1909-1986. US clarinetist, nicknamed `the
King of Swing' for the new jazz idiom he
introduced (with arranger Fletcher
Henderson). Leader of his own swing band from
1934, he is celebrated for numbers such as
`Blue Skies' and `Avalon'. In 1955 he
organized a new band and continued touring
with it throughout the world up until his
death. Goodman was also successful as a
classical clarinetist; Bartok's Contrasts
1939 and Copland's Clarinet Concerto 1950
were among the pieces written for him. It was
he who introduced jazz to New York's Carnegie
Hall in 1938.