Woody Herman And His Thundering Herd - Keep On Keepin' On (1968-1970)

After the period of the Young Thundering Herd (documented by Philips and Columbia) and prior to his projects for Fantasy, Woody Herman recorded three generally commercial albums for Cadet. Herman always believed in having his band stay updated and modern, and he supported his younger musicians in their quest to perform new and current music. His output for Cadet, however, was quite streaky, ranging from worthwhile new originals to covers of pop and rock tunes that sometimes sounded a bit awkward. This single CD from 1998 has six of the ten selections originally on Light My Fire, four of the ten tunes from Heavy Exposure, and three of the six numbers (plus a previously unreleased "The Indigenous Artifact") from 1970's Woody. Completists will want to search for the three earlier LPs but should be warned that they are quite erratic and often dated. Even in this best-of collection, there are some throwaways (such as "My Cherie Amour" and "Aquarius"), but the better selections ("Keep On Keepin' On" which has some heated Sal Nistico tenor; "Impressions of Strayhorn," and Alan Broadbent's massive everything-but-the-kitchen-sink reworking of "Blues In The Night") make the set overall better than expected. ~ by Scott Yanow, AMG. 

Chess\GRP Records, GRD-818, 1998
Recorded October, 1968 - 30th October, 1970 in Chicago, Illinois 

Musicians:
Woody Herman - Clarinet, Alto, Soprano & Tenor Saxes
Gary Grant, Harry Hall, Sal Marquez, Rich Murphy, Nat Pavone - Trumpet
Tom Harrell, Tony Klatka - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Tom "Bones" Malone, Ira Nedus, Vincent Prudente, Henry Southall - Trombone
Steve Lederer, Frank Vicari, Frank Tiberi, Sal Nistico - Tenor Saxophone
Alan Gauvin, Jim Thomas - Baritone Saxophone
Donny Hathaway - Organ
John Hicks - Piano
Mick Goodrick, Phil Upchurch - Guitar
A'nt Idy Harper, Arthur Harper, Gene Perla - Bass
Ed Soph - Drums
Morris Jennings - Drums, Percussion
Marshall Thompson - Percussion 

Tracks:
01. Light My Fire {Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Bob Krieger, John Densmore} (3:37)
02. Keep On Keepin' On {Richard Evans} (4:19)
03. Impressions Of Strayhorn {Richard Evans} (3:27)
04. Pontieo {Edú Lobo, Capinan} (3:46)
05. I Say A Little Prayer {Burt Bacharach, Hal David} (3:35)
06. Hush { William "Mickey" Stevenson} (4:18)
07. My Cherie Amour {Stevie Wonder, Henry Cosby, Sylvia Moy} (2:48)
08. Catch That Bird {Loonis McGlohon} (2:54)
09. I Can't Get Next To You {Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield} (2:57)
10. Aquarius {James Rado, Gerome Ragni, Gait MacDermot} (4:31)
11. Blues In The Night {Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen} (13:43)
12. A Time For Love {Paul Francis Webster, Johnny Mandel} (6:49)
13. Smiling Phases {Steve Winwood, James Capaldi, Chris Wood} (5:27)
14. The Indigenous Artifact {Alan Broadbent} (6:23) 

Total Time: 68:40 

Credits:
Producer [Original Albums] - Richard Evans
Reissue Producer - Orrin Keepnews
Digital Transfer, Audio Enhancement, Remastering - Erick Labson
A&R [Direction] - Steve Backer
Art Direction, Design - Hollis King, Kerosene Halo
Photography - Chuck Stewart
Liner Notes [Annotation] - Jack Tracy 

Notes:
#1-6 originally on Woody Herman - Light My Fire.
#7-10 originally on Woody Herman - Heavy Exposure.
#11-13 originally on Woody Herman - Woody.
#14 previously unissued. 

Light My Fire