Jazz Articles about Woody Herman

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Norman Granz: The Sound Of America

by Richard J Salvucci
October 26, 2026

If there were a more important “back office" figure in the history of American jazz than Norman Granz, who would it be? When Granz first heard Coleman Hawkins, he knew that the music was going to have a major role in his life--but he did not yet know how many others would be in his debt as well. Hundreds, if not thousands of musicians would owe him a living. Some, like Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald, would nearly become his ...

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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 ...

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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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Woody Herman: Live Jazz From Club 15

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 ...

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Woody Herman: The Everest Years

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

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

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 ...