Woody Herman and his Thundering Herd live at Berliner Jazztage 1973

Woody Herman (cl)

Bill Byrne, Tony Klatka, William Stapleton, David Stahl, Craig Andrews (tp)
James Polh, Steven Bacher, Harold Garrett (tb)
Gary Anderson (ts), Frank Tiberi (ts, fl), Gregory Herbert (fs, fl), Jan Konopasek (bs)
Andrew Laverne (p), Charles Jackson (b), Ronald Davis (dr)

recorded live at Philharmonie Berlin, November 3, 1973

1. Adam's Apple
2. Four Brothers
3. Giant Steps
4. NN

As one of only four surviving jazz-oriented bandleaders from the swing era (along with Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Stan Kenton) who was still touring the world with a big band, Woody Herman welcomed such new talent in the 1970s as Greg Herbert, Andy Laverne, Joe Beck, Alan Broadbent, and Frank Tiberi. He also recorded with Chick Corea, had a reunion with Flip Phillips, and celebrated his 40th anniversary as a leader with a notable 1976 Carnegie Hall concert.
Woody Herman returned to emphasizing straight-ahead jazz by the late '70s. By then, he was being hounded by the IRS due to an incompetent manager from the 1960s not paying thousands of dollars of taxes out of the sidemen's salaries. Herman, who might very well have taken it easy, was forced to keep on touring and working constantly into his old age.

Woody Herman Orchestra: 184th NDR Jazz Workshop Hamburg 1983

Woody Herman Orchestra
recorded live at NDR Studio 10, Hamburg, November 30, 1983

1. Blue Flame (Bishop/ Ray Noble)
2. Things Ain't What They Used To Be (Duke Ellingon)
3. Four Brothers (Jimmy Giuffre)
4. Early Autumn (Burns)
5. Come Rain or Come Shine (Howard Arlen/ Johnny Mercer)
6. Perdido (Juan Tizol/ Duke Ellington)
7. I Got News For You (Roy Alfred)
8. Count Down (John Coltrane)

No other bandleader in the history of jazz had the staying power of Woody Herman. From the Band That Plays the Blues, Herman’s first ensemble, organized in 1936, through the many "Herds" that came and went from the 1940s to the 1980s, Herman managed to maintain vitality in his big bands as others ran out of steam and dropped out of the race. There were two keys to Herman’s success. First, he continuously hired talented young players and arrangers. Second, he refused to lead a nostalgia band that played only hits of the past. The result was an ensemble that was always fresh and exciting, musically sharp, and—especially notable from the 1960s on, as rock music was eclipsing jazz—popular.

Herman’s bands were always characterized by their rhythmic drive and intensity and by the enthusiasm of the players. In Herman’s autobiography, jazz critic Gene Lees is quoted as saying that "Woody had an astonishing capacity to spot talent before it was particularly obvious to anybody else … the list of careers that he either made or advanced is staggering." Herman’s personnel lineup over the years reads like an index to jazz, including such notables as sax players Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, and Flip Phillips; trumpeters Shorty Rogers, Pete and Conte Candoli, and Sonny Berman; trombonists Bill Watrous, Jim Pugh, and Bill Harris; pianists Ralph Burns and Jimmy Rowles; vibraphonists Milt Jackson, Red Norvo, Marjorie Hyams, and Terry Gibbs; bassists Oscar Pettiford and Chubby Jackson; and drummers Dave Tough, Shelley Manne, and Ed Soph.

In 1982 the band released the album "World Class" on Concord. As with most of the Woody Herman Orchestra's recordings for Concord, this set (taken from concerts in Japan) welcomes guests from Herman's past. In this case tenors Al Cohn, Med Flory, Sal Nistico and Flip Phillips get to star on half of the eight selections including a remake of "Four Brothers" and Phillips's "The Claw." Phillips has an opportunity to reprise his famous Jazz at the Philharmonic solo on "Perdido."