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Woody Herman

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Woody Herman was born in Milwaukee in 1913. As a child he performed in vaudeville as a singer and tap dancer, and at twelve he played clarinet and saxophone. In 1936 he took over the remains of Isham Jones's orchestra and made his own band out of them. It became known as the band that plays the blues and had its first hit in 1939 with Woodchopper's Ball. In 1942 he reached number one on the Billboard chart with Blues in the Night.

Music and breakthrough

In 1944 he formed the First Herd, a progressive big band with strong influences from Duke Ellington and Count Basie. The orchestra mixed bop themes with swing rhythms and recorded Caldonia in 1945. That year Igor Stravinsky wrote the Ebony Concerto for Herman and his band. In 1947 the Second Herd followed, also known as The Four Brothers Band, after the number Four Brothers, recorded on 27 December 1947 and written by Jimmy Giuffre. The saxophone section consisted of Zoot Sims, Serge Chaloff, Herbie Steward and Stan Getz. Herman led his Herds until his death in 1987 and kept experimenting, right up to jazz rock.

Influence

For jazz history he is important above all because his bands often took up new ideas and gave young, gifted players a platform. The saxophone sound of Four Brothers, light and whispering, became a model for West Coast jazz.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Four Brothers and notice the saxophone section. Can you hear how the four saxophonists form a single warm sound and then take turns soloing?

Discography

Studio albums

Mentioned in other articles

Categories: ArtistsBig band