Jazz Anniversary (Celebrating 60 Years): August 27, 1963 @ New York

August 27, 1963 “Say It Isn’t So”
by Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson, Lionel Hampton & Gene Krupa at New York City for RCA Victor (Together Again)

This is a quartet performance by the King of Swing, clarinetist Benny Goodman. The song was composed by the great Irving Berlin, who also wrote “White Christmas,” and it reached number one on the hit charts. The Japanese title is “Hakkiri Itte yo” (Say It Clearly).

What these two have in common is that they were Jewish-Russian immigrants. The contributions of Jewish-Russian immigrants who moved to America to the jazz world are immeasurable. Notable examples include songwriters like the Gershwin brothers and Rodgers and Hammerstein, as well as tenor sax giant Stan Getz and alto sax master Lee Konitz. They immigrated to escape the oppression and social suppression of Jews in Russia. Born into poor families, they utilized their talents to establish social status in America, and from a liberal standpoint, they actively hired Black musicians during an era of severe racial discrimination, contributing to the establishment of their social status as well.

Teddy Wilson, who plays piano on this track, and Lionel Hampton, who plays vibraphone, were Black musicians who benefited from this. A trend of mixed-race bands started with Benny Goodman, but in an era when racial discrimination was legal, this must have been a bold action accompanied by courage and determination. I imagine that the influence of Goodman, who was generally well-known at the time, was quite significant.

Goodman played the clarinet, familiar from Jewish music and Klezmer, and created his own unique style in jazz. In this song, his unique, warm tone blends with the compatible vibraphone of Lionel Hampton, creating a relaxed, late-summer afternoon atmosphere. From Goodman to Hampton, and then to Wilson’s piano solo, they capture the flow and mood of Goodman’s performance, spinning out smooth, ear-pleasing melodies that put the listener first.

Goodman not only contributed to the popularization of jazz, but some music critics point out that if it weren’t for Goodman, modern rock might have turned out differently. The reason is that when electric guitars were first released, he hired Charlie Christian, a Black musician who could skillfully play the instrument, into his band, playing a role in its popularization.

What was innovative was that the guitar, which had previously played a supporting role in bands by keeping rhythm, could now play single-tone melodies thanks to sound amplification by an amp, raising it to the status of a main instrument equal to wind instruments. The commonly used term “horn-like playing” refers to spinning out melodies like a wind instrument soloist on a guitar, which is not a wind instrument. To verify the truth of the claim that it wouldn’t have happened without Christian, the pioneer of electric guitar playing, let’s listen to and confirm Christian’s 1939 performance.

How was it? I think you could hear the essence of current guitar playing throughout the performance from that time. This conveys Christian’s greatness, and I suspect that the backing of Goodman, who was at the peak of his popularity at the time and featured him at the high-status Carnegie Hall, also made an immeasurable contribution.

To go a step further, it was the big-name producer John Hammond who recommended Christian to Goodman. While serving as a board member for the NAACP, he was someone who discovered talented Black artists like Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, and George Benson, prioritizing music regardless of race.

Incidentally, Hammond also helped facilitate the first recording for the Blue Note label. Including cases where the founder, Alfred Lion, said it happened more smoothly than expected, his contributions to the music industry are immeasurable.

The album title “Together Again” refers to the fact that the members Goodman formed in 1935 with Hammond’s support reunited after about 25 years. It is also interesting that a comparison photo is posted on the back of the album jacket. I take my hat off to Goodman and Hammond, who were practicing diversity and inclusion long ago.

Do you feel anything strange about the four-piece arrangement of this performance? That’s right, there is no bass to act as an anchor. I don’t understand music theory well enough to know how that compositional beauty is created, but it is mysterious that the total balance of the band is so wonderful even without a bass. The beautiful vibraphone melody that Lionel Hampton strikes, especially the sound he hits powerfully, offers an extraordinary stimulation that resonates in the head like the headache you feel when you force yourself to swallow cold ice.

Finally, please enjoy the radical performance of the standard song by Berlin, “Russian Lullaby,” by Coltrane.