Blowin Up a Storm: The Columbia Years 1945-47
Columbia's sprawling new two-disc Woody Herman retrospective,Blowin' Up a Storm!, isn't the most comprehensive look at one of the Swing Era's most beloved bands, as it only covers the Columbia years of 1945-47 and leaves out the string of hits Herman had for Decca in the preceding years. But, as the 40 tracks here will attest, this is unquestionably Herman's best material, showcasing the power and polish that led one contemporary critic to dub the group "Herman's Herd." While the set includes many of the vocal hits that kept Herman a household name at the time--such as "Caledonia," "Apple Honey," and "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"--jazz fans will probably be more interested in the extraordinary level of playing that elevated the group above most swing bands of its day. Disc two in particular features some of the finest performances recorded by the band, with Stan Getz and Zoot Sims blowing through Jimmy Giuffre's classic "Four Brothers" and pianist-arranger Ralph Burns's four-part "Summer Sequence" showcasing the many facets of the band one by one--the precision and balance of the horn section, the rock-solid swing, and the inimitable tenor stylings of Getz. Perhaps the most interesting cut of all though, is the group's historic 1946 collaboration with composer Igor Stravinsky, "Ebony Concerto," a gorgeous eight-minute piece conducted by the composer himself that showed that this was one herd that could do more than just rumble.--Ezra Gale