Recommendations- Building a Benny Goodman Collection

Interesting analysis of Blue Skies by Fletcher Henderson on the yellow Golden Era. Sort of a “live” mixing console demonstration.

 

Thanks! Do you have the dates and tracklists for the CDs?

 

They're in Dave Jessup's book. Too much to copy and paste without infringing copyright.

 

Thank you - I appreciate your courtesy and respect.

The "Imperfect" series were cassettes - not CDs. Issued, I believe, by the outfit that ran Joyce Records / Ajazz cassettes.

Page 23 of my book:

"In the early-to-mid 1990s, the producers of Ajazz cassettes issued a series they entitled “Imperfect” (IM). Living down to their name, the airchecks issued thereon were often off-speed, sometimes incomplete, sometimes misdated, and certainly not hi-fi. However, there were a few “first public issues” in this series...."

They're isolated tunes, not entire Camel (or sustaining broadcast) half hours.

 

LOLOLOLOL!

 

I have a long-standing gripe about "Madhouse". It clearly was a "killer diller", got many, many air checks, and clearly (if one listens to the Caravan broadcast) a fan favorite. However, it gets almost no recognition on reissues. It is one of my favorite early sides. But... It was completely dropped from any further compilations. Much the same can be said of House Hop, which is another dear fav of mine, got lots of air time, but subsequently went "dead". Were these just "songs of the week" that didn't stand the (commercial) test of time, or were they simply lost in plethora of Goodman hits (or some other explanation).

 

Maybe someone at some point decided it should not be included in a greatest hits compilation, or overlooked it, then subsequent compilations piggybacked on each other, leaving Madhouse behind. I see it was included in The Golden Age of Swing 45 RPM compilation, so it survived that cut.

Perhaps it was the title that did it in. A "madhouse" is, of course, a mental hospital. Places like Willowbrook in New York in the 1960s and 1970s were nothing to make light of, even indirectly.

Sounds like a job for Discog Dave.

 

Hello....

Madhouse (take 2) was in that Golden Age of Swing compilation (RCA Victor LPT / EPOT 6703), and despite it being a "limited edition"* it was, I believe, available well into the late 1960s. Later copies were packaged in a simple box, versus the original bound album.

That longevity in print precluded RCA issuing it anywhere else; it probably wasn't viewed as a "major, popular hit" along the lines of "Don't Be That Way," "King Porter," or "Sing, Sing, Sing."

House Hop? Same story. Same compilation, so likely the same reasoning. (The performance of HH there was the first issue of take 2, so originally-issued takes 1 and 3 were left in the dust.)

It was just a handful of years between LPT 6703 going out of print and the first volume of The Complete Benny Goodman hitting the market.

*Warren Hicks once asked if I knew what the limitation was on that LP set. Snarky reply from me: "as many as Victor could sell." Speaking seriously, at some point they did stop numbering the things; there was no serial number in the booklet of the simple-box copy I once saw. And Victor had initially planned to cap it at 60,000 copies.

 

For the record; I have both in this nice CD from 1993

 

That pesky last record!
Any collectors here know that idea. There is one last record, not particularly valuable or rare, but that one you just can't find. It's not an urgent priority but keeps you from knowing you have "every" record. For me that was Victor 25363, not particularly rare or valuable. Not even one of my favorite Victor sides. Just simply couldn't find it. For at least two years, couldn't find it.

Until now. It arrives today and I can happily say "I have every Goodman Victor". I'm three away from "every Goodman red Columbia" and closing in on the blue wax as well. (I don't ever think I'll see the day when I have every Goodman 78, esp. with Riffin' the Scotch going for over $1000 on online auction sites).

Anyone else have a "pesky last" record, CD, 78?

 

Not the same, but my grandmother was a radio personality in the 1930's into the 1940's, until not long before I was born. My uncle took all of the acetates of her with him to Alaska from our home in the mid 1960's, and lost them. He died some years ago. My holy grail find would be that pile of acetates of my grandmother on the air. They may very well survive.

 

Back in the 1990s, I went to antique malls and shops in small, often depressed towns in the Midwest looking for blues 78s. Some shops had stacks of 78s with tons of big band records, which I was not interested in. Perhaps, if and when you are retired, you might want to just go driving through the middle of nowhere looking for these towns and shops. Where they are these days, and if they still exists, is anyone’s guess.

 

That's been my pandemic hobby, when the places are open. I found a nice stack of western swing, which isn't my particular interest, but there was some very early stuff. Other than Goodman, I'm not particularly interested in big band 78s but found a nearly complete set of Miller's Bluebirds for very literally next to nothing, so grabbed them for future swapping opportunities. I'm also finding many 78 dealers are throwing in the towel and often sell inventory for good prices.

 

I went to a flea market back in the 1990s and the seller essentially gave me his box of 78s. He was tired of carrying them around.

 

Speaking of collecting obsessiveness, I finally was able to buy (at a reasonable price) the fifth and final Nostalgia Arts CD. Did I really need it? Probably not. There's plenty of music in the first four volumes. But it is nice to have everything . . . which I why I still want to obtain all of the Goodman Phontastic Camel Caravans. Do I need them? Did I really need all of the Congress Hotel CDs? Of course not. But how else to proceed if you want to build a Benny Goodman collection?

 

I'm listening to an Artie Shaw 45 RPM EP (RCA), and it sounds really good using the "78" treble setting!

 

I'm glad to read this. I play everything on that setting now. Never knew what I was missing!

 

Close enough!

 

WOW! ZA!
I just picked this up from my new favorite Pittsburgh record dealer and wow!
King Porter Stomp.
Wow.

 

The Complete Capitol Small Group Recordings of Benny Goodman 1944-1955 sounds quite nice using the "78" setting. The drumming is very crisp, and Benny's clarinet has a nice full clarity. (The bass is best left on the RIAA setting.) This is all nicely assisted by my AT microline cart, which cost as much as my turntable! I save that cart for my audiophile records.

I was lucky enough to get a mint copy of this set from the Mosaic people for about $115 a few years back (number 0003) when no seemed much interested in Mosaic LPs and CDs for some reason. I bought a copy of the Benny Goodman Columbia and Okeh set at cost when it was in its long OOP hiatus, and I picked up the Classic Capitol Jazz Sessions set (19 LPs) for $99. I could have have the entire Commodore set for a few bucks per LP as well, but I didn't think I could find a place for it (let alone lift it). I'm not that big of a fan of Commodore anyway, so I settled for seven individual Commodore LPs from the same seller for $20 total. I don't know what was going on with buyers that summer. I guess everyone was on vacation.

 

Nice! I wish I had seen them at the time, esp. the Columbia/Okeh set. I have it on CD, but would love to have the Lp version.

 

The Columbia/Okeh set was/is only available on CD, unfortunately.

I've changed my mind about the settings for the Capitol LPs. The second LP (or side two of LP 1, I forget which) sounded much better with the standard RIAA setting for the treble. Maybe it has something to do with when/how these earlier sides were recorded.

 

I think someone wrote that here before. I can't keep the various releases from Mosaic straight, but wish I had the money at the time to buy more. I really want the Webb/Fitzgerald set, but it goes for lots of $$$ now.

 

Listening to the Ella Fitzgerald Decca recordings (four volumes covering 1935-55) on Spotify.

Does the Mosaic set have all of the Webb and Fitzgerald Decca sessions (1934-41) even where they don't play/sing together? That's what it looks like.

 

As far as I can tell yes. He only did about a dozen sides on Decca before Fitzgerald became his vocalist, but continued to cut one side vocal and the other side instrumental for several years. It's some of those sides I haven't completely tracked down on this set. While I have all these recordings in one form or another, it is Mosaic's attention to detail during remastering that makes me covetous of this set.