Woody Herman (reHeard)

PBS: Although Herman’s instrumental expertise was considerable, his essential importance was as an organizer – assembling and sustaining bands with brilliant improvisers playing was exuberant and incisive; Igor Stravinsky was so impressed by its sound that in 1945 he composed his Ebony Concerto for the band.

Answers.com : In 1945, the First Herd was considered the most exciting big band in jazz and several of the arrangements of Ralph Burns and Neal Hefti are considered classics, and such Herman favorites entered the book as \”Apple Honey,\” \”Caldonia,\” \”Northwest Passage,\” \”Bijou\” (Harris’ memorable if eccentric feature), and the nutty \”Your Father’s Mustache.\”

Solid! : In December of 1946 Herman made the suprise announcement that he was disbanding his band (First Herd) in order to devote more time to his family. But After a stint as a disc jockey (DJ Woody?), he finally formed a new group, the Second Herd, in 1947. It featured a ”cooler” sound, with such musicians as Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Clark Terry, and Oscar Pettiford. During the 1950s Herman formed a Third Herd, which scored a hit with ”Early Autumn,” and later he organized the New Thundering Herd.

Allaboutjazz.com : The distinctive feature of the Second Herd was the group of saxophonists (three tenor and one baritone) who came to be known as the Four Brothers.

Jazz Professional : ”The singing was something I got from my father. He had been a singer, and he had worked in theatres. When I was a kid I used to make a point of hearing work songs, shouts and things sung by people that I thought sang good. Being in the entertainment business, even as a boy, meant I could get in to hear a lot of performers, where others couldn’t” (Woody Herman talking to Les Tomkins in 1964).

Jazzscript : Disaster struck when it emerged that Herman’s trusted manager had failed to pay the band’s taxes for years. The venues changed from hotel ballrooms to high-school gyms as jazz became harder to sell.

The Woody Herman Orchestra : Frank Tiberi picked up the reins of the Orchestra when the great Woody Herman became ill during the band’s 50th anniversary tour in 1986. Before his passing on October 29, 1987, Herman chose Frank to lead the Orchestra. Humbled to have been selected, Tiberi emphasizes that “The leader of this band will always be Woody Herman”.

Blogcritics : Sarah Vaughan and Woody Herman never made a single commercial recording together, which is a damn shame….As it is, we’ve got On the Radio: The 1963 Live Guard Sessions instead. Taken from recording sessions designed as part of a long-running public service announcement regarding the National Guard, the presentation here is patchy but interesting.

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