The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert

Updated on Nov 25, 2024

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Recorded January 16, 1938 Artist Benny Goodman Genre Jazz		Carnegie Hall Concert(1950) BG in Hi-Fi(1954) Release date 1950 Awards Grammy Hall of Fame

Released 1950November 2, 1999 (Reissue) Length Disc One 48:59Disc Two 53:05(Original release) Label ColumbiaLegacy Recordings Benny Goodman Sextet(1950) Carnegie Hall Concert(1950) Producers George Avakian (original), Phil Schaap (reissue) Similar Benny Goodman albums, Jazz albums

The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert by Benny Goodman, Columbia Records catalogue item SL-160, is a two-disc LP of Swing music first issued in 1950. The program it captured has been described as "the single most important jazz or popular music concert in history: jazz's "coming out" party to the world of "respectable" music.

The first ever double album, it was one of the first records of Benny Goodman music issued on the new long-playing format, and one of the first to sell over a million copies. A landmark recording, it was the premiere performance given by a jazz orchestra in the famed Carnegie Hall in New York City. This album was also sold in a set of nine 45 rpm records in the same year by Columbia.

Reception

The reception to the original 1950 long-playing double-album was exceptional, as had been the band's appearance at Carnegie Hall. Over time as technology improved the material was re-released, with digital versions produced both in the 1980s and 1990s.

Bruce Eder, writing for AllMusic, generally praises the 1999 double-CD release, noting the compromise between clear reproduction of sonic detail and retaining surface noise from the source material.

The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings includes the 1999 release in its "Core Collection," in addition to giving it a four-star rating (of a possible four). Penguin authors Richard Cook and Brian Morton describe the release as "a model effort, masterminded by Phil Schaap, whose indomitable detective work finally tracked down the original acetates and gave us the music in the best sound we'll ever get; with powerful, even thrilling, ambience."