Benny Goodman’s Clarinet

07/11/24 • 24 min

Benny Goodman’s clarinet is one of the most iconic objects in the Rose Archives and Museum — and possibly the most poignant. When Goodman made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1938, it was a moment that changed both jazz and American culture forever. Not only did Goodman lead one of the first racially integrated groups to perform at Carnegie Hall for a paying audience, but his debut was among the very first times that swing music — often found only in nightclubs and dance halls — was presented in a seated concert hall.

This setting enabled audiences to engage with the music in a whole new way and granted it greater social and critical acceptance as an art form. The Goodman family donated one of his clarinets to the Hall many years later, and it was this instrument that provided the initial inspiration for Carnegie Hall’s Rose Museum in 1991.

Guests in this episode include Rachel Edelson, Benny Goodman’s daughter; Jon Hancock, author of “Benny Goodman: The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert”; Tomoji Hirakata, Yamaha senior technical specialist and technician for Goodman’s clarinet; and Paquito D’Rivera, Grammy Award-winning clarinetist and bandleader. Members of Carnegie Hall’s Rose Archives and Museum team, including assistant director Rob Hudson and founding archivist Gino Francesconi, are also featured.

If This Hall Could Talk is available wherever you get podcasts. New episodes are released every other week.

If This Hall Could Talk is available wherever you get podcasts. New episodes are released every other week.

Previous Episode

Carnegie Hall’s Rock T-shirt

From The Beatles to Chicago, Pink Floyd to Joni Mitchell, Carnegie Hall’s stage has hosted the best of the best when it comes to rock and popular music, especially during the early 1970s. This episode tells the story of how some of the most famous acts of the day shaped the identity of the hall and revolutionized how and where rock music could be heard. We also explore the creation of Carnegie Hall’s special T-shirts for ushers, which better fit the vibe, energy, and milieu of these concerts.

Guests featured on this episode include legendary concert promoter and New York treasure Ron Delsener, one of the era’s top producers; Lee Loughnane, trumpeter and founding member of the rock band Chicago; and Alan Light, former editor-in-chief of magazines Vibe and Spin and former senior writer for Rolling Stone. Also featured is Gino Francesconi, the founding archivist of Carnegie Hall’s Rose Archives and Museum.

If This Hall Could Talk is available wherever you get podcasts. New episodes are released every other week.

Next Episode

Woman Suffrage Party Convention Booklet and Button

Inspired by a booklet and button from a 1910 Woman Suffrage Party Convention, this episode explores how a series of meetings at Carnegie Hall contributed to the evolving national dialogue on women’s rights across the United States. It’s a chapter that illustrates Carnegie Hall’s legacy not only as a music hall, but also as a center for political discourse, activism, and social change.

Guests include Marcia Chatelain, an expert on the Black suffragists’ movement and author of “Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America”; Coline Jenkins, an expert on the suffragists and both the great-great-granddaughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and great-granddaughter of Harriot Stanton Blatch; and Susan Ware, author of “Why They Marched: Untold Stories of the Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote.” Members of Carnegie Hall’s Rose Archives and Museum team—including director Kathleen Sabogal, assistant director Rob Hudson, and founding archivist Gino Francesconi — are also featured.

If This Hall Could Talk is available wherever you get podcasts. New episodes are released every other week.