Klarinet Archive - Posting 000176.txt from 1996/06

From: Mitch Bassman <mbassman@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: I search of "goodbye"
Date: Wed, 12 Jun 1996 17:19:03 -0400

On Tue, 21 May 1996, Fonda Du Bois wrote:
> I'm in need of the music to a piece used by Benny Goodman entitled
> "goodbye" he used it in hi sign offs . The only recording I have
> found of it is of Richard Stolzman and it is supposedly written by
> Gordon Jenkins. If anyone out there has heard of this piece please
> respond.

I know it's been three weeks since this request was posted, but I don't
recall seeing any other replies. I hope this information is still useful
to Fonda Du Bois -- a great non de plume (er, nom de keyboard) for a
clarinetist, by the way!

A couple of days ago I was listening to one of my Benny Goodman CDs and
when "Goodbye" began (on the final track, of course), I remembered this
request from "Fonda." I actually have two recording of this song --
neither of which is Fonda's Stolzman performance.

1. The first, a great reissue of old Benny Goodman performances, is on an
album called _Benny Goodman and his Orchestra: Sing, Sing, Sing_ on a
Bluebird (Treasury Series Digitally Remastered) CD (5630-2-RB). There are
21 short tracks ending with "Goodbye." The performance of "Goodbye" was
recorded on September 27, 1935, in Hollywood, with the following
personnel:

Benny Goodman, clarinet
Nate Kazebier, Bunny Berigan, Ralph Muzzillo, trumpet
Red Ballard, Joe Harris, trombone
Bill Depew, Hymie Schertzer, alto saxophone
Art Rollini, Dick Clark, tenor saxophone
Jess Stacey, piano
Allan Reuss, guitar
"Goodbye" by Gordon Jenkins, arranged by Gordon Jenkins (BS-97016-1;25215-A)
(No, Gene Krupa does not play in this number.)

Here's a excerpt from the liner notes (by Mort Goode):
" 'Goodbye,' the band's signature theme, was one of the earliest
recordings of the songs in this collection. Gordon Jenkins, the composer,
wrote the chart. Hymie Schertzer, once describing that night at the
Palomar when the Era was born, said: 'It was unbeliveable. They stood in
front of the band by the hundreds. They knew the charts. They loved it.
And another strange thing, the song we played to bring the band on was not
the usual theme from the "Let's Dance" show. Benny used "Goodbye" as a
come-on theme, as the opening, and the whole darn arrangement. It ran
about six minutes.' (This recorded version run a mere 3:22. That was
almost the outer limit of recording length in 1935.)"

2. My other recording of "Goodbye" is on _Eddie Daniels and Gary Burton:
Benny Rides Again_, a fairly recent album on a GRP CD (GRD-9665), with
Daniels and Burton recreating a lots of the music of Goodman and
vibraphonist Lionel Hampton. This perfomance (whose timing is 5:44) was
recorded (coincidentally) in Hollywood in January 1992 with the following
personnel:

Eddie Daniels, clarinet
Gary Burton, vibraphone
Mulgrew Miller, piano
Marc Johnson, bass
Peter Erskine, drums

The different instrumentation results in a totally different listening
experience. Here's a excerpt from the liner notes (by Leonard Feather):
"This exquisite Gordon Jenkins song became Benny Goodman's closing
theme throughout his bandleading career. Because it was associated with
his orchestra, rather than with one of the small groups, Eddie and Gary
had to devise a way to make their version no less true to the combo
setting. During the opening chorus, Eddie stays close to Goodman, who in
turn, hewed close to Jenkins; but beyond that point he did something I
never heard Benny do, namely improvise on the challenging chord changes.
This transforms "Goodbye" into a vehicle that is dually effective; it's
strange that the swing king of the clarinet never thought to experment in
this manner. Some 55 years after it was composed, the tune becomes more
valid than ever."

**

I think both performances are wonderful in their own ways. Benny
Goodman's rendition is very moving; Jenkins's arrangement showcases his
sweet sound perfectly. When Eddie Daniels begins his version, he sounds
just like BG -- well, not exactly; the change in technology afforded by
ED's digitally mastered modern recording brings out all the highs and lows
that are missing from the classic BG recording, but the style is a great
imitation. It's Gary Burton's first entrance (with the vibes imitating
the saxes and brass on the BG recording) that shocks me into awareness
that it's not Benny's big band arrangement. But it's great Daniels and
Burton.

Mitch Bassman "Treat friends as family and family
mbassman@-----." -- Somebody's mother