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Ellington's signature work, as a symphonic suite for the Chicago Symphony and reconstructed and returned to Carnegie Hall in its original form for a jazz band, was premiered in 1943. The chapter reveals the work's unusual genesis — Ellington's own narrative poem about the history of the negro in America — and explores Ellington's extraordinary compositional techniques. It demonstrates how complex the compositional process was that created his seemingly happy-go-lucky music; how even the defining idea of jazz-inspired music — a tenor saxophonist “taking off” on an improvised flight for example — was controlled, bent, premeditated by Ellington in the service of his muse; and how he crafted his music from his own poetry.

This chapter starts with the January 1943 appearance of the Ellington orchestra in Carnegie Hall. Ellington composed a work of symphonic dimensions, Black, Brown and Beige. Strayhorn’s contributions to this work are unearthed. A strong structural analogy between Ellington’s Black and Strayhorn’s Pentonsilic suggests that the exchange of ideas, rather than actual co-composition, formed the essence of their collaboration. The next section looks at the suite-format and sums up the advantages: it silenced criticism regarding form, it accommodated the division of tasks, it enabled the insertion of unused numbers, and it facilitated the later addition of programmatic explanations. The chapter continues with The Perfume Suite, the first acknowledged Ellington-Strayhorn collaboration, followed by Beggar’s Holiday (1946), unraveling Strayhorn’s contributions to this adaptation of the Beggar’s Opera. As Strayhorn contributed a growing number of arrangements, his style slowly permeated the orchestra’s sound.

David Mannes, concertmaster of Walter Damrosch's New York Symphony and Director of the city's Musical Settlement Houses, engaged James Reese Europe, charismatic conductor and composer, and his unusual Negro orchestra, the “Clef Club”, to play what turned out to be a triumphal benefit concert for the new Harlem branch, at Carnegie Hall — the first concert of its kind (1912). Europe was interviewed about his very specific ideas about the future of Negro music and musicians. Mannes described his own teacher, an African-American violinist, composer, John Thomas Douglas, as “the man who helped shape my life”.

The Carnegie Hall further established its position as a venue for popular music performance following Goodman’s concert, as evidenced by the subsequent performances of W. C. Handy, Paul Whiteman, and a recital by Ethel Waters. There have been various re-creations of the Carnegie Hall concert which contributed to its distribution beyond the limits of the audience members present at the event. A concert tour was held at the Symphony Hall in Boston where the audience reaction was indicative of its success, much like the one at Carnegie Hall. The program for the Boston concert revealed some changes in the repertoire, and members of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band were guests on this broadcast. Re-creating “Twenty Years of Jazz” was an appropriate way of capturing and preserving the Carnegie Hall concert. Another notable re-creation of the concert was presented as part of the film The Benny Goodman Story.

It was on February 15, 1970, that Clark Terry's Big Bad Band was to perform at the Carnegie Hall. The show was a hit, the audience gave it a standing ovation and Clark describes his feeling as being overwhelmed. This experience came with its own ups and downs for Clark. There was much money involved in the show. Clark also realized the nuances of the recording business and came to know that trying to get a record company pick an album was an extremely difficult task. Initially feeling low, Clark decided to continue fighting. The bright side was that the band was happy, and they had gotten paid. That standing ovation showed that the audience was happy. So Clark decided to keep stepping.

This chapter recounts the period when Rudolf Serkin was in the twilight of his life. Accounts from family and friends reveal how he never considered retiring from his musical career until age and illness physically prevented him from continuing with his commitments. His final performances at Carnegie Hall and at the gala season openings of the Chicago and Cleveland orchestras are recounted fondly. Well into his eighth decade of life, Serkin had outlived most of his friends and siblings. Based on his correspondences with his friends, towards the end he was even too tired to write, after experiencing depression from having to cancel many of his concerts. Serkin died from complications of intestinal cancer in March 1991. He was universally mourned by the music industry. All over the world, orchestras and pianists dedicated their performances in memory of this brilliant musical genius whose contributions to the field are invaluable.

This chapter follows many of the same players into a very different situation, the now-defunct Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, directed by Jon Faddis. Comparing the leadership in this band with the more cooperatively run VJO, as well as taking a glimpse back at the leadership styles established by Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, yields insights into different approaches to musical direction.

The chapter recounts Serkin's life in America, from his move in the wake of the Second World War until his death. Serkin first came to the United States as part of several well received tours but gained critical acclaim during his concerts with Toscanini. The success of the latter endeavor cemented Serkin's reputation as a bankable concert pianist in America, but it was not until he performed at Carnegie Hall that he was truly recognized as a musical genius. The bulk of his musical obligations was increasingly located in the United States and Serkin and Irene decided to emigrate, along with their in-laws. The Serkins were blessed with seven children and brief glimpses into Rudolf's family man persona are shown. Rigorous concert schedules coupled with several deaths within his family circle are also shown to have taken a toll on Serkin in the latter stages of his life.

Philippa's reputation as a gifted child grew more and more as she grew up. During the fall of 1937, Philippa was invited by Mother Stevens, director of the prestigious Pius X School of Liturgical Music at the College of the Sacred Heart, to play for her. During the same year, Philippa won the top prize from the New York Philharmonic's Young People's Society Concert Series at Carnegie Hall. For eight consecutive years, she was placed on the National Piano Teachers Guild Honor Roll. Philippa also began to travel and perform for many people. Philippa's days continued to be carefully regimented and choreographed.

This chapter examines the reception of the concert as a live event in relation to the 1938 album’s audience response. Annemarie Ewing’s analysis demonstrates the differences between Goodman’s and Krupa’s relationships with the audience; Krupa, on one hand, extends his performance to the crowd, while Goodman, on the other hand, chose the power of introversion to draw their attention. There are various perceptions regarding the concert’s reception, all of which are essential in providing a discourse intended to distribute the event to a wider audience, with several critics proposing a comparison with Paul Whiteman’s “Experiment in Modern Music”. Ultimately, The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert album was successful in constructing jazz history through recordings, as well as in being regarded as a representative authority within the “swing era”.

Music critic Irving Kolodin was tasked to produce the program notes for the Carnegie Hall concert. Kolodin balanced the distinctive elements of swing with quasi-analytical descriptions of each piece while his Foreword emphasizes the role of improvisation and the significance of performers and arrangers in swing. This chapter describes how the program was arranged into ten sections, with Goodman putting his most comedic piece (Twenty Years of Jazz) second on the bill, while his most spectacular act (Sing, Sing, Sing) was placed on the penultimate slot. George Gottlieb stated that comparing the eleven sections of Paul Whiteman’s Experiment in Modern Music with the design of a typical vaudeville program is relevant to understanding the structure of Goodman’s concert.

This chapter discusses the events following the Carnegie Hall concert, beginning with the Basie-Webb big band battle at the Savoy ballroom. The two events are polar opposites suggesting of societal issues; however, the overlap of performance, audience, and repertoire prompts one to put the Carnegie Hall concert into a perspective within the history of jazz. Goodman and the band went back to their regular activities after the concert, starting with a Camel Caravan radio broadcast two days later, as well as several studio recordings of the numbers from the concert. The chapter also details various controversies faced by the band, such as the falling out between Goodman and his musicians, particularly drummer Gene Krupa, and Fletcher Henderson’s subsequent employment.

This chapter recounts the history of several jazz concerts and audiences that took precedence before Benny Goodman’s 1938 concert in Carnegie Hall, which was the primary concert venue in New York City. James Reese Europe, along with other black musicians and composers, founded the Clef Club in 1910, an entertainment society and venue for African-American musicians. The Clef Club Orchestra initially performed in Harlem, and then eventually played at Carnegie Hall in 1912. The chapter also cites Paul Whiteman, who displayed the evolution of jazz beginning in his “Experiment in Modern Music” concert at the Aeolian Hall. The progression of listening to jazz music was said to have been exemplified by Benny Goodman’s career as a bandleader; and the fact that swing performances occur in theatres and not in ballrooms further influenced the growth of jazz.

Goodman focused on classical music after his departure from Capitol Records. He recorded Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, as well as the Mozart Clarinet Quintet and Darius Milhaud’s La Création du Monde. He then went back to Columbia Records and launched The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert album; this release was supplemented by a discourse anticipating the revival of swing. The album was also the first presentation of a distinct popular music style within the history of Carnegie Hall, and established the significance of the Carnegie Hall concert within the wider history of jazz. The chapter describes the format, production, editing, and packaging of the LP record.

This chapter initially looks at the Original Dixieland Jazz Band (ODJB), which is widely recognized for creating the first jazz recordings. ODJB’s “Sensation Rag” was also performed at Carnegie Hall, involving improvised variations and drumming styles that were arguably better presented as a live performance than in a recording studio. The chapter then examines the other concert pieces that were originally recorded by various artists, and how Goodman incorporated his own style into them, together with corresponding photos of the band’s rehearsals at Carnegie Hall. This evidence affirms that musicians were certainly used to producing different versions of the same musical piece, altering them in accordance with one’s preferred technique.

This introductory chapter reflects on the implications of the 1912 Carnegie Hall concert held by the Clef Club Orchestra, as black musicians skirted the color line in appealing to the broader cultural sensibilities of their audiences—be they black or white. The Clef Club concert was memorable because it disrupted so many basic assumptions that Americans had about the pressing issues of race, culture, modernity, and nation in the early years of the twentieth century. It transcended the commonly accepted distinctions between art and entertainment, folk and modern, African American identity and American national character. Conductor James Reese Europe's ensemble called attention to these opposing poles of cultural value, seeming to identify them as social constructs even as he undermined them.

Benny Goodman’s Carnegie Hall performances were generally consistent with his earlier versions of those numbers, wherein there is a noticeable development in his interpretations leading up to the concert. Goodman established a distinct style for his band through the Henderson arrangements, and then applied this to their performances, as evidenced in the band’s rehearsals. Furthermore, the “Jam Session” piece perfectly illustrates the various approaches to improvisation in the concert; and Goodman is stated to be most creative when improvising numbers with accustomed changes. This right blend of innovation and consistency displayed during the Carnegie Hall jazz concert is what Goodman hoped to achieve when he first created his orchestra.