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Chapter 6: The Golden Era of Big Band Swing: The 1930s and Beyond
When producer John Hammond (who also made Benny Goodman famous)
heard the Basie band’s 1936 radio broadcasts from Kansas City’s Reno Club,
he offered a recording contract and brought the band to New York City for a
gig at the Roseland Ballroom. Basie’s band expanded to 15 members and
became the house band at the Famous Door on New York’s 52nd Street.
Within two years Basie’s orchestra made its fame with hard-swinging tunes
such as “One O’Clock Jump” and “Jumpin’ at the Woodside.” Compared with
the carefully orchestrated sound of Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington’s
bands, Basie’s retained the looser, bluesy feel of the territory bands. Instead
of songs arranged all the way through, Basie’s band was known for riffing:
using head arrangements, consisting of a basic melody or “head,” at the start
of the song, followed by improvisations from several band members. Often,
the intuitive interplay between the players and sections sounded as if the
music was intentionally orchestrated.
Over the years, the Basie band doubled as a PhD program of sorts for musicians.
Basie’s list of phenomenal players include
� Jimmy Rushing, singer
� Herschel Evans and Lester Young, saxophonists
� Buck Clayton and Harry “Sweet” Edison, trumpeters
� Dickie Wells, trombonist
� Jo Jones, drummer
� Freddie Green, guitarist
Basie’s band played and recorded excellent music for several decades. Music
from the ’40s through the ’70s, with arrangements by Neal Hefti, Frank Wess,
Frank Foster, Thad Jones, is some of the band’s finest.
Every jazz collection should include a few recordings of the Basie band featuring
superb vocalists Jimmy Rushing, Big Joe Turner, and Joe Williams. Include
Sing Along with Basie, also featuring vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross in
your collection. Another must-have is the superstar collaboration between the
Basie and Ellington bands on First Time! The Count Meets The Duke.
Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman, the “King of Swing,” carried big band swing to new popularity
and led the way in showcasing star soloists. Goodman (1909–1986) openly
expressed his admiration for early African-American swing bands, such as
Fletcher Henderson’s. (I talk about Henderson earlier in this chapter.) At the
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