1951-1952

Volume 35 of the studio recordings of Benny Goodman begins with some nostalgic big band tracks. After a brief tour with a sextet, Goodman made a neat little session including a feature for singer Nancy Reed. In the summer of 1951 the clarinetist worked with both the Philadelphia and Denver Symphonies. "When Buddha Smiles" from September was first issued on an LP commissioned by Playboy Magazine. Rather unexpectedly, Hugh Hefner's journal included excellent articles on jazz. The two strings dates from late 1951 and March 1952 are both unusual and ambitious. The material may be well known but, in a way, Goodman's playing shows that his mind then was focused more on classical music than on jazz.