Toshiyuki Miyama

Toshiyuki Miyama and the New Herd: New Herd / Take the "A" Train

by Jack Bowers
August 1, 1999

In case one harbors any doubt about the kind of big–band Jazz championed by Toshiyuki Miyama’s Tokyo–based ensemble, the phrase “New Herd” should be a dead giveaway. The band is forged in the swaggering image of Woody Herman’s legendary Thundering Herds, an imprint that is quickly borne out on these two discs, recorded in 1974 and ’75, respectively. New Herd was produced in a Tokyo studio in September ’74 to commemorate the band’s well–received performance that year at the Monterey ...