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Woody Herman

After early experience in Chicago with the bands led by Tom Gerun and Harry Sosnik, Woody Herman toured with Gus Arnheim. In 1934, he joined Isham Jones, and when Jones's group disbanded in 1936 Herman used its leading sidemen as the nucleus for his own orchestra. This band went through a number of changes of personnel, such as the inclusion in 1943 of Chubby Jackson and in 1944 of Neal Hefti, Ralph Burns, Flip Phillips, and Bill Harris (by the mid-1940s, under the name Herman's Herd, it was internationally famous for the force and originality of its music. Herman reformed the band in 1947, and 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; among the musicians who played in the section were Serge Chaloff, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, and Gene Ammons.

After the demise of the Second Herd in 1949, Herman continued to lead bands; these were perhaps less creative, but their consistently high level of musicianship assured his continuing reputation. The Anglo-American Herd, which he organized in 1959, was significant in the history of English Jazz; another of the more distinctive later bands, the Swinging Herd, was formed in 1962 and featured such excellent soloists as Bill Chase, Phil Wilson, and Sal Nistico. Herman broadened his scope in the late 1960s, when he took up soprano saxophone and included young jazz-rock players in his groups. He toured widely in the 1970s, and in the early 1980s held a residency in a club in New Orleans. Thereafter he worked principally on the West Coast, before taking up another residency in the St. Regis Hotel, New York, in 1985. He celebrated his 50th anniversary as bandleader with the formation of a new orchestra in 1986.

Although Herman's instrumental expertise was considerable, his essential importance was as an organizer. His rare ability to assemble and sustain bands notable for the quality of their musicians grew especially clear in the late years of World War II, when his group consisted of brilliant improvisers whose ensemble playing was exuberant and incisive; Igor Stravinsky was so impressed by its sound that in 1945 he composed his Ebony Concerto for the band. The harmonic procedures of bop influenced Herman's next orchestra even more deeply, confirming his freedom from the contemporary sectarianism in jazz. The ebullient Lemon Drop (1948) with its succession of exciting improvisations illustrates Herman's shrewd open-mindedness as a bandleader as do more overtly ambitious recordings like the two-part Lady McGowan's Dream (1946) and the four-part Summer Sequence (1946-7), both composed by Burns.

Woody Herman: Blue Flame - Portrait Of A Legend

by Edward Blanco
April 11, 2013

Woody HermanBlue Flame--Portrait Of A LegandJazzed Media 2012Born on May 16, 1913, Woodrow Charles “Woody" Herman is the subject of this feature-length documentary, produced by Jazzed Media's Graham Carter in association with Al Julian's The Woody Herman Society in recognition of the clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, bandleader and American jazz icon's Centennial birthday. Woody Herman: Blue Flame--Portrait of a Jazz Legend is much more than an entertaining film about one of the greatest ...

Film Review

Woody Herman: Blue Flame - Portrait Of A Jazz Legend

by Dan Bilawsky
December 1, 2012

Woody HermanBlue Flame: Portrait Of A Jazz LegendJazzed Media2012 Innovation and boundary pushing is often seen as a young man's game, so the obvious question is, how did clarinetist/saxophonist/vocalist/bandleader extraordinaire Woody Herman manage to keep things fresh for virtually his entire half-century run? The answer is so simple that it almost belongs in the common sense category: Herman continued to tap young musicians to shape his groups' sound from the time ...

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Album Review

Woody Herman: Live Jazz From Club 15

Read "Live Jazz From Club 15" reviewed by Larry Taylor

by Larry Taylor
February 12, 2007

Fans of Woody Herman's Herds and big bands in general should welcome Live Jazz From Club 15, which captures his young band in the sixties.

Those who visited Las Vegas four decades ago, before it became the entertainment capital of the world, knew they could see and hear great jazz in casino lounges adjacent to the main showrooms. Request Records has recently released six CDs of live recordings made in Vegas during that time under the umbrella title Live Jazz ...

247

Album Review

Woody Herman: The Everest Years

Read "The Everest Years" reviewed by David Rickert

by David Rickert
June 1, 2005

Woody Herman's late-fifties band was stocked with talented newcomers and a few seasoned veterans, all of whom as a unit packed the powerful punch that of a generation of players weaned on Ellington and bebop records. While many big bands were floundering or had packed it in, Herman's Herd continued to create worthwhile music even after his best work was behind him.

This compilation features tracks from five different releases on the Everest label and showcases a band ...

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Album Review

Woody Herman: Herman's Heat and Puente's Beat

Read "Herman's Heat and Puente's Beat" reviewed by David Rickert

by David Rickert
April 26, 2005

Woody Herman's fine band from the fifties never really got its due. It lives in the shadow of the more famous Second Herd, and most of Herman's records from this period remain out of print. However, Herman and company was still at the top of their game. Most of his featured players were relative unknowns, yet were weaned on a steady diet of bebop and Ellington and no doubt absorbed the lessons of those who occupied their chairs before.

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Album Review

Woody Herman: The Complete Columbia Recordings of Woody Herman and His Orchestra & Woodchoppers (1945-1947)

Read "The Complete Columbia Recordings of Woody Herman and His Orchestra & Woodchoppers (1945-1947)" reviewed by George Harris

by George Harris
March 5, 2005

Leave it to Mosaic to be the one to finally get it right. After Columbia's initial poorly engineered Greatest Hits back in the '80s, and their better sounding (but hardly complete) two-CD set two years ago, Woody Herman is finally represented in the respectful manner he is due with a delicious seven-CD (limited edition) box set. This beauty is not only an absolute must for Herman fans, but it also serves as a testament for all music fans who want ...

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Album Review

Woody Herman: The Band That Plays The Blues 1938

Read "The Band That Plays The Blues 1938 " reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
May 1, 2002

The Pre-Thundering Herd...

Woodrow Charles Herman was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 16, 1913. An excellent clarinet and saxophonist and vocalist, Herman was to be best known for leading a series of influential big bands. Like Hector Berlioz, Woody Herman would be better know for this ability to make a band play than for his ability to play a given instrument. The present Naxos Jazz Legends release details the period prior to the First Herd, apt the named ...

Video / DVD

The Mellow Scene of Early Autumn

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
September 2, 2024

Though the calendar says summer, our souls tell us it's early autumn. So in the spirit of the shifting sunlight, darker mornings and cooler air, here's the story behind the jazz standard Early Autumn followed by 10 sterling instrumental versions. The story... In 1946, the classically inclined arranger Ralph Burns brought a three-part neo-Impressionist suite to bandleader Woody Herman called Summer Sequence. As Gary Giddins notes in his superb book, Visions of Jazz (Oxford), Herman recorded the three parts in ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Woody Herman

Source: Michael Ricci
May 16, 2023

All About Jazz is celebrating Woody Herman's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Woody Herman

Source: Michael Ricci
May 16, 2022

All About Jazz is celebrating Woody Herman's birthday today!

Video / DVD

The Early Autumn Story and 10 Faves

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
October 26, 2021

In 1946, at the height of Stravinsky's and modern classical's influence on big band jazz, arranger Ralph Burns brought a three-part suite to bandleader Woody Herman called Summer Sequence, Parts 1-3. Herman recorded the three parts in September '46, when saxophonist Flip Phillips was the band's chief saxophone soloist. But in the 78 era, three parts of anything was doomed. Four sides of two records needed to be filled, so Columbia, Herman's label at the time, shelved the masters. A ...
read more

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Woody Herman

Source: Michael Ricci
May 16, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Woody Herman's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Woody Herman

Source: Michael Ricci
May 16, 2020

All About Jazz is celebrating Woody Herman's birthday today!

Recording

The Complete Woody Herman Decca, Mars and MGM Sessions (1943-1954)

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
February 15, 2020

The Complete Woody Herman Decca, Mars and MGM Sessions (1943-1954) (Mosaic) Woody Herman and his band were most closely associated with the Columbia and Capitol labels, but in the 1940s and ’50s the clarinetist, saxophonist and influential leader also recorded for the companies you see named in the headline above. The Mosaic label has issued a seven-album set of Herman’s recordings for those labels. The collection seems certain to get the attention not only of Herman fans but also of ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Woody Herman

Source: Michael Ricci
May 16, 2019

All About Jazz is celebrating Woody Herman's birthday today!

After early experience in Chicago with the bands led by Tom Gerun and Harry Sosnik, Woody Herman toured with Gus Arnheim. In 1934, he joined Isham Jones, and when Jones\'s group disbanded in 1936 Herman used its leading sidemen as the nucleus for his own orchestra. This band went through a number of changes of personnel, such as the inclusion in 1943 of Chubby Jackson and in 1944 of Neal Hefti, ...
read more

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Woody Herman

Source: Michael Ricci
May 16, 2018

All About Jazz is celebrating Woody Herman's birthday today!

Video / DVD

History of Early Autumn

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
October 6, 2017

In 1946, the classically inclined arranger Ralph Burns brought an Impressionist three-part suite to bandleader Woody Herman called Summer Sequence. As Gary Giddens notes in Visions of Jazz, Herman recorded the three parts in September '46, when saxophonist Flip Phillips was the band's chief saxophone soloist. But in the 78 era, three parts of anything were ill-fated. You needed four parts to fill four sides of two records. So Columbia, Herman's label at the time, shelved the masters. In late ...
read more