acquisition for listeners not already owning the Christian sextet tracks. Scott Yanow  

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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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