[Dixielandjazz] Benny Goodman was Jess Stacy was Best solo

[Stephen Barbone]

Burt Wilson wrote about Jess Stacy (polite snip)

"There was a PBS documentary done on Benny Goodman in the mid-90's and
Jess
was interviewed to talk about Goodman. It is one of the most hilarious
pieces I, as a musician, have ever seen on TV. All of a sudden they cut
to
Jess, talking about Goodman, and he says, "I don't know, but it must be
written somewhere that as soon as you become a bandleader you turn into
a
pr-ck."

Listmates & Burt:

Great story. I think BG was probably a "pr-ck" before he became a band
leader. There are lots of stories out there about him, but one of my
favorites goes back to about 1929 when he was with Ben Pollack's band.
Pollack might have been a lousy bandleader, but he was a good judge of
talent and had hired Benny in 1925 or 26, (along with other greats
through the years like Teagarden, Harry James, Jimmy McPartland, Ray
Bauduc, Bud Freeman, Matty Matlock  Eddie Miller, Nappy Lamare et. al.

According to the historians, in 1929 Pollack had a steady gig at the
Park Central Hotel in NYC. Sideman Goodman approached the hotel
management and offered them Ben Pollack's band, without Pollack, for
less money than they were currently paying. Pollack heard about it and
killed that deal, but he never forgave Goodman and they parted company
shortly thereafter.

Me? I would have fired Goodman on the spot. One of the pearls of wisdom
a business mentor left with me 35 years ago was: "If you have an
indispensable man in your group, fire him." Solid advice.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone