Goodman, Benny (clarinet) - Freiburg, 1959

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That Thursday in Freiburg back in October 1959 remains an intoxicating experience. A tight and sprightly band in top swinging form, the elegant tones of Benny Goodman's clarinet and the sensational Anita O'Day. O'Day's sensuality and mellow phrasing in Fats Waller's impudent „gHoneysuckle Rose" and Earl Bostic's somewhat frivolous, leisurely version of „Let Me Off Uptown" make these sets spark and crackle with energy even 50 years on. The recordings reveal the warmth and enthusiasm with which the King of Swing was received on his tour of Germany.

The tumultuous applause was merely a foretaste of the liberating effect that rock'n'roll was about to unleash - a new genre which before long would steal the limelight from those in the jazz world who had made it possible. Goodman's orchestra, effectively a band of bandleaders, showcases one of the finest line-ups of the post-war era and underpins the evening's success with solos that are sharp and savoured to the full. Almost a generation separated Jack Sheldon and Jerry Dodgion from Goodman and the idiosyncratic Red Norvo, but the ensemble-playing is superb. A real highlight is the medley based on „Not For Me" featuring the scatting O'Day.