As we continue with our "Jingle Bells" review, I think there are some versions that are extra special and deserve a bit of the spotlight to themselves!
The first of such records is this one by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra on Victor Records.
We left off 1935, and we're still in that year, but we seem to musically jump ahead a light year or two with this cut by the King of Swing himself:
That's the stuff! This is one you can just listen to as entertainment without it seeming like a history lesson!
The Goodman band really kicked the Big Band/Swing era into high-gear with records like this.
Trumpet star Bunny Berigan sat in with the band for this session a couple of weeks before he joined the band and he just lights it up!
And although the label credits Fletcher Henderson with the arrangement (and he wrote many brilliant arrangements for BG), "Jingle Bells" was apparently actually arranged by Spud Murphy.
You can read more about this terrific record here.
This side plays as a swing record that just happens to be based on a seasonal song, but was apparently one side of a special holiday release by (RCA) Victor, as the flipside is Tommy Dorsey's version of a relatively new Christmas song:
In addition to being an early version of "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town," which was published the year before, it was also an early recording by Tommy Dorsey leading his own band, as it was recorded just a few months after Tommy split from the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, which morphed into Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra, and formed his own band, mostly by taking over Joe Haymes's group.
Trumpeter/vocalist Cliff Weston (from the Haymes band) sings the first chorus then Edythe Wright takes over with a jazzier interpretation.
TD's band definitely had a strong Dixieland flavor early on.
Back to Benny Goodman, an interesting counterpoint to the commercial recording of "Jingle Bells" is a second recording of the same arrangement made by BG and his band for the Thesaurus transcription service, which provided recordings for radio station use as opposed to retail sales.
The tricky thing is that many bands used pseudonyms for transcription sessions, such as the Rhythm Makers on this version of "Jingle Bells":
No mistaking that's the Goodman band!
Of note is that Pee Wee Erwin has the trumpet solo here, replacing Bunny Berigan. He does a solid job, although nobody could really complete with Bunny!
Also, BG's clarinet solo is not the same as on the record, which shows the arrangement allowed room for improvisation.
The tenor sax solo by Art Rollini sounds much more like the record, however, but I understand that Art wasn't so much an improviser but he could easily read and play any arrangement.
These transcription songs were recorded in one take during marathon sessions, so you can see how well-rehearsed the Goodman band was!
Next we have an interesting bunch of sides from the latter half of the 1930s!
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