Benny Goodman - The Complete Trios (1947-1954) FLAC

The Complete Captiol Trios is a long-overdue reissue of the five trio sessions Benny Goodman led for Capitol Records. The five sessions are easily broken down into two categories -- recordings from 1947 and recordings from 1954. The highlights of the 1947 recordings are sessions with pianist Teddy Wilson and drummer Jimmy Crawford. This provided Goodman an opportunity to reunite with Wilson who he had toured with in the late '30s in a trio with drummer Gene Krupa. Goodman and Wilson have a real ease to their interaction and the results are positively joyful. There are three other recordings from 1947, featuring pianist Jimmy Rowles and drummer Tom Romersa; these are good, but not quite as delightful as their 1947 companions. However, the 1954 recordings -- all featuring pianist Mel Powell, four featuring drummer Eddie Grady, and two featuring drummer Bobby Donaldson -- are equally wonderful, filled with good humor, elegant flair, and magical interludes. These sessions have been out of circulation for too long, but The Complete Capitol Trios is so well-done -- and its fidelity is so good -- that the wait was certainly worthwhile.