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. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine