He was the eighth child of immigrants David Goodman and Dora Grisinsky Goodman, who left Russia to escape anti-Semitism. Benny's mother never learned to speak English. His father worked for a tailor ...

During his classical studies, Ben began listening to Jazz - classic masters such as Benny Goodman and Oscar Peterson and of course the great jazz violinists including Grappelli, Joe Venuti and the ...