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

Woody Herman - Heavy Exposure (1969) [re-rip]

Ever since listening to a few Sal Nistico albums I was intrigued to find some examples of his work with other bands. Invariably this led to his time with Woody Herman and this particular LP. Nistico on this album puts in a few unique solos, but overall, this album is a Big Band Soul-Jazz rendition. As a result, it is quite a distinctive LP in Woody Herman’s discography. Produced and arranged by Richard Evans who also composed “Lancaster Gate” and “The Hut”. Taken as a whole it is a greatly entertaining album with a big sounding groove. Ripped from a well-loved LP, Enjoy!

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Cadet Records, LPS 835, 1969
Recorded 2nd-3rd September, 1969 at Ter Mar Studios, Chicago, Illinois 

Personnel:
Woody Herman - Saxophone, Clarinet
Alan Gauvin, Frank Vicari, Sal Nistico, Steve Lederer - Reeds
Bobby Burgess, Pete Dalbis, Tom Malone - Trombone
Bill Chase, Harry Hall, Jeff Brillinger, Richard Murphy, Rigby Powell,
William Byrne - Trumpet
Donny Hathaway - Organ
John Hicks - Piano
Phil Upchurch - Guitar
Gene Perla - Bass
Edward Soph - Drums (#A1,A5,B1,B2,B4,B5)
Morris Jennings - Drums (#A2-A4, A6,B3)
Marshall Thompson, Richard Powell - Percussion 

Track Listing:

A1. Flying Easy {Donny Hathaway} (3:09)
Soloists: Bobby Burgess, Frank Vicari, Woody Herman
A2. I Can't Get Next To You {Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield} (2:52)
Soloist: Sal Nistico
A3. Aquarius {Galt MacDermot, Gerome Ragni, James Rado} (4:26)
Soloist: Woody Herman
A4. Memphis Underground {Herbie Mann} (3:30)
Soloists: Bill Chase, Frank Vicari, Woody Herman
A5. High School Hero {Jake Holmes} (2:59)
Soloist: Alan Gauvin
A6. Lancaster Gate {Richard Evans} (3:17)
Soloists: Bobby Burgess, Harry Hall, Woody Herman
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B1. The Hut {Richard Evans} (3:42)
Soloists: Bill Chase, Bobby Burgess, Harry Hall, Sal Nistico
B2. My Cherie Amour {Henry Cosby, Stevie Wonder, Sylvia Moy} (2:43)
Soloists: Bobby Burgess, Woody Herman
B3. It's Your Thing {O'Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley} (2:58)
Soloists: Bill Chase, Sal Nistico
B4. Catch That Bird {Loonis McGlohon} (2:49)
Soloists: Bill Chase, Bobby Burgess, Frank Vicari
B5. Sex Machine {Sylvester Stewart} (5:48)
Soloists: Alan Gauvin, Bill Chase, Bobby Burgess, Phil Upchurch, Woody Herman

Total Time: 38:13

Credits:
Producer, Arranger - Richard Evans
Engineer - Ron Malo, Stu Black
Album Supervisor - Dick LoPalm
Cover Photo - Vincent P. Lucarelli
Album Design - Dick Fowler

"Excellent stuff!; We used to pass this one by all the time, thinking that it was some sort of fake jazz album -- but these days, we love it to death, and listen to it all the time! Woody Herman's band meets the soulful arrangements of Richard Evans, and the whole thing cooks nicely in the Chess studios in Chicago. The result is a tasty blend of soulful big band tracks, with a strident groove that Woody never duplicated, and with the kind of baroque arrangements that Evans was bringing to some of the best soul work on Cadet at the time. Donny Hathaway plays organ, and the group does a killer version of his own "Flying Easy". Other titles include "The Hut", "Sex Machine", and "It's Your Thing" -- but it's all great!" ~ Dusty Groove.

Phil Upchurch - Upchurch (1969) [re-rip]

An incredible album from one of the greatest talents on the Chicago soul scene of the late 60s - guitarist Phil Upchurch, a player with an amazing sound! Phil could work in worlds that were equal parts soul and psychedelia - making his guitar a perfect accompaniment for the best Chicago soul of Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, Minnie Riperton, and other greats of the time. This album's easily one of Phil's best - a mindblowing set of arrangements put together by the groundbreaking producer Charles Stepney - bringing together bits of jazz, rock, soul, and funk - all providing the perfect genre-blending space for Upchurch to solo! Given that there's no singer on the set, Phil's work on guitar is a lot freer than you're used to hearing – in a really great way, one that puts him in a space somewhere between Shuggie Otis and Jimi Hendrix! Brilliant all the way through, with tracks that include "Adam & Charlene", "You Wouldn't You Couldn't Be True", "Crosstown Traffic", "More & More", "Black Gold", "America", and "As You Said". © Dusty Groove America, Inc. 

Cadet Records, LPS 826, 1969
Recorded March 1969 at Ter Mar Studios, Chicago, Illinois 

Personnel:
Phil Upchurch - Guitar
Donny Hathaway - Keyboards, Organ
Louis Satterfield - Bass
Morris Jennings - Drums
Bobby Christian - Percussion
Dave Chausow - Strings, Horns
James Mack Singers - Choir Vocals 

Tracks:
A1. Black Gold {Charles Stepney} (4:37)
A2. America {Paul Simon} (3:38)
A3. As You Said {Jack Bruce, Pete Brown} (2:29)
A4. You Wouldn't, You Couldn't Be True {Phil Upchurch} (3:05)
A5. Cross Town Traffic {Jimi Hendrix} (3:54)
B1. Adam And Charlene {Charles Stepney} (4:20)
B2. Spinning Wheel {David Clayton-Thomas} (3:22)
B3. Voodoo Chile {Jimi Hendrix} (2:52)
B4. More And More {Don Juan, Vee Pee} (2:42)
B5. Midnight Chile {Phil Upchurch} (3:59) 

Total Time: 34:58

Credits:
Producer, Arranger, Conductor - Charles Stepney
Recording Engineer - Stu Black
Cover Photograph - Jim Taylor
Liner Photograph - Victor Skrebneski
Album Design - Randy Harter