Carnegie Hall, January 16th, 1938 - The Complete Concert ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED SET

First, I am not a music critic. However, as the old saying goes-"I know what I like and I LOVE THIS" recording. I grew up listening to jazz/big band music, including nearly everyone who was anyone, but had never heard this concert. I bought a cassette and it was, if not terrible-certainly not good. Since the advent of internet, I have hunted/listened to various offerings of this event. All were less than desirable; poor quality sound, clicks & pops, some sounding like fingernails on a chalkboard. There was nothing out there worth listening to--UNTIL THIS CD set! It is absolutely the best recording ever of this concert. Crystal clear sums it up. Full bodied sound without any extraneous noise-of any kind. Since many experts/aficionados rate this as the greatest jazz concert ever, it is only fitting that this 2cd set be rated as the greatest recording of the greatest jazz concert. This set, by the way, is the full complete concert. The repeat function on my cd player is about to get a serious workout. Simply the best!!!

Yes, I too was rather dismayed by the inordinate pops and crackles served up by the former Columbia Masterworks release of the legendary Benny Goodman performance at Carnegie Hall in January of 1938. The musicianship thrilled me while the sound quality dampened much of my reverie. I am an avid collector of very old 78 rpm records, but even this didn't prepare me for the overwhelming surface noise of the Columbia edition of the show. I feared no one would ever improve upon that version, and I may have someday had to remaster it personally. On a whim, I decided to search for this performance once again on Amazon, and found several retooled versions. Excitedly, I read the reviews of each one. The fine elucidation of a former reviewer of this version convinced me to take a chance. When it arrived, I played it immediately. Within a few seconds of the opening of "Don't Be That Way", I knew I had made a sound choice. Here we have all the fidelity that could be offered to us from 1938 mobile recording equipment - without the crackles, and sublimely equalized. The result is a sound that completely rivals the best studio sessions of '38. There is no artificial limitation of the sonic range. The trumpets' resonance and brightness is present. The stomach-tickling boom of Gene Krupa's drums is exhilarating. Even the vocal selections are surprisingly crisp for a 1938 recording. As a testament to the honor given to preserving the atmosphere of the concert, the very fine acoustics of Carnegie Hall itself can be readily discerned ringing out as open and airy echo, enhancing and reminding one that this was, indeed, a live event. Hearing the crystal clear applause at certain emotional high points, and following each number solidifies that live concert vibe. This is the clean sounding, warm and crisp version you've always wanted to hear. The dynamic range is well preserved, and appropriately presented. This is Benny Goodman, live from Carnegie Hall in January of 1938. Sometimes I'm happy, if dreams come true.

The problem with the Phil Schaap set on Sony/Columbia, I suspect, is something he had no control over: the fact that the original acetate recordings from 1938 were 60 years old before he got his hands on them. The LP issue in 1950 was made from the same recordings, but they were then only 12 years old and virtually unplayed. Pre-digital recordings deteriorate with age, and what Schaap did was supply us with a digital copy of a worn recording. To me, the best sounding version of the concert is on the original LP issues (I got an early pressing on a famous auction site for two bucks). Bright, vibrant and thrilling despite the problems with balance that are common to all issues (Teddy Wilson's piano is almost completely drowned out by Hampton's vibes in all the quartet tracks; not much bass other than Krupa's bass drum in many of the big band numbers). But as far as CDs go, when I want this great concert in my CD player, I almost always turn to this Jasmine set. There are times when it sounds a little dead (the climax of "Swingtime in the Rockies," for example, one of the most problematic parts of the performance, where the original LPs had a sudden, drastic drop in volume). But with very few exceptions, it's clean and very enjoyable. It's not clear what the source material was for the Jasmine set; Schaap's remasters, I would assume. Also, John McDonough's liner notes in the Jasmine set are the best Carnegie Hall liners ever, worth the price by themselves. By the way, you don't want the now-deleted 1986 Columbia Jazz Masterpieces issue: it's muddy, muddy, muddy, and unfortunately typical of the label's early encounters with digital remastering. But it's interesting that Sony issued, and then seemingly forgot, several of the key tracks from the concert, including "Sing Sing Sing," with CEDAR noise reduction. They are on the 1993 CD 16 Most Requested Songs. Those tracks sound great, and they are why the Schaap set is so disappointing.

L'enregistrement est tellement médiodre qu'il est de temps à autre impossible d'entendre les solos de la clarinette de Benny Goodman, car les instruments de percussion ont été amplifiés de telle sorte que ça couvre l'orchestre. Ce CD a été probablement enregistré avec du matériel de mauvaise qualité. Il faut aussi avouer que l'enregistrement initial a été réalisé en public, avec le matériel existant en 1938. Amazon l'a bien compris au point où j'ai été rapidement remboursé sans devoir leur retourner le CD. Je les en remercie encore.

Als Fan von Gene Krupa, dem genialen Schlagzeuger, suchte ich in YouTube nach einer schönen Aufnahme von Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing). Bei der Gelegenheit stieß ich auf die Aufnehme dieses Konzerts, die zur damaligen Zeit technisch eigentlich gar nicht möglich war. Die abenteuerliche Geschichte der technischen Tricks, die es ermöglichten, die Aufnahme bis in unsere Zeit in hervorragender und ungekürzter Fassung zu erhalten und zur Verfügung zu stellen, ist in dem beigefügten englischen Booklet zu entnehmen. Auf Deutsch ist es in Wikipedia wunderbar erklärt.Alle Aufnahmen zeigen die Virtuosität des Benny Goodman-Orchesters mit hervorragenden Solisten. Werr Swing mag, braucht unbedingt diese Scheibe.

first rate concert

This brought back memories of the tracks Im used to hear over the radio in my younger days. However, I found the soundtrack a bit "muddy" and I thought the microphone/s were a bit too close to the drums.

Seit die restlichen Teile des Mitschnittes dieses unglaublichen events wieder verfügar sind - wie schwierig es war, diese wieder aufzufinden, wird im booklet eingehend beschrieben! - kann man nun den 18. Jänner 1938 vollständig nachvollziehen. Tontechnisch erstklassig aufbereitet, mit einem unwahrscheinlich guten signal/noise-Verhältnis (bezogen auf die Technik, mit der das Konzert mitgeschnitten wurde), kann man dem entfesselten Spiel von Goodman, James und all den anderen, und natürlich der treibenden, oder besser: drivenden Kraft des Abends, Gene Krupa, mit Hingebung lauschen.