Benny Goodman’s Clarinet

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.