Benny Goodman Plays “Roll ‘Em”

"Roll 'Em' is the work of band leader Andy Kirk's pianist, Mary Lou Williams, one of the most important of jazz pianists. Occasionally called "The Pest" by some of the Kirk band members, she was better known by the title of a work she wrote, "The Lady Who Swings the Band." The Goodman band plays this work as a fast blues rather than as a strict boogie woogie number. Watch for brilliant solos by Jess Stacey on piano and Harry James' urgent trumpet solo. This was a typical James performance where he would play four choruses in a row and never sound winded. Benny Goodman also plays with his accustomed crisp, precise playing. Everything was jelling together on this night a dance hall in Pittsburgh.