Complete RCA Victor Small Group Master Takes [Import]

Benny Goodman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 14, 2000)
• Original Release Date: 1935
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Definitive Spain
• ASIN: B00005424R
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,021,023 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. After You've Gone

2. Body and Soul

3. Who?

4. Someday, Sweetheart

5. China Boy

6. More Than You Know

7. All My Life

8. Oh, Lady Be Good

9. Nobody's Sweetheart

10. Too Good to Be True

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Smiles

2. Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)

3. Where or When

4. Silhouetted in the Moonlight

5. Vieni, Vieni, Vieni

6. I'm a Ding Dong Daddy (From Dumas)

7. Bei Mir Bist du Schön, Pt. 1

8. Sweet Lorraine

9. The Blues in Your Flat

10. The Blues in My Flat

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "Master" takes us to new heights..., June 26, 2001

By 

Music lover (Burnsville, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete RCA Victor Small Group Master Takes (Audio CD)

...and that's no small (group) feat! Benny Goodman, known primarily for his work with big bands, really shows us what he is made of in the small group setting. The small group tests a musician's talent and skill since there is nothing for them to hide behind. There's no one trying to hide here among the various trios and quartets (and one quintet) most notably featuring Goodman, Teddy Wilson (piano), Gene Krupa (drums), and Lionel Hampton (vibes) among others. We're even treated to a small handful of songs featuring the vocal talents of Helen Ward, Martha Tilton, and Lionel Hampton himself!

There is a lot to love in this collection. It's historically significant in that this group of musicians were the first interracial jazz combo to perform in public. The skill and musicicianship of the players is impeccable. Benny Goodman is a true master of the clarinet and he does nothing to dispel that fact here. The 24-bit high resolution remastering makes the sound quality of these recordings (made between 1935-1939) quite excellent and clean, not the muffled, muddy and flat sound quality heard in other reproductions from this era. This is also an excellent collection for those who aren't big fans of alternate takes. This is identical to the (3-CD) "Complete Small Group Recordings" without all of the alternate takes. It's also hard to ignore this collection when it is about half the price (as of this writing) of the edition which includes the alternative takes.

In any event, this 2-CD set comes highly recommended. If you enjoy this type of music, you will not be disappointed. It's great listening from beginning to end!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars should please all but BG fanatics (you know who you are), March 10, 2007

By 

J. Flynn (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Complete RCA Victor Small Group Master Takes (Audio CD)

Great buy. I puchased my copy for just $11 online - 2 disks and 47 tracks. Sure, you can pay more (much more) for the three disk set, but why? If the extra disk's worth of alternate takes and excellent liner notes are important to you, then go with the other set. On the other hand, if you're just looking for a couple of hours of good music for a reasonable price, I highly recommend the Definitive set. Sound quality very good considering that this music was recorded in the 1930s.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous "Chamber Jazz", August 4, 2009

By 

Thomas M. Croft (Fort Collins, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Complete RCA Victor Small Group Master Takes (Audio CD)

I have been listening to jazz for many years now, and my favorite kinds are probably bebop (e.g., Charlie Parker) and early-1960's post bop (e.g., Blue Note recordings like Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage" or Wayne Shorter's "Speak No Evil" or "Adam's Apple"). Over the past couple of years, though, my appreciation for older pre-bebop jazz has grown. Though I enjoy big-band swing, I find that I enjoy small-group swing even more. Benny Goodman, as nearly as I have been able to determine, was one of the masters of this kind of "chamber jazz" (Artie Shaw's Gramercy-Five recordings are also great small-group swing and well worth seeking out on an ASV/Living Era 2-CD set called "Summit Ridge Drive").

If you have Charlie Christian's "Genius of the Electric Guitar" and/or "The Benny Goodman Sextet Featuring Charlie Christian (1939-1941)" (both Benny Goodman sextet recordings from a later period than this Definitive-Records set), you'll probably love this beautifully remastered 2-CD set from Definitive Records. As other reviewers have noted, the liner notes are fairly short and simple, but personnel information for all of the tracks is there, and the set sounds wonderful for music of this era. I can't recommend this set highly enough to fans of Benny Goodman and small-group swing in general.