Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (Complete) [Box set]

Benny Goodman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 24, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 4
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Avid Records UK
• ASIN: B000J3F7G0
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #137,740 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #63 in Music > Jazz > Swing Jazz > Vintage Dance Bands

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Don't Be That Way

2. Sometimes I'm Happy

3. One O'Clock Jump

4. Sensation Rag

5. I'm Coming Virginia

See all 28 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. China Boy

2. Stompin' at the Savoy

3. Dizzy Spells

4. Sing, Sing, Sing, Pt. 1

5. Sing, Sing, Sing, Pt. 2

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Let's Dance [From the Benny Goodman Story]

2. Big John's Special

3. Down South Camp Meetin'

4. And the Angels Sing [From the Benny Goodman Story]

5. Goodbye

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Disc: 4

1. Let's Dance [From the Benny Goodman Story]

2. Down South Camp Meetin' [From the Benny Goodman Story]

3. King Porter Stomp [From the Benny Goodman Story]

4. It's Been So Long [From the Benny Goodman Story]

5. Roll 'Em [From the Benny Goodman Story]

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Schapp was right: filtering distorts the sound, April 10, 2007

By 

John Grabowski (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (Complete) (Audio CD)

After reading so many scathing reviews of the Phil Schapp reissue of the Carnegie Hall concert, I thought I'd try this Brtish import, that allegedly wipes the noise off the discs without wiping off the sound. From the reviews below and in the music rags, I assumed I'd hear a good clean restoration. What I heard instead was proof that most people (and today's critics weened on digital sound) have chewing gum between their ears.

This is a horrible remastering that distorts the sound waves and inserts a compressed hissing sound, even on the 50s material, which was recorded on tape and should not have this strange artifact. My old vinyl recording of the BG Story music was, aside from crackle of cheap MCA vinyl, clean. On this recording there's an odd compressed hiss. (Just listen to the solo vibe opening of Avalon for an example.) But worse than that, the Carnegie numbers are dulled at the tops, have too much deep bottom (all you hear is Krupa's thumping on the bass drum) and contain lurches of tempo. At the beginning of Sing Sing Sing the drums lurch, so that they are going too fast. When the orcehstra starts playing *it* seems to be going slower, but that is really the correct tempo. Similarly there is a drum beat cut out of the solo just before the main theme recap of part one. Listening to the Schapp sides, I note that in all these parts there are loud pops that have been electronically removed here. The problem is, when you do this you also remove a sliver of the actual music; it's like repairing a damaged frame of a film by cutting the frame out--the picture jumps, you can't avoid it. I'm amazed all the people here praising the "great sound" and lack of crackle aren't noticing that the *tempo* lurches! I think we've gotten to the point where the main thing we listen to in a recording is not the *music* but the *hiss* (or whether it's there or not). We become excited when we hear the absence of crackle and hiss here, but we don't notice that music is also gone.

This is further driven home to me by all the great reviews here for the soundtrack to the BG story. This is subsubpar Goodman. He was not playing well when these tracks were made: John Hammond claims he was under great emotional strain at the time. There reportedly had to be many takes of some numbers because of this--unusual for BG--which made the band sound tired, and it seems to me they try to compensate by overblowing. The brass frequently plays out of tune or is just loud and shrill, with no dynamic control at all. George Duvivier's polished and somewhat aloof style does not fit in with the rest of the band, and the piano sound is smothered for some reason. Goodman plays out of key and in a somwhat stiff manner on numbers like Don't Be That Way, Sing Sing Sing and Roll 'Em, and even trumpeter Buck Clayton, normally reliable, sounds tired. Stan Getz is a great sax player, but his modern, detached approach clashes with the raw, straightforward Goodman approach. The best two numbers are with Hampton, who reportedly (according to Ross Firestone in his book on Benny) revitalized a tired Goodman with Moonglow and Avalon. And the other 50s stuff is pathetic, with Goodman trying to recapture glory days with such sad solists as Ruby Braff, Bobby Donaldson and Don Lamond. They serve mostly as a reminder of how great the band of Krupa, James, Elman, Stacy, et al was.

Maybe someday technology will come along that will allow the removal of hiss and crackle while leaving the music truly untouched. That day isn't here yet, and this set isn't the perfect Carnegie everyone else here is saynig it is. Also, the reviewer who says this may be all the BG you need aside from Christian sides needs to hear more BG: his Sauter 40s material is often fascinating, as is his pre-leader "Jazz Holiday" stuff, as are the thrilling mid-to-late 30s Bill Saveroy airchecks (on Sony) and broadcasts from the Camel Caravan and Madhattan room. There's even a lot of 60s stuff that finds Benny in surprisingly good form. Incidentally, to dispell once again a popular myth that keeps popping up, the Carnegie discs were not recorded with a single overhead mike. At least four were used, it turns out.

I'd stick with the Schapp transfers--or not listen to the Carnegie set at all. You can't gaze upon the Last Supper without enduring missing paint and cracks in the plaster. You can't listen to the Carnegie Hall concert without enduring ticks and pops.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This (Avid Records) is THE definitive recording of this concert!, February 7, 2007

By 

Geoff "Maine Fiction Fan" (Maine, United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (Complete) (Audio CD)

In college, I worked in the "Audio" department and, in listening to every Benny Goodman CD they had, I stumbled across a recording of this 1938 Concert at Carnegie Hall. I don't know which company produced that set, but the quality was fair ("B+" at best). When I graduated I looked high and low, and eventually purchased the Columbia "re-mastered" version of the concert. BIG mistake. The pops and crackles are so loud, you can hardly even hear the musicians ("D" quality). The Avid Records UK version, however, is AMAZING. Not only is the sound even and well-mastered, the low-volume solos are captured extremely well and there are no loud pops or distortions. For a master-to-CD transfer, I give this recording an "A" (which is the highest you'll find for this performance). This concert radiates energy and innovation; BUY IT.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a listenable version. Too bad it isn't perfect., December 1, 2008

By 

DipKnight (Durham, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (Complete) (Audio CD)

I am forced to give this a five-star rating, but it is not without reservation. The music itself should be on everyone's must-have list, and ultimately it is the music and the fact that this is the best available version of it that garners the five stars. On the other hand, I'm still searching for the perfect version of this legendary performance.

I was desperately searching for something midway between the Schaap (Sony) version, which ruthlessly preserves every snap and crackle from the acetate, and the Jasmine release, which is so completely attenuated that it sounds like it was recorded under water. This is that midway version I was looking for. Although it is by necessity not completely full range, it strikes a good balance between keeping a respectable sound quality and removing enough of the scratchiness that you can stand to listen to it for the full 1:54:56 that the concert lasts. Absolute purists may prefer Schaap, but if you are in it for the music, this is the version, except...

...for the rhythm errors. I don't understand how professional engineers can fail to compensate for skips in the original sound material. While I disagree with much of what the reviewer below has to say about the quality of the sound, which is quite well done, he is absolutely correct that the drum solo between 3:13 and 3:20 of the first part of Sing, Sing, Sing contains several clear skips. These discontinuities ruin the 'groove' of the most famous tune in the entire session.

So while this is the one I like best of the many versions of the famous 1938 Carnegie Hall concert that have been produced on CD, and while the music itself clearly rates five stars, and while this is the version I recommend you buy, I am still waiting for the perfect restoration.