Max Harrison is an author and a musicologist who has published several books, such as The Essential Jazz Records, A Jazz Retrospect, Modern Jazz as well as the biographies of Charlie Parker and Rachmaninoff. He had worked for The Times and The Gramophone from 1967 to 1990, and contributed to the 1980 edition of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and The Oxford Companion of Jazz. The article starts with the date of the swing era, August 21, 1935, when Benny Goodman’s band performed at Palmoar Ballroom in Los Angeles. Harrison stated that “what happened in the 1930s was built on the 1920s…and we must go further back to observe that some of the forces shaping 1930s swing were active in the 1920s.” He examined the artists, Goodman, Carter, Sauter, and compared songs with explanations.
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Usually the writers in this book would stop at Sauter produced sixty-odd scores for Goodman but Harrison explained what Sauter did differently than Goodman: Sauter blended instrumental voices. Another example is when Harrison talked about Hudson’s “Organ Grinder’s Swing” He critiqued that “A nep plus ultra of swing with its extreme yet perfectly managed textural contrasts.” When Harrison talked about Carter’s “Dee Blues,” he mentioned that the clarinet sound was independent. Harrison had supported his statements well and he gave his critics for certain songs that he mentioned. In addition, when he talked about Reginald Foresythe that his songs were not quite jazz, not really dance music, it is a cultural mixture. Harrison spent a lot of time talking about the artists and their differences. He did not only compare the artists but also songs, for example, “How Long Blues” and “John’s Idea.” According to Harrison, “How Long Blues” is minimalist jazz, and “John’s Idea” is reduced to absolute
Usually the writers in this book would stop at Sauter produced sixty-odd scores for Goodman but Harrison explained what Sauter did differently than Goodman: Sauter blended instrumental voices. Another example is when Harrison talked about Hudson’s “Organ Grinder’s Swing” He critiqued that “A nep plus ultra of swing with its extreme yet perfectly managed textural contrasts.” When Harrison talked about Carter’s “Dee Blues,” he mentioned that the clarinet sound was independent. Harrison had supported his statements well and he gave his critics for certain songs that he mentioned. In addition, when he talked about Reginald Foresythe that his songs were not quite jazz, not really dance music, it is a cultural mixture. Harrison spent a lot of time talking about the artists and their differences. He did not only compare the artists but also songs, for example, “How Long Blues” and “John’s Idea.” According to Harrison, “How Long Blues” is minimalist jazz, and “John’s Idea” is reduced to absolute