Woody Herman - Keeper of the Flame

Keeper of the Flame, is a 1994 compilation of Woody Herman's band from 1948-1949,  I purchased this cd to hear Oscar Pettiford with Woody Herman, as it seems to be one of the few recordings (if not the only one)  that documents his time with the band.  Well, turns out the real story is not Pettiford, but the band.  The playing and the writing is phenomenal and this was one of his great bands, the "Second Herd" featuring the "Four Brothers".   

There are actually two editions of the band on this compilation.  On the first session from December 30, 1948, three of the four original tenor players (Stan Getz, Al Cohn, and Zoot Sims) are still here with Sam Marowitz on alto saxophone replacing Jimmy Giuffre on tenor.  Bari saxophonist Serge Chaloff is here and his sound is much lighter than other bari players before him and so it's easy to hear where Mulligan got his own bari sound (besides Lester Young).  The saxes are heard to great effect on one of Herman's most famous pieces, the ballad "Early Autumn" arranged by Ralph Burns.  Getz's solo at the end is also memorable and made him a star.  

The band re-entered the studio five months later on May 26, 1949 and save for Chaloff on Bari, there's a whole new sax section with Giuffre returning and adding newcomers Herman Marowitz, Buddy Savitt, and the great Gene Ammons.  Ammons already had a hit in 1947 with "Red Top", so I'm surprised to see him with Herman's band.  I guess it's a great band so why not?  Now, I'm curious about Sam Marowitz playing alto on the first and Herman Marowitz playing tenor on the second session.  Note sure if they are related, but I believe they are the same person.  There are a few typos in the liner notes and another compilation has no mention of a Herman Marowitz.  

Overall this is an exciting, energetic, and swinging band that is very much in the vein of his earlier hits "Apple Honey" or "Woodchopper's Ball" (and future recordings like the 1964 version of "After You've Gone").  Tracks like "That's Right", "Keeper of the Flame", "More Moon" (a contrefact on "How High the Moon" arranged by Shorty Rogers and featuring a terrific solo by Ammons), and an early Johnny Mandel arrangement featuring the trombones of "Not Really the Blues" continue this trend.  

Besides the sax section, the band is solid on all fronts: great brass and a driving rhythm section.  The trumpets are especially impressive with, at various times, Ernie Royal, Red Rodney, Shorty Rogers, Al Porcino and others in the section.  Trombonists include Earl Swope, Bill Harris, Ollie Wilson, Bob Swift, and Burt Varsalona and the section is nicely highlighted on Mandel's "Not really the blues".  

The drums are still not that well recorded (especially on the first session), so drummer Shelly Manne is best heard during his fills.  As a result, it often sounds like Chubby Jackson is driving the band.  Pettiford appears on five tracks and was then replaced by Joe Mondragon.  

One facet of this band was that although they originated during the height of the Swing Era, they were one of the few bands to incorporate bebop when it appeared in 1945.  I know Charlie Barnet and Benny Goodman experimented with it, but Woody Herman more than any other Swing band leaders (Stan Kenton was another) was very open to experimenting with musical styles without losing his Swing identity.  I guess there's an exception for his collaboration with Stravinsky on "Ebony Concerto", but still the willingness to try was there.  

As an another example, his 1973 recording, entitled Giant Steps, is remarkably modern.  Besides, Coltrane's famous tune there is Eddie Harris' "Freedom Jazz Dance", Thad Jones' "A Child is Born" and fusion material by Chick Corea and Leon Russell.  On Keeper of the Flame, bebop is heard in the arrangements and the solos and Herman goes a step beyond that by recording and singing a couple of tunes à la Dizzy Gillespie's "Oop Bop Sh'bam" with "Lemon Drop" and "Lollipop". There are at least 2-3 people scatting and I believe it's Woody Herman with Chubby Jackson and Terry Gibbs.  Besides Ammons and Getz, some of the solo highlights come from vibraphonist Terry Gibbs, Bill Harris who I believe is the primary trombone soloist, and pianist Lou Levy.  

Other highlights include the exciting "I Ain't Getting Any Younger" (with a vocal by Herman) and Ralph Burns' "Rhapsody in Wood", an unreleased track with an extended form.  I'm not sure who arranged "Tenderly" but it is wonderfully modern.  Most of the walking ballads are sung by Mary Anne McCall.  

She seems to have been mostly visible during the Swing era having sung with Tommy Dorsey, Charlie Barnet, and Woody Herman in a couple of different stints.  She back phrases a lot and uses a  lot of slow bends like an instrumentalist.  "I've got it bad" and "Detour Ahead" feature good examples of her singing.   Unlike other big band singers of the time, she adds more of her own conception of the song to the performance and to my ears, the looser phrasing makes her sound much more like a jazz singer than a pop singer.  

There's also some rather unusual material.  I thought "I'll be glad when you're dead you rascal you" was another name for "Goody Goody", but the latter song instead has the line "And I hope you're satisfied you rascal you".  Besides the "you rascal you" bit, there's no relation.  Anyway, this comedic song dates to 1929 and was written by Sam Theard, a singer, comedian who specialized in this type of material.  Another unusual song is "The Crickets" by South African folk singer Josef Marais.  

Marais had a duo with his wife, vocalist Rosa de Miranda, as Marais and Miranda and together they specialized in presenting folk songs, especially those from South Africa but also sung songs from other countries.    Here's a sample and it's pretty amazing that Herman turned it into good jazz.  Besides being an early example of incorporating World Music with jazz, the tune must also be one of the earliest  examples in jazz of a tune with seven beats per measure.  It must have been pretty difficult at the time, but McCall and Herman on vocals and the band pull it off well.  It's quite a radical departure from everything else, especially during the time period, and it gives an idea of the direction Herman may have gone had the times not been different.   

Overall there's terrific variety on these sides, but unfortunately the band disbanded soon afterwards.  What I find amazing about this music is that big bands and Swing era were done by 1949, yet Woody Herman did not comprise himself and stuck to his musical principles on nineteen terrific performances with some daring musical performances.  The band must have been playing regularly because they sound tight and inspired.  Another interesting aspect is the fact that the band was integrated with Oscar Pettiford and Gene Ammons in the band.  Neither stayed in the band for very long, but I'd be curious to hear how that experience went.  I can guess that it was a mixture of great music and horrible experiences dealing with racism, not only for Pettiford and Ammons but also for Herman who likely alienated some fans and club owners with his integrated band.  On top of having a jazz-styled singer rather than a pop one, literally nothing Herman was doing pointed to commercial or mainstream success as jazz was on its way out of being associated with popular music.  It's a testament to his dedication to music.  Though scat-singing would not resonate with future generations of instrumentalists, he was correct in sensing the direction of jazz moving towards advanced improvisation and creative composition and arranging.

This music was recorded at an interesting time, happening just after a second lesser-known musicians strike had ended in early December 1948.  Also, the jazz and popular music scenes were about to undergo some major changes: Miles Davis' Birth of the Cool sessions began in 1949 paving the way for Cool Jazz with Hard Bop was just around the corner from that.  Ray Charles was about to have his first hit and rhythm and blues-to-become-rock-and-roll was gaining a lot of momentum.  Combined with the development of the long playing record, in five short years the music industry would be completely transformed into something entirely different.