Woody Herman, byname of Woodrow Charles Herman, (born May 16, 1913, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. – died October 29, 1987, Los Angeles, California), American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, bandleader, and singer who was best known as the front man for a succession of bands he dubbed “herds.”
Herman was a child prodigy who sang and danced in vaudeville at age six. Soon after, he began playing the saxophone and later the clarinet. Billed as the “Boy Wonder of the Clarinet,” he cut his first record, “The Sentimental Gentleman from Georgia,” at age 16. After studying music at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for a term, Herman became a touring musician, joining the Tom Gerun band in 1929. In 1934 he became part of the Isham Jones Juniors; when it disbanded in 1936, Herman used its most talented sidemen to form his own ensemble, which he publicized as the “Band That Plays the Blues.” The group was propelled to stardom in 1939 with the success of “Woodchopper’s Ball.” More than a million copies of the song were sold, and it became Herman’s theme.
During the 1940s Herman’s band, then known as Herman’s Herd, was noted for its exuberance and technical brilliance. It had its own radio show, appeared in motion pictures (such as New Orleans, 1947), and in 1946 performed Igor Stravinsky’s Ebony Concerto at Carnegie Hall.
As did many other bandleaders after World War II, Herman dissolved his band in 1946, but within months he formed his Second Herd, featuring tenor saxophonists Zoot Sims and Stan Getz. (Getz attained stardom with his solo on Herman’s “Early Autumn.”) The band pioneered the combination of three tenor saxophones and one baritone saxophone and became identified with the song “Four Brothers,” which used that grouping. Herman at this time was also one of the few big band leaders to incorporate bebop-tinged material into his repertoire, as on the hit “Caldonia,” which featured Herman’s eccentric vocals. After the Second Herd disbanded in 1949, Herman continued to form and lead his “Thundering Herds.”
During the 1960s and ’70s, Herman became stylistically more eclectic, using material by artists as diverse as Charles Mingus and the Beatles. He performed live concerts continuously throughout the 1970s and ’80s and in 1986 released Woody Herman and His Big Band 50th Anniversary Tour. Although his struggles with tax authorities drastically affected his later activities, he retained his reputation as a superb leader and organizer until the end. An autobiography, The Woodchopper’s Ball (cowritten with Stuart Troup), was published posthumously in 1990. (by britannica.com)
Original front + back cover from 1962
And here´s a low-budget album by Woody Herman, first released in 1963. But … this is rare live recording (date and location unknown, maybe from 1962 but … who knows ?) …
Enjoy this exciting and thrilling sound of one of the greatest in the Big Band Jazz scene …
Alternate front + back cover
Personnel:
Bob Clark (trumpet)
John Coppola (trumpet)
Jim Gannon (bass)
Jake Hanna (drums)
Bill Harris (trombone)
Woody Herman (clarinet, saxophone)
Pete Jolly (piano)
Arno Marsh (saxophone)
Archie Martin (trombone)
Jay Migliori (saxophone)
Andy Peele (trumpet)
Roger Pemberton (saxophone)
Hal Posey (trumpet)
Joe Romano (saxophone)
Danny Stiles (trumpet)
Roy Wiggins (trombone)
Tracklist:
01. Natchel Blues (Roland) 4.41
02. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore (Russell/Ellington) 4.19
03. Body And Soul (Heyman/Eyton/Green/Sour) 5.05
04. Ready, Get Set, Jump (Roland) 4.57
05. At The Woodchoppers Ball (Bishop/Herman) 4.36
06. Opus De Funk (Silver) 5.23
07. Park East (Roland) 4.25
08. Saxy (Roland) 3.13
More from Woody Herman:
Woody Herman recorded with many different types of musicians over his years as a soloist and as a mainstream big-band leader. This was an idea that jazz writer Ralph Gleason suggested: to record an album with guitarist Mike Bloomfield, a young blues & rock musician, who had already established himself with Paul Butterfield’s Blues Band and some record dates under his own name. Woody and Mike were both excited about the prospect of working together. The band had the charts ready for Mike, so he just stepped in, plugged in and wailed. Maybe some “purists” would find this album beneath the bulk of the band’s work, but that is just NOT WOODY!! He was always looking to expand horizons and try the new things. (And since jazz is not a “pure” music, but mostly borrows from other forms, that’s what keeps it FRESH).
His most successful band Herman Band was forced to disband in 1946 and this was Herman’s only financially successful band. He left his band to be supportive of his wife and family while his wife, Charlotte Nestle who was struggling with alcoholism and pill addictions. Fans and Critics have said that the big band era ended in December 1946 when Herman’s band and seven other bands disbanded. Herman created in 1947 the Second Herd band and in the 1950s the Third Herd Band. The Third Herd had a successful tour in Europe. By the 1960s he was famous for hiring many young but stellar up incoming musicians for his Herd Bands.
Woody Herman & Frank Tiberi
ManyFantasticColors 