80 years ago today: the Benny Goodman-Count Basie Octet

By the autumn of 1940, Benny Goodman had undergone his first back surgery and was already on the mend. He had put his orchestra on hold for the summer, with a few men on retainer, like electric guitar wonder Charlie Christian, who'd taken the opportunity to visit family and friends back in Oklahoma, his first chance since he'd hit the big time the previous summer.

While still a popular bandleader, Goodman had somewhat lost some of his spark after the departure of some key men in his big band, namely Harry James and Gene Krupa, and with his current band on hold, rumours were rife. A big one was a possible merger with Count Basie, himself having some problems with his booking agency. Besides mutual admiration and being signed to the same label, a common thread to both bands was producer John Hammond, who had championed both and in 1942 became Goodman's brother-in-law.

Benny Goodman and Charlie Christian sitting in with the Count Basie Orchestra,
Apollo Theatre, Harlem, October 24, 1940 (source)

Sean Levitt, guitar master (1955-2002)

2021-02-03 update: after a couple of comments below by John Lyon, author of Sean Levitt—Seven Transcriptions, which includes the most complete biographical sketch I have seen of Levitt. I have corrected some mistakes, and have only added his complete name and the dates and places of his birth and death. 

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While jazz lives are routinely thrown to the "tragic" bucket too easily, there are instances for which that label is fitting. Sean Levitt, an astounding jazz guitar player you may have never heard of, is one of those cases.

Sean Levitt in Salamanca, Spain, 1986 (Source)

Jamal v. Shearing (or let's hear it for Crosby & Fournier)

The piano is one instrument where comparisons between musicians are easier to make. There are no two identical pianos in the world, but the common mechanics, the inability to bend notes (Monk notwithstanding) and the generally untouched, acoustic sound are a better yardstick than any other instrument (the triangle, perhaps) to tell musicians apart—case in point: in 1958-1959, Dave Brubeck and Bill Evans were recorded  at the same studio, Columbia's "church" at 30th St.,  and it's likely that at some point they used the same piano, and yet they're easily identifiable.

Pianos at Columbia's 30th St. studio (source)