Benny Goodman - Complete Benny Goodman Carnegie Hall Concert 1938

The Complete Concert Has Been Digitally Remastered and Captures Goodman and his Orchestra at the Peak of their Performance. Guests Include Count Basie. Album Details

great swinging music

this digitally remastered product is much better than the old LP I had of this concert. I enjoy the music every day! June 11, 2008

Sing Sing Sing

I'm listening to Sing Sing Sing from this recording as I type.

One word. Sublime. May 29, 2008

uneven but delightful nevertheless!

The sound in this CD is uneven, which is to be expected given the original recording scenario. I can't speak to the remastering quality, because I have not heard the previous attempts so disdained by other reviewers. What I do know is this CD captures some real excitement and features some of my favorite artists. I would buy this CD if only for its version of "One O'Clock Jump." I've heard various versions of this by Goodman and Basie, but the clarinet on this one exudes unbridled joy. And like most listeners, I get a real kick out of Jess Stacy's break in "Sing, Sing, Sing." Concerning "Honeysuckle Rose," a favorite of mine, I enjoyed hearing some of my favorite artists, but come on, 17 minutes! I was less than enthused at its finish, as was the original audience as evidenced by the unremarkable applause. "I'm Coming Virginia" and "Blue Reverie" were excellent. I'm very glad I got a chance to "attend" this concert, even though while in the car I have to keep hitting the volume control buttons up and down to capture it. One of my top five recordings! May 16, 2008

A forgettable, but forgivable attempt

The public reception to the 1999 Columbia Masterworks release from the newly uncovered masters of the 1938 Carnegie Hall concert was mixed: some appreciated the improved depth of sound while others dismissed it because of the significant increase in surface noise when compared to the original 1950 Columbia release.

So, when Jasmine issued this release -- an attempt to gain the benefits of the masters uncovered in 1998 without the surface noise -- I was intrigued. Could we have a release that retained most of the added depth of sound provided from the uncovered aluminum masters, but successfully eliminate the pops and scratches?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. The subtleties, the nuances of performance that the Columbia 1999 release reveals is lost from the noise reduction technology that was applied, leaving me, the listener feeling distant and disconnected from the performance.

I can hardly blame Jasmine's attempt; there was clearly demand for a less scratchy version of the remastered release, but in my opinion, the sacrifice made to reduce the surface noise is just too great.

If you're not able to put up with the scratches and pops from a recording made in 1938, then this might be a good compromise. If you want to get as close as you can to the experience of being right there in Carnegie Hall, you'll instead want the Columbia Masterworks version. May 2, 2008

A Renewed Aquaintance

I have long enjoyed listening to the first Columbia CD release of this concert. I dickered a long while deciding if I really wanted to pay for another copy. Darned glad I did!

From the opening notes of "Blue Skies", it was immediately apparent that this is a HUGE improvement over the old Columbia CDs. The horns sparkle instead of sounding muffled, the ambience is like that in a concert hall instead of sounding like you're listening from the lobby, there are NO noticable surface noises instead of the pronounced hiss/pop/click evident in the old CDs. While I have not heard the newest Columbia (Phil Shapp) release, reviewers here seem to feel that although it is crisp, there is still a lot of surface noise.

One of the big treats with this remastering is hearing just how much Gene Krupa's energetic drumwork drives the proceedings, big band and small. The small group numbers come out with volume balanced and individual instuments clearly articulated; they sounded small and far away on the old release.

Some reviews here complain about the sound quality. I think these reviewers are unfamiliar with recordings from the thirties. While I have heard better audio on studio sides from this era, it is positively the best live performance sound I've heard this side of the fifties.

The content, well covered by other reviewers here, captures arguably the most important jazz concert of the era. I'm not that big a Benny Goodman fan (Fletch Henderson, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie are my staples from the swing band era), but I consider this one of the most essential sets I own. If you are going to own just one Benny Goodman recording, make it this one. March 28, 2008

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