Woody Herman
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Known as "the band that plays the blues," this album extracts blues-based tunes from two sessions by the 1955/56 incarnations of the Woody Herman Band, one in Hollywood and the other in Chicago. Most of the tunes were made famous by others like Bertha "Chippie" Hill, Louis Armstrong, Joe Williams, and Count Basie, and they get more than a respectable reading by Herman's outfit. Although not quite up to the standards of the great "herd" bands of the 1940s, this group was not that far behind. With arrangements by Nat Pierce, Ralph Burns, and Manny Albam played by musicians like Cy Touff (one of the few practitioners of the bass trumpet), Vic Feldman, tenor man Richie Kamuca, trombonist Bill Harris, and Herman himself. Herman typically gave himself modest solo time, letting his good players take up those cudgels. Herman limits himself to two clarinet solos, on "Basin Street Blues" and "Blues Groove," but sings on most cuts. The gifted trombonist, Bill Harris, is given the major time in the solo spotlight being especially inventive on "Trouble in Mind" and "I Want a Little Gir.l" There are other good individual efforts by Kamuca, vibes player Vic Feldman and trumpeter Johnny Coppola. Herman's groups were not necessarily creative in the sense of Ellington and Armstrong, rather, the band played at a high level of technical perfection, and such is the case here. This LP does nothing to diminish Herman's standing as a vital force in big band jazz. Dave Nathan, All Music Guide Tracks:
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