[Dixielandjazz] Teddy Wilson- Jess Stacy & Benny Goodman. Taken further to Fletcher Henderson

[Bert Brandsma]

In 1939 Fletcher Henderson was piano player for a while in the Goodman big band.  To my opinion musically not an improvement compared to Jess Stacy. Fletcher's arranging skills in those years  however were top of the bill. Funny, since he never made such classy arrangements for his own band. The Henderson band mostly used head arrangements that he later transcribed from his own records and sold to Benny. Coleman Hawkins thought this was a big joke. Henderson also had a lot of help arranging from Horace and his wife, former trumpeter Leora. (the original transcrips clearly give proof with their different handwritings)A lot has been said about the early arrangements for Fletcher's band by Don Redman. Recent studies have found proof that they in fact often were stock arrangements by publishing fims, that were a bit changed by Redman or other band members. They were not such original creations as often is thought. More original I guess is the way they were interpretted, with a lot of hot solos.One example is the famous FH recording of Copenhagen with Louis. Bix Beiderbecke allready recorded a quite similar arrangement several months earlier!
To my ears, the best 4 bars in Fletcher's career as a piano player are in the introduction of Flying Home, with the BG sextet. They are irrestistable.    

Bert Brandsma   Inialoane 28  9263 RD Garyp   The Netherlands www.dixielandcrackerjacks.com




> Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:18:37 +0300
> From: marekboym at gmail.com
> Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Teddy Wilson- Jess Stacy & Benny Goodman
> CC: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
> To: mister_bertje at hotmail.com
> 
> >
> > According to John Hammond's biography by Dunstan Prial, Goodman and Wilson
> > had been in studio sessions together recording and recorded together therein
> > prior to 1935. But never appeared publicly because in those days, that was a
> > no-no. Krupa was also on some of the recordings.
> >
> 
> > Hammond was blown away and the next day, he set up a recording date for a
> > trio consisting of Goodman, Wilson and a drummer to be named. And on July
> > 13, 1935, the trio, now with Gene Krupa was born and recorded Body & Soul.
> 
> According to Connor, on December 8, 1935, BG played a jazz concert in
> the Congress Hotel in Chicago.  Some sidemen from the Fletcher
> Henderson band joined with BG and his musicians, so that was the first
> integrated BG appearance.  On Easter Sunday 1936, Teddy Wilson
> officially played with the trio at the third concert in the Congress
> Hotel.
> 
> Wilson is listed for quite a few 1936 broadcasts.
> 
> Hampton joined a little later.
> 
> But, true enough, they were "informal" members of the BG aggregation.
> 
> Everybody knows the 1938 Carnegie hall concert, where black musicians
> shared the stage with the Goodman band.
> 
> Both wilson and Hamptonp layed as part of the big band at the July 19,
> 1938 Camel Caravan broadcast.
> >
> 
> > I don't think Goodman integrated his big band for public appearances until
> > about 1939.
> 
> You are probably right here; while BG used hampton on drums for
> broadcasts, I do not believe he used him in public, other than as a
> member of the quartet.
> 
> Cheers
> 
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