When Swing was King: A Salute to Benny Goodman and Friends

October 28, 7:56 PMSwing and Big Band ExaminerRick Busciglio

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The Cleveland Pops Orchestra will present on Friday, "When Swing was King: A Salute to Benny Goodman and Friends," "King of Swing" Goodman, whose centenary is being celebrated this year, often is credited with launching swing at his historic 1938 Carnegie Hall concert, though he never professed to having introduced the style. The vibrant music will course through the veins of a stageful of artists at Severance Hall, as the Cleveland Pops Orchestra and guestspresent a host of beloved pieces that could prompt dancing in the aisles. The program, "When Swing was King: A Salute to Benny Goodman and Friends," will be led by Pops conductor and clarinetist Carl Topilow.

 Goodman was inspired by black musicians, such as McKinney's Cotton Pickers and the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, which began developing the exuberant dance style a decade earlier. With an ear toward the real swing thing, Goodman hired Henderson to pen arrangements for his big band."After Benny Goodman's success, a lot of bands started doing the same stuff," says Schantz, a faculty member at the University of Akron and the former artistic director of the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra. "Swing wasn't polite. It was much more youth-oriented and physical." There were good reasons for the high spirits. Excerpted from Don Rosenberg/Cleveland Plain Dealer

PHOTO: Benny Goodman Album Cover