'When Swing Was King' is a Cleveland Pops Orchestra tribute to Benny Goodman

By Donald Rosenberg, The Plain Dealer

October 27, 2009, 1:23PM - On tour with the Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey bands, trombonist Paul Ferguson and trumpeter Jack Schantz learned the fine points of swing. They did so in rousing arrangements by legends of the field, whose heyday ran from the mid-1930s to the mid-'40s.

"To play these arrangements, it gets into your blood," says Ferguson, himself an expert arranger.

The vibrant music known as swing will course through the veins of a stageful of artists Friday at Severance Hall, where Ferguson and Schantz will join colleagues in the Cleveland Pops Orchestra and guests in 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.

"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. He 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.
"The music reflects a lot of really good qualities of American culture," Schantz says. "It's optimistic, happy. Americans needed to have that kind of escapism. Coming out of the Depression, it was a happier time."

The joy emanated from an ensemble of trumpets, trombones, saxes and rhythm section. Many big bands engaged noted vocalists, such as Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzergerald, while showcasing their instrumental virtuosos, as Topilow will do Friday at Severance.
Whether sporting baton or clarinet, the Pops' maestro will place the spotlight on Ferguson, Schantz, drummer George Judy, singer Barbara Knight and dancers Robert and Brooke Wesner.

Ferguson, who teaches at Case Western Reserve University, will serve in his typical triple-threat capacity as orchestra player, soloist and arranger. Among his charts are arrangements by Miller, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer (whose centenary will be next month).

Topilow first programmed Ferguson's salute to Goodman with the Pops at the 2005 opening of the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in Beachwood. (It was a busy day for the conductor: That night, he also led Mahler's Fifth Symphony at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he heads the conducting department.)

"The American influence is all over the world because of swing music," Topilow said. "Jazz and swing are distinctly American."

Whatever their nationality, audience members Friday will have the opportunity to express themselves during post-concert swing lessons taught by Cleveland's Cheek to Cheek Dance Studio. They'll learn -- with thanks to Ellington and Irving Mills -- that it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.

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