A great version of Ralph Burns' "Early Autumn" – and vintage 40s material from the Herman band, with Red Rodney, Ernie Royal, Conte Candoli, and Rolf Ericson on trumpets; Serge Chaloff, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, and Stan Getz on saxes! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A great collection of work from one of the hippest bandleaders to emerge in the swing generation – and one of the few to be able to tie his approach to the growing worlds of modern jazz and jump jive too! The set features material from Woody Herman's first three "herds" – the first, his initial recording group with Columbia; the second, his groundbreaking group with the "four brothers" group of horn players who included Stan Getz and Jimmy Giuffre; and the third his mid 50s revival group that had Ralph Burns turning in some great modern arrangements to rework that four brothers sound. The set features very lively notes from Woody himself – and titles include "Non Alcoholic", "Caldonia", "Good Earth", "Four Brothers", "Early Autumn", "Third Herd", "Mulligan Tawny", "Blame Boehm", and "Sidewalks Of Cuba". LP, Vinyl record album

Cool groovy Woody – with Fender Rhodes from Pat Coil! Titles include "Isn't She Lovely", "Sugar Loaf Mountain", "Fire Dance", "Sunrise Lady", and "I Got News For You". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent stuff – a record that we love it to death, and listen to all the time! Woody Herman's band meets the soulful arrangements of Richard Evans, and the whole thing cooks nicely in the Chess studios in Chicago. The result is a tasty blend of soulful big band tracks, with a strident groove that Woody never duplicated, and with the kind of baroque arrangements that Evans was bringing to some of the best soul work on Cadet at the time. Donny Hathaway plays organ, and the group does a killer version of his own "Flying Easy". Other titles include "The Hut", "Sex Machine", and "It's Your Thing" – but it's all great! LP, Vinyl record album

Funky Woody from the 70s – an excellent and overlooked album, one that has Woody leading a great group with a fair bit of electric players, in a funky big band style that sparkles with the best of the genre! The group's filled with younger unknown players – but from the sound of the record, you can tell that these kids had been listening to a lot of funk – and had a great ear for mixing electric rhythms with cutting solos on tenor, trumpet, and funky flute. Includes a great version of Chick Corea's "Spain", plus the tracks "Lake Taco", "King Cobra", "Toothless Grin", "Jazzman", and "Don't You Worry Bout A Thing". LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from Woody – not as funky as some of his other 70s albums, but still a really excellent album with a much better sound than you'd expect! The group's filled with young hip players – most of whom we don't know, but who play with a lot of soul – and even Woody's pretty darn great, playing alto and soprano sax with much more of an edge than in earlier years. Inlcudes a funky remake of "Corazon", plus the tracks "Naima", "Lazy Bird", "America Drinks & Goes Home", "Blues For Poland", and "Bass Folk Song". Nice electric piano work too! LP, Vinyl record album

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

Wome of Woody Herman's cooler, groovier work of the 60s – with work from young talents that include Don Rader on both trumpet and arrangements, plus Dusko Goykovich on additional trumpet, Nat Pierce on piano, and Sal Nistico on tenor! LP, Vinyl record album

Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto is dedicated to Woody Herman – and played here by Herman's orchestra. LP, Vinyl record album

Rare live from pianist Dodo Marmarosa in a collection that features Woody Herman on clarinet, Wardell Gray on tenor, Benny Carter and Sonny Criss on alto, Howard McGhee on trumpet, and Vic Dickenson on trombone. LP, Vinyl record album

Arguably one of the greatest albums ever cut by Jimmy Witherspoon – recorded live at an early Monterey Jazz Festival, and done in a style that shows the strong link between jazz and blues in Jimmy's work! The group on the set includes Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, Coleman Hawkins, and Woody Herman – and the longish tracks on the set give them all more than enough room to solo alongside Jimmy's bluesy vocals. The album's also one of the first to be produced by a young David Axelrod – and shows a clear respect for both the singer and the musicians, in a combination that would come out even more strongly on Axe's later productions for Capitol. Titles include "No Rollin Blues", "Big Fine Girl", "Good Rockin Tonight", "Ain't Nobody's Business", and "When I Been Drinkin". LP, Vinyl record album

A record with a title that sounds like it should be something of a bachelor pad release from the title, but which is instead a good old fashioned, no holds barred, open-ended jazz session from trumpeter Buck Clayton! All tracks are nice and long – way more than usual for big label jazz at the time – and Clayton's trumpet is lineup alongside those of Joe Newman and Joe Thomas, plus other players who include Woody Herman on clarinet, Urbie Green and Benny Powell on trombones, Julian Dash and Al Cohn on tenor, Charlie Fowkes on baritone, Freddie Green on guitar, and Sir Charles Thompson on piano. Titles include "Moten Swing", "Sentimental Journey", "How Hi The Fi", and "Blue Moon". LP, Vinyl record album

A searing live document of the magic of Ten Years After – recorded at London's Klooks Kleek as a great example of the kind of sound that got the group a huge amount of attention before they were even signed to a record label! The sound's still got some of the bluesy influences that both the group and that club were known for – but the guitar of Alvin Lee is really taking off, especially on the album's very long tracks – which seem to insist on solos that would go onto influence a whole psychedelic generation. The Hammond solos are great, too – and titles include "I May Be Wrong But I Won't Be Wrong Always", "Spider In My Web", "I'm Going Home", and a surprisingly great take on Woody Herman's "Woodchopper's Ball", which is completely transformed here! LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked bit of 70s big band jamming cut for Columbia by trombonist Bill Watrous, done in a mode that's partially like the funky Maynard Ferguson records for the label at the time, but which also has some of the hipper and more expansive approaches that you'd get on some of Woody Herman's best from the period, or (even better) some of the MPS big band classics of the time! LP, Vinyl record album

A great little collection of hip 70s soul jazz tunes – recorded for the Mainstream level by a few different groups, but all united with a spirit of freedom and soulful exploration. Titles include "Dark Mood" by a group with Bobby Hutcherson, Harold Land, Mtume, and Buster Williams; "Quien Sabe" by Hadley Caliman, Larry Vuckovich, and others; "Miscegenation" by Buddy Terry, Woody Shaw, Eddie Henderson, and Joanne Brackeen; and "Valerie" by Blue Mitchell, Herman Riley, and Joe Sample. LP, Vinyl record album

A classic from the undisputed master of the swing jazz jam session! Jumpin' At The Woodside has Buck Clayton recreating a Count Basie vibe, but in a much more open-ended, and long-grooving way! Most of the tracks on the record are nice and long – really opening up with a solo-heavy, jam session sort of style – and players shift from track to track, and include Woody Herman on clarinet, Coleman Hawkins on tenor, Al Cohn on tenor, Urbie Green on trombone, and Ruby Braff on trumpet. Titles include "Broadway", "Rock A Bye Basie", "Jumpin At The Woodside", and "Blue & Sentimental". LP, Vinyl record album

The question in the title is almost a moot point – because with the quality of a record like this, we hardly care if other bands come back at all! Duke's working here on a batch of older big band standards – as you might guess from the title – but the tracks all have a nice little flourish that's filled with plenty of those later Ellington touches – a seemingly effortless ability to place interesting horn bits and rhythmic twists into tunes that you thought you might already know. The set features new takes on classics associated with the bands of Esrkine Hawkins, Glen Gray, Woody Herman, Les Brown, and others – and titles include "Rhapsody In Blue", "Smoke Rings", "Artistry In Rhythm", "The Waltz You Saved For Me", "Woodchopper's Ball", and "Good Bye". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic small group work from tenorist Sal Nistico – and one of the few records that really finds a way to capture his genius! Sal got his start in the Woody Herman band of the 60s – and although a standout there, he really shines even more brightly here in a small group setting – with a sharp edge on his horn that maybe only comes through this well in a handful of his European recordings, especially for the Ego label. In the spirit of that imprint, the great trumpeter Ted Curson is on board – and Sal's tone is also balanced out nicely by some equally great work from Nick Brignola on baritone. The rest of the combo is equally great – with superb rhythm from Ronnie Mathews on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums – and titles include "Be My Love", "Blues For KD", "Bambu", "Fee Fi Fo Fum", and "Anthropology". LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of highlights spanning the entire history of the Monterey Jazz Festival, with performances by Cannonball Adderley, Toots Thielemans, Woody Herman, Joe Henderson, Jon Hendricks, Jimmy Giuffre, Johnny Griffin, Buddy Rich with Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Joe Williams, Benny Golson, and Joanne Brackeen. LP, Vinyl record album