The great Benny Goodman first recorded “Moonglow” in 1934 and had a #1 hit with the song. Two years later, Goodman released a new version of the song with his quartet, which featured the legends Lionel Hampton on vibraphone, Teddy Wilson on piano, and Gene Krupa on drums. A decade before Jackie Robinson integrated baseball, the Goodman Quartet was among the first racially integrated jazz groups to record and play before wide audiences. As Goodman once said, “If a guy’s got it, let him give it. I’m selling music, not prejudice.” Years later, Hampton noted: “As far as I’m concerned, what he did in those days—and they were hard days, in 1937—made it possible for negroes to have their chance in baseball and other fields.”
Jazz at Lincoln Center revisits the story of jazz’s first popular integrated band for two nights with Moonglow: The Magic of Benny Goodman in The Appel Room on Friday & Saturday, March 4 & 5, 2016 at 7pm & 9:30pm. Scriptwriter and seven-time Emmy Award-winner Geoffrey Ward (Ken Burns’ Jazz) pens the script for these special concerts. Each will be narrated live by host Wendell Pierce (HBO’s Treme and The Wire), and performed by a rising star ensemble of instrumentalists. Pianist Christian Sands serves as the Music Director for these concerts. He is joined by the exciting drummer Sammy Miller, and 20-year-old vibraphone sensation Joel Ross. Special guest clarinetists Peter Anderson, Will Anderson, Patrick Bartley, and Janelle Reichman each take a turn representing the unparalleled voice of Benny Goodman. These unique and informative performances will channel the “King of Swing” and tell the story of his groundbreaking band.
Tickets to Moonglow: The Magic of Benny Goodman can be purchased through our website at jazz.org, 24 hours a day, or via CenterCharge at 212-721-6500, open daily from 10am to 9pm. Tickets can also be purchased at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, located on Broadway at 60th Street, ground floor. Box Office hours: Monday–Saturday from 10am to 6pm (or 30 minutes past curtain) and Sunday from noon to 6pm (or 30 minutes past curtain).
Themed ‘Jazz and American Song’, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 28th season celebrates the music of the stage and silver screen and uplifts jazz’s emerging voices through an impressive array of more than 80 concerts and programs, anchored by the exceptional Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. Many of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s concerts will also stream live in high-definition audio and video for free to a global audience via jazz.org/live.
Jazz at Lincoln Center proudly acknowledges its major corporate partners:
Amtrak, Bloomberg, Brooks Brothers, The Coca-Cola Company, Con Edison, Entergy, HSBC Premier, The Shops at Columbus Circle at Time Warner Center, and SiriusXM.
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Please visit jazz.org for more information.