CD: Woody Herman Capitol Recordings Boxed Set 6 CD's Mosaic

These 6 CD's cover the period from, 1948 into 1956. This is the p e riod of the Second Herd and into the start of the Third Herd. To my mind, this is the most jazz-oriented period in Woody's Big Band Career. The average age of the guys when they started out with the band was 23, with Herman at 34 and Bill Harris at 31. The first herd was primarily an advanced swing band, but the second herd, also called the Four Brothers, was another matter. Most of the members were imbued with an adventurism in harmonic conception, rhythm and phrasing , inspired by Charlie Parker.

Here's a partial list of just some of these amazing guys: The arrangers included Manny Albam, Ralph Burns, Al Cohn, John Coppolo, Jimmy Giuffre. Neal Hefti, Bill Holman, Johnny Mandel, Billy May, Shorty Rogers and Cy Touff.

Musicians included Shorty Rogers, Red Rodney, Bill Harris, Earl Swope, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Stan Getz, Serge Chaloff, Terry Gibbs, Lou Levy, Chubby Jackson, Don Lamond, Al Porcino, Gene Ammons, Jimmy Giuffre, Oscar Pettiford, Shelly Manne, Mary Ann McCall, Conte Candoli, Milt Jackson, Ralph Burns, Red Mitchell, Dave Barbour, Neal Hefti, Eddie Bert, Phil Urso, Bill Perkins, Nat Pierce, Red Kelly, Chuck Flores, Jack Nimitz, Richie Kamuca, Barney Kessel, Billy Bauer, Conrad Gesso, Pete Candoli, Ted Nash, Vince Guaraldi, Monty Budwig and many many more.

There are 108 tunes on these 6 discs, with some remarkable playing by Getz, Harris, the Four Brothers, and many more. A few of the tunes of note are Early Autumn, More Moon (the Shorty Rogers arrangement), Lollipop, Misty Morning, Woodchopper's Ball, Ill Wind, Sleep, Detour Ahead, Four Others, I'll Never be the Same, Opus de Funk, The Girl Upstairs, Love is a Many Splendored Thing, Blues Groove, 9:20 Special, and Basin Street Blues

Included is a large 20 page brochure with tons of info about Woody, the band members and the tunes. Lots of great photos also. The CD's are in Very Good condition as is the box and the booklet. The cover is still attached to the box, but the binding are has lots of wear and had to be (partially) re-glued.