Mel Powell's Touch: The Sound of Restraint
Powell's piano work anchors these sessions with clarity and taste, letting space do as much work as notes.
What makes Easy Does It! worth hearing is Mel Powell at the keyboard. By this point in Goodman's career, the bandleader had settled into a groove of small-group sessions that relied less on flash than on balance, and Powell understood that assignment completely. His piano lines are clean and conversational rather than showy — he comps where another player might solo, steps forward only when the melody needs him. It's the opposite of the bebop virtuosity that was dominating jazz in the late 1950s, and that restraint is exactly what this album needed.
Goodman himself plays with the ease the title promises, never straining or overselling. Arthur Shapiro on bass and Bill Douglass on drums build a steady floor underneath, and the horns — Jake Porter on trumpet among them — stay focused on the tune rather than chasing changes. This is not a record that reaches for anything grand. It's a working session that happens to be excellently executed, the kind of date where everyone knows their job and does it without fussing.
The album sits comfortably in Goodman's middle years, neither a peak nor an outlier, but genuinely solid in its own right. For anyone who finds Goodman's earlier work too energetic or his later work too ceremonial, this one splits the difference. Powell's presence ensures that the piano never disappears into the rhythm section; it's a full partner in what unfolds, which is exactly the kind of detail that separates a forgettable session from one worth returning to.
Who's playing
Arthur "Artie" Shapirodouble bass
Harry Babasindouble bass
Mel Powellpiano
Jimmy Rowlespiano
Al Hendricksonguitar
Allan Reussguitar
Jake Portertrumpet
Bill Douglassdrums
Tommy Romersadrums
Red Norvovibraphone
Benny Goodmanclarinet
Where next?
More by Benny Goodman
B.G. in Hi-Fi 1954
Session for Six 1950
Benny Goodman Today 1970
The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert 1938
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
