Benny Goodman, who is also known as “The King of Swing,” had a huge influence on popular music in the 1930s and 1940s. The King of Swing is recognized for several important impacts that he had in the music world. One of these important impacts that Benny has is, he is known as the man who defined the essence of jazz clarinet. Besides being known for defining the jazz clarinet, he is too known for putting the swing era on the map, while also breaking down the color barrier. Goodman’s many roles that he had music world helped shape what music is today. Without Goodman, the jazz clarinet would have just faded into the background, therefore becoming an unimportant part of jazz music. During early jazz, the clarinet was the main woodwind instrument that was played but as time went on it began to disappear into the background. The jazz clarinet started to make its comeback when Goodman provided it with a newly assertive leadership role in the jazz ensemble. Goodman’s talent for improvisation with the clarinet made it so popular at the time. His style and inspirations for playing jazz clarinet came …show more content…
The King of Swing established standards of technical perfection as a bandleader, his group was tight. Goodman’s natural talent for playing music and his respect for great performers no matter the color of their skin or their gender made it a tight group. Goodman’s ambition to find talented people that matched his own creativity, skill, and precision accidentally lead him to break down racial separation. His determination for excellence led him to seek out people, regardless of their race or gender. Therefore, Benny hired people he wanted to work with and the people that were the best performers that were in tune with his creative process, even if they were African American. Since Goodman hired people regardless of race, it helped the world realize social