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Re: Goodbye

Author: seabreeze
Date: 2015-05-28 21:13

Come to think of it, Benny seems to own that song. I'm not sure I've ever heard "Goodybe" performed except by him or in tribute to him, by Peanuts Hucko, even by Tony Scott.

It's the vocal quality in his playing that does the trick. Voices are like fingerprints--inextricably tied to their owner. The best pop and jazz players have always been the ones with the most memorable and distinctive voices. Just listen to a note or phrase or two and you immediately know its Shaw, Goodman, Bechet, or Fountain speaking/singing/playing. When others play this tune, they seem to drag but Benny swings even at a slow tempo, and the blues that hound you in the big city late at night haunt his solo and make it unforgetable. Kell may have added something to Benny's style, but the voice and the pathos were there all along, from the beginning.

I'd have to say my favorite recording is by Benny himself--the 1935 Victor 25215 78 with the smaltzy trumpets and the wide mellow sound of the tenor sax in the background

It's on YouTube but the direct URL is not working for me.

Post Edited (2015-05-29 23:06)

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