Early Life

   Benjamin David Goodman
~ Born on the 30th of May 1909
~ Grew up in Chicago, Illinois
~ The 9th Child (of 12) of Immigrant parents David &       Dora Goodman
~ His mother never learnt to speak English
~ Father worked as a tailor
~ With only one working parent the struggled to make      ends meet.

Early Schooling

~ Benny was 10 when his father         sent him to study music at               Kehelah Jacob Synagogue in           Chicago.
~ Here Benny learnt the clarinet       and became a member of the           Chicago Symphony.
~ Benny quit school to pursue his     professional career in music-         majoring in the clarinet.

Early Clarinet Days

~ He was tutored on the clarinet       by skilled musician Franz                 Schoepp.
~ He was given his "own" clarinet     in 1919 from the synagogue.
~ He became a member of the             American Federation of                     Musicians at 14.
~ Although Benny was very young it was clear that he was a very skilled clarinetist and he was going to become a "professional".
~ In 1923 he left school for the Bix Beiderbecke's orchestra.
~ He performed and played solos       in several bands in Chicago.

Inspirations

~ Benny was originally inspired         by the famous New Orleans             Jazz Clarinetists Leon Roppolo,     Johnny Dodds and Jimmy                 Noone.
~ Benny's father passed away when he was just 15 and after seeing how hard his father worked Benny was inspired, so all the money he made playing the clarinet went to help support his family.
~ After being scouted by band leader Ben Pollack when he was 16, he (Ben) then became a massive inspiration for Benny.