Clarinettist and bandleader Benny Goodman was one of the giants of the swing era. However, he also greatly enjoyed playing in more flexible small jazz groups, where his superb technique had more of a chance to shine.

This 3CD set brings together a significant proportion of the titles he recorded in Trio, Quartet, Quintet, Sextet and Septet environments the heyday of his swing orchestra. With repertoire ranging across standards and original compositions it’s a feast of great small band jazz.

It is a thoroughly enjoyable anthology that showcases Benny and his colleagues swinging and improvising in some star-studded line-ups.

REVIEWS

Acrobat's three-box set comprises 71 peerless tracks released on the RCA-Victor, Columbia and Okeh labels in Swing's great heyday of 1935-45. Here we find wonderfully creative performances from Cootie Williams, Count Basie, Slam Stewart, John Kirby, Fletcher Henderson and Red Norvo, to list some of the stellar names that Benny attracted and inspired as his groups grew in size... what joyous life-affirming swinging music.  - Andrew Liddle (Jazz Rag Issue 164)

A thoroughly enjoyable anthology of small band jazz that defies being categorised, ranging across both well-known standards and original compositions, and allows us to hear Benny and his colleagues swinging and improvising in some star-studded line-ups. - Pete Lay (Just Jazz Issue 275)

This 71 track three CD collection, while not complete, offers a wide and comprehensive overview of such recordings during the time span of 1935-1945. The usual thoroughly researched booklet essay adds to the thoroughly satisfying listening experience, making this a strong contender for one of the best sets of the year, even if we are only in January at the time if writing! - Gerry Stonestreet (In Tune Issue 348)

This compilation gives a very informative bird's eye view of the Benny Goodman small groups over their first decade. Racially integrated for the most part, with several star players alongside Benny, and a repertoire that helped to define the swing era, these groups were hugely important in jazz history. - Alyn Shipton (Jazzwise Issue 261)