Purely by the accidental circumstance of having a relatively small slice of music from which to draw, Verve's
Woody Herman Jazz Masters volume provides a service by selecting from all five Philips albums that document one of
Herman's best bands. This was a zesty, youth-driven outfit, studded with fine musicians like the late trumpeter
Bill Chase, tenor player
Sal Nistico, pianist/arranger
Nat Pierce (who apparently ran the band behind the scenes), trombonist Phil Wilson and drummer
Jake Hanna. The repertoire proves that
Herman had his ear to the ground by including numbers like a thoroughly energizing, authentic-sounding version of
Mingus' "Better Git It In Your Soul." For old time's sake, road father
Woody is there with an occasional good-humored vocal on a revivified oldie like "Caldonia." All this unit lacked was the First Herd's extra spark of originality and Zeitgeist-inspired exuberance -- being exactly in the right place at the right time in history -- but it's a close judgment call. In other words, while you wouldn't want this CD as a single-disc introduction to
Herman's six-decade career -- a First or
Second Herd sampler would be a better choice -- there's a lot of exciting music to be heard here. ~ Richard S. Ginell