Benny Goodman it was premiered by Goodman. Herman was the dedicatee (1945) and first performer (1946) of Igor Stravinsky's "Ebony Concerto", but many years later Stravinsky made another recording with Goodman as the soloist. He made a recording of Mozart's "Clarinet Quintet" in July 1956 with the Boston Symphony String Quartet at the Berkshire Festival; on the same occasion he recorded Mozart's "Clarinet Concerto in A major", K. 622, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Munch. He also recorded the clarinet concertos of Weber and Carl Nielsen. After forays outside swing, Goodman started a new band in 1953. According to
The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra the Count Basie Orchestra, for whom he composed and arranged. Mel Lewis, a jazz drummer, had been playing in big bands since he was 15, first with Boyd Raeburn, then Alvino Rey, Stan Kenton, Terry Gibbs, and Gerald Wilson. In 1961, he toured the Soviet Union with veteran big band leader Benny Goodman. After Lewis moved to New York City, he met Thad Jones and started the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra at the end of 1965. Beginning in February 1966, the band played every Monday night at the Village Vanguard. Since the mid-1980s, the band has been called the Vanguard