Woody Herman always went out of his way during his long career to encourage younger players, often persuading them to write arrangements of recent tunes for his orchestra. On this recording one gets to hear his band interpret such selections as
Chick Corea's "La Fiesta,"
Leon Russell's "A Song for You," "Freedom Jazz Dance," "A Child Is Born" and "Giant Steps"; what other bandleader from the '30s would have performed such modern material? With strong solo work from tenors Gregory Herbert and
Frank Tiberi, trumpeter Bill Stapleton and
Herman himself, this is an impressive effort. ~ Scott Yanow