The music on this sampler is drawn from five different albums: five of the dozen selections on The Herd Rides Again, four from the dozen cuts on Herman's Heat & Puente's Beat, four of the five numbers from Woody Woody (leaving off "Summer Sequence"), four of the dozen performances included on Chubby Takes Over (which has
the Woody Herman Orchestra headed by bassist
Chubby Jackson), and a version of
Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto that features clarinetist
John LaPorta. Although it would have been preferable to have all of the music released on a three-CD set or maybe on two CDs (since Herman's Heat & Puente's Beat is available in full by itself), this is an excellent sampler with many high points. At the time,
Woody Herman did not have a regular
big band (it would not be reactivated until later in 1959), so these overlapping orchestras feature alumni from his first three
Herds along with a few studio musicians and some
jazz stars (such as valve trombonist
Bob Brookmeyer and tenor saxophonist
Paul Quinichette) who were not part of other
Herman bands. There is a lot of variety, including features for guitarist
Charlie Byrd (a couple years before he discovered
bossa nova), a few selections with
Tito Puente's rhythm section, Ebony Concerto, and spirited remakes of earlier
Herman hits such as "Caldonia," "Blowin' Up a Storm," and "Woodchopper's Ball." Unfortunately, the liner notes are microscopic (better get a magnifying glass) and there are some good selections missing, but overall this is an excellent sampler of
Woody Herman's 1958 Everest recordings. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
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