[Dixielandjazz] Carnegie Hall Liner Notes

[Steve Barbone]

on 6/16/07 3:16 AM, Stan Brager at sbrager at socal.rr.com wrote:

> Steve;
> 
> 1) You can't have it both ways. You reject what Bill and I have written
> because of a lack of a specific quote although backed by someone who knew
> Benny and worked with Benny on the mastering of the Carnegie Hall acetates.
> On the other hand, you seem to hold to certain positions regarding Benny
> Goodman simply because BG was, in your opinion, a control freak. As the song
> goes "Gotta Be This Or That".

I haven't rejected anything either of you said. Where did you get that
outlandish idea? What you say doesn't follow logically.
 
> 2) The quantity and placement of microphones at dance venues have nothing in
> common with the mics at Carnegie Hall. They were there for the regular
> symphonic broadcasts and I'm guessing that they were all overhead mics in
> order to get a good balance of sound.

Who knows why they were there. According to "legend" the only time the
single overhead mike was turned on was when Toscanini and the Orchestra
broadcast over the radio from Carnegie. But why guess that there were many
overhead mikes now? You own source said they were floor stand mikes.
> 
> 3) Why bring up the Paramount when the discussion is about Carnegie Hall?

Why not? Especially since there were TWO THOUGHTS going on in that thread.
One about Carnegie mikes and one about BG not using mikes at all except for
the announcement or vocal mike. Bob R contributed to both of them.
> 
> 4) No one, except you and Benny Goodman has ever stated that their was only
> a single mic at Carnegie. The fact that there was a mixing console backstage
> is evidence that there were several mics there.

What? Are you kidding? It was me who posted that the one mike theory of the
BG performance was A "MYTH". In fact, I posted exactly what you confirmed
several days later via your book reference. That there were indeed several
mikes. Did you not read what I wrote? Then Bob asked me for a source and I
replied that there were many sources on the internet.  Basically, to
encourage folks to do their own research rather than rely on written words
whether they be on the DJML, in books, or on the internet. BTW, Kodolin
stated there was a single mike and there are also many sources indicating
that Auturo Toscanini's weekly orchestra broadcasts were transmitted over
the radio by that single mike, ONLY.
 
> 5) I mentioned Irving Kodolin only because you mentioned his name while
> quoting from the liner notes.

OK, but Kodolin was the central figure in Ringwald's belief in the single
Mike theory, because Bob had read those liner notes and believed them.
Therefore "K" became central to the thread as a source.
> 
> 6) Believe what you want to believe, Steve. I was in New York at the time
> but my parents didn't take me there. I don't know if Bill Savory is correct
> in what he stated in the interview regarding Carnegie Hall. However, he was
> the best source of information. It would be interesting to read the
> transcript of his interview.

Thank you. Hopefully you now understand that I agree with you about the
multiple mikes. We posted almost exactly the same thing about them. My
questions concern what BG knew at the time and my beliefs on that are
subject to change if presented with credible information. The interview
transcript would indeed be interesting. Like you I was in NYC at the time
too. My parents did not take me there either, but several years later my Dad
took me to see Artie Shaw, which is why I play clarinet today.
 
> In conclusion, I thought that I'd pass on some additional information. The
> chief engineer on the mastering of the Carnegie Hall acetates was Howard
> Scott. Bill Savory and another engineer also worked on the project. Howard
> Scott was given those acetates by Benny Goodman a few years before prior to
> Benny's passing. Bill Savory was Helen Ward's husband.

Good to know, especially since BG damn near married Helen Ward according to
her, before he married John Hammond's sister.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone