This interesting disc combines two of Woody Herman & the First Herd's live radio broadcasts for Wild Root hair tonic from 1946, the first show from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and the second from the New Casino Ballroom in Fort Worth, TX. The orchestra, which was just a few months away... [+] Expand

This interesting disc combines two of Woody Herman & the First Herd's live radio broadcasts for Wild Root hair tonic from 1946, the first show from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and the second from the New Casino Ballroom in Fort Worth, TX. The orchestra, which was just a few months away from disbanding because of various non-musical issues, included at this point Shorty Rogers, Pete Candoli, Bill Harris, Red Norvo, Flip Phillips, Joe Mondragon, and Don Lamond, and was arguably Herman's best outfit. The transcription sound here is decent, although not perfect, and there is crowd noise frequently, some of it intrusive, but an album like this one functions ultimately as an archival and historical document more than as an introduction to a hard swinging orchestra at the peak of its creative and commercial success. Since Herman opens and closes each of the two sets with it, listeners will hear four different versions of his theme song, "Blue Flame," which is either a bonanza or overkill, depending on one's point of view. It is interesting to compare this release to a pair of similar radio broadcasts Woody Herman & the First Herd did for Wild Root a year earlier (which adds two more versions of "Blue Flame"), issued by Jazz Unlimited as First and Second "Wild Root" Radio Sessions in 2003. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide [-] Collapse

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