WOODY HERMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1936-1937 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1042 (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Woody Herman led many big bands throughout his career. Some biographies give very little space to his earliest groups and start out with the First Herd of 1944-46, but Herman was a bandleader as early as 1936. This CD actually starts out with a few Herman appearances with Isham Jones during March 1936. The full orchestra performs "Stompin' At The Savoy" and then "Isham Jones' Juniors" (an octet taken from the big band) performs six numbers, four of which include Herman vocals. Virginia Verrell sings a spirited "Slappin' The Bass" and the only instrumental is "Nola" but the best number (and one that would reappear with Herman in the future) is "Fan It." By Nov. 1936 the clarinetist-altoist was leading his own big band, one that also included five other musicians from Isham Jones' orchestra which had broken up a few months earlier. Few listeners probably know that the very first Herman big band mostly featured his ballad vocalizing; "Woodchoppers Ball" would not change the orchestra's direction until 1939. Only one song among the 16 selections by Woody Herman's orchestra is an instrumental ("Mr. Ghost Goes To Town"). The leader' singing ranges from insipid and romantic to (in a few cases) swinging; best are "Doctor Jazz," "Trouble In Mind" and "It Happened Down In Dixieland." But this set is strictly for completists and Woody Herman collectors who are curious to know how he started out. Scott Yanow              Tracklist + Credits :

WOODY HERMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1937-1938 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1090 (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This entry in the chronological rundown of Woody Herman recordings focuses on all of his 1937 and 1938 Decca recordings. The Band That Plays the Blues was still searching for a style that would click with a public hungry for all swing music, and the song selection is a combination of standards, blues, a couple of boogie-woogies, and a stray novelty or two like "Flat Foot Floogie." It also features the oddball "Laughing Boy Blues" (his only hit in 1938) and "River Bed Blues," the first recording by the small group within the band, the Woodchoppers. The best was still to come. Cub Koda
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WOODY HERMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1939 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1128 (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Woody Herman had a breakthrough during the period of time covered by Classics' third Herman CD. The Apr. 12, 1939, session yielded "Woodchopper's Ball," Herman's first hit, and it also featured "Dallas Blues," "Blues Downstairs," and "Blues Upstairs." From then on, Herman's first group would be known as "The Band That Plays the Blues." Other highlights of this enjoyable CD include four titles featuring singer Connie Boswell, the Andrews Sisters guesting on "Begin the Beguine," some vocals by Mary Ann McCall, and the tracks "The Sheik of Araby" and "Farewell Blues." Despite the lack of any major soloists (beyond the leader), things were definitely looking up by August 1939 for Herman. Scott Yanow       Tracklist :

WOODY HERMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1940 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1243 (2002) FLAC (tracks), lossless

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WOODY HERMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1940-1941 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1304 (2003) FLAC (tracks), lossless

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