Ben Pollack and his Park Central Orchestra 1929 

God there was a lot of greatly talented musicians in this band! Vitaphone recording from 1929. Sounds great after 91 years. That's all there is; there isn't anymore!

Jack Teagarden was a good-looking guy in his younger days! What an amazing array of talent in one video. Thank-you.

Absolutely amazing! Thank you for posting!👍

A unique glimpse into the pre-Swing Era......this shows Benny Goodman as a routine band member.........5-6 years later he became the King of Swing after the Palomar Ballroom sensation.

Muchas gracias por compartirlo. Grande Teagarden.

My God, Harry Oakley, I've been a decades-long Teagarden fan, and now you show me that BigT played vibes, too. Long before Hampton, Norvo and Rollini.

Benny plays the sax for a short while, first time I've ever seen THAT !!

How the older generation lived and thought. My parents could appreciate this.

OMG check out young Benny Goodman on the clarinet!

Very enjoyable music

Benny Goodman in in baritone sax? Fantastic!

May it please you, Ben Pollack.

Thank you so much for this great and interesting post.

Thanks again: Always a treat.

I never realized the Pollack put so many to sleep if this is any indication of his performances at that time...

Thanks.

The Song Of The Island , It's A Ideal Lullaby To Have A Nice Dream

a joy to watch listen too

Thanks Again.

wow, what a group!

I really enjoy Ben pollacks music!

My mother was 5 years old when this was filmed. I'll have to show it to her on my phone!

Great clip

The most somber version of "California Here I Come".

MY KIND OF LOVE has an interesting, modern-sounding melody

I thought BG was born in 1906? GREAT post!

Love it!'

I was lucky enough to recently scoop up a Ben Pollack/Benny Goodman LP at a local Value Village for $2 in perfect, near mint condition and after seeing this video, I'm definitely going to be playing it tonight to get into a 1920's nostalgic mood. Thanks for posting this video. :)

Teagarden played vibes in the band because that was Glenn Miller's job when he was the trombonist for Pollack. Joe Showler told me this. I think it's significant because JT also recorded on vibes with Fats Waller. That predates Lionel Hampton's sides with LA, Red Norvo, and, possibly Adrian Rollini which might make JT the first jazz vibe player recorded

Always liked Pollack band's Bye Bye for Baby

First time i saw this and it's wonderful seeing a young Jack Teagarden at 2:41.

Very good

Thanks: MY brain needed this.

Nice!

The fun thing is that in Song of the Islands, Bauduc flashes about with his brushes. Pollack would do exactly the same when he played himself in The Glenn Miller Story.

Jack Teagarden on vibes in "Song Of The Island" - 6:47 to close

Thanks: My Brain requested this again.

Great

🎉❤

Wow this is so cool. I've seen a short clip of this on the video Benny Goodman: Adventures In The Kingdom of Swing but never in it's entirety!!!! Didn't Ben Pollack play drums though??

Nice licks by BG

Half the great band leaders and instrumentalists of the big band swing era went through Pollack's band including Benny Goodman and Glen Miller and Jack Teagarten.

@harlanlattimore You can see indeed that on 0:44 he plays the vides and ond 0:45 he takes the trombone from his lap to play it.

The first two songs I hear are "California Here I come" followed by "Memories".

4:02 Benny Goodman !

Perhaps more major figures passed through Pollack's band than any other outfit--Teagarden, Goodman, Harry James, and another trombonist--Glenn Miller.

19 year-old B.G. at 4:00

Thanhks agai.n

I LOVE THIS! Is`nt the second song "Memories"??

I've never before seen Ben Pollack sing, nor conduct the band without drum sticks in his hands. Somewhat oddly, by this time he had given up drumming entirely, transferring those duties to Ray Bauduc. I guess I didn't realize any of his bands were this "sweet". I can't see Benny Goodman being particularly happy playing in a band like this and I think it showed. For instance, Benny was known on a few occasions in the latter years of his involvement with Pollack to recruit members of the band for free-lance record dates which Pollack often did not know about in advance, let alone approve of. Benny left the Pollack band at the ripe old age of 20 in the summer of 1929.

A few years ago I saw a different version of this video. The take of My Kind of Love was much shorter and jazzier. Where has that version gone?

Sweet Bands of the '30's - the theme is way sloooooooooooo

@harlanlattimore I'm sure you're right - but I can't hear vibes anywhere on any of the Pollack Victor records.

No, Mannie Klein is not present here. Trumpeters are Jimmy McPartland and Al Harris.

This is an important video - thank you. Benny playing SAX???

I think that was Harry James on trumpet. Ben gave him his 1 st big break as a teenager.

Interesting

like,

Sweet AND Hot! Big T has quite a haircut. ;o)

Harry, If you say so, but as a clarinet player I was struck by the fact that Goodman's two breaks were very heavily influenced by Dodds.

Anyone got the names of the young violinists? The guy on the right looks like a young Joe Martin!

Ray Bauduc on drums?

Who is playing The Violins?

But they wouldn't let Teagarten go out on the pitcher's mound these days.

Dear Harry, Sorry, but I distinctly remember the other version as being different.. There were two clarinet breaks by Goodman in My Kind of Love. Alerx

Indeed, and I have always wondered why that didn't happen. Perhaps Whiteman and his band were too "big" for this? Mind you, there is so much that could have been filmed for Vitaphone....

Does anyone know why Ben Pollack committed suicide in 1971 ?

strange to see goodman playing baritone sax