B.G. & Big Tea in NYC
This collection culls 21 cuts from 1929 to 1934 featuring the clarinet master and trombone star as young, brash, and in-demand New York sidemen. The players who dot these exciting sessions are the original "young lions": Goodman (not yet 20 at the first of these dates),Gene Krupa, andJoe Sullivancame to New York from the thriving Chicago scene and were joined by other recent arrivals including Teagarden, his younger brother Charlie,Glenn Miller, and the team ofEddie LangandJoe Venuti. These boys already knew how to swing hard, and they did so more loosely than was the predominant New York style at the time; there's a tangible sense of exhilaration on most cuts. The four cuts with the already legendary (but rapidly declining)Bix Beiderbeckeare nice treats but don't quite match the intensity of the rest of this terrific set. Goodman's tone is a bit grainier than it would become, but his improvisations even at this young age are assured, easy-flowing, and joyful.--Marc Greilsamer