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The color palette of Benny Goodman is
simplistic, with layers of black ink creating depth and space, while the rendering
of white staccato lines creates an atmosphere full of action. Centered in the
foreground with his clarinet, Benny Goodman is surrounded by members of his band
– all the musicians are absorbed in the act of playing music for an audience visibly
dancing in the background. This pen and ink drawing, by Chicago artist
Frederick D. Jones Jr. (1923-1996), is part of a series of drawings Jones created depicting famous jazz musicians of the era. Benny Goodman, son of Russian-immigrant Jews, was a Chicago musician known as “The King of Swing” and considered one of the best Clarinetists of all time. Goodman’s quartet band as of 1936 and depicted in the drawing above included, Gene Krupa (1909-1973) on drums, Teddy Wilson (1912-1986) on piano, and Lionel Hampton (1908-2002) on vibraphone. First established as a trio (before Lionel Hampton joined) in 1935, this group of musicians was one of the first racially integrated jazz bands to play in front of paying audiences. Prolific during his career and recognized as a young talent, Jones has been overlooked in the cannon of art history. In the mid 1930s, Jones was a student at the Britt School of Art in Atlanta, Georgia while working part-time at the Coca-Cola factory as a janitor, when Harrison Jones, Coca-Cola’s chairman, accidentally found Jones’ sketchbook and insisted on sponsoring Jones’ move to Chicago and enrollment in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After graduating 1947, Jones settled in Bronzeville and became a member of the South Side Community Art Center, eventually serving as the organization’s assistant director. Jones was one of the many artists to contribute to the vibrant art and music scene taking place in Chicago’s South Side, becoming friends with fellow South Side Community Art Center artist Eldzier Cortor (1916-2015). Jones described his friendships at the South Side Community Art Center as: “sort of like a brotherhood…Everybody was learning from everybody.” The drawing of Benny Goodman represents the classic collaboration of fine art and music. The drawing of these four men was created early in Jones’ career, around 1940, the same year Jones moved from Atlanta to Chicago. In 1988 Jones sat down with Arlene E. Williams, for the Archives of American Art African-American Artists in Chicago oral history project (1988-1989). Jones named artist Hale Woodruff (1900 -1980) as an early influence and mentor, stating that Woodruff “carried my world…he taught me a lot and was like a father...,”. As his work developed, Jones created a dreamy, romantic style of fantasy. Spirituality, abstraction, and music continued to be influences in Jones’ work. Jones told the Chicago Tribune in 1987: “Painting is a simple thing... Make it flamboyant and beautiful but tell the truth.” Jones’ drawing Benny Goodman is just that: simple, flamboyant, and beautiful.
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