thomastreichler Posted January 29, 2008 Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 Tommy T. You've nailed it all. Besides your comments about the rhythm section and Jake Hanna one point I would particulary underline is # 2 - the contribution of Nat Pierce as composer/arranger to this band. The original LP's were not always clear about who wrote and arranged the various charts, but the Mosaic set makes clear that in terms of composing and arranging this was Nat's band. What a great writer he was, absolutely perfect for the Herd. That is exactly my impression too, I failed to make this point clear enough. The contribution of Nat Pierce's composing and arranging for the band was absolutely crucial, he defined the sound of the Herd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tapscott Posted January 29, 2008 Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 Tommy T. You've nailed it all. Besides your comments about the rhythm section and Jake Hanna one point I would particulary underline is # 2 - the contribution of Nat Pierce as composer/arranger to this band. The original LP's were not always clear about who wrote and arranged the various charts, but the Mosaic set makes clear that in terms of composing and arranging this was Nat's band. What a great writer he was, absolutely perfect for the Herd. That is exactly my impression too, I failed to make this point clear enough. The contribution of Nat Pierce's composing and arranging for the band was absolutely crucial, he defined the sound of the Herd. I just thought of something else I read in one of the Herman books. Nat not only did the bulk of composing and arranging for this band; he actually started it. Apparently Woody was in a bit of funk in the early 60's, between bands and not really sure what to do next. So Nat got the core of this band together in Boston, filled it out, provided the charts, and did some rehersals. He knew the band was hot, and figured that once Woody heard it, he would want to step in and lead it. So it happened and Woody got charged up again. Now Woody's leadership was crucial and the band wouldn't have sounded as good without him at the helm, but it was actually Nat's band in the beginning. I think Nat was band manager, as well. Oh yes, that reminds me that Nat "lost" the band's payroll one night at a Vegas gambling house and had to stay on the road a year longer with Woody than he had planned in order to pay it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted January 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 Been listening to this set just about every day since I got it--all the way through 3 to 4 times now. Yeah, it's great to hear the Swingin' Herd bring the 1940s book into the Jet Age, and the modern material (Mingus' "Better Git It In Your Soul," Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man") sounds fantastic too. Evidently a lot of this band came through Herb Pomeroy's ensemble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceH Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 It's been in heavy rotation here ever since I got it, too. Thanks for your comments, Tommy, I think you hit the nail right on the head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted O'Reilly Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 I've always been impressed that the band was able to play so well on this particular album: note the recording dates... Recorded at A & R Studios, New York, November 20, 22 & 23, 1963 They were in the studio for the second session when word came that John Kennedy had been killed. I think they must have taken a break, continued, then came back to finish the next day. Given the gloom that descended on your country, no one must have felt much like playing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 ordered mine here, unbeatable prize for us yurpeens: http://www.amazon.fr/Mosaic-Select-Vol-31-...5727&sr=8-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomastreichler Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 You won't regret it, this is a fully satisfying set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 ordered mine here, unbeatable prize for us yurpeens: http://www.amazon.fr/Mosaic-Select-Vol-31-...5727&sr=8-1 No kidding ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Got it. Nice to know my schoolboy French wasn't wasted ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted February 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 I've always been impressed that the band was able to play so well on this particular album: note the recording dates... Recorded at A & R Studios, New York, November 20, 22 & 23, 1963 They were in the studio for the second session when word came that John Kennedy had been killed. I think they must have taken a break, continued, then came back to finish the next day. Given the gloom that descended on your country, no one must have felt much like playing... Two stories about this, both in Gene Lees' LEADER OF THE BAND bio of Herman and in Jack Tracy's notes for the Select. They went ahead and did the session... I was listening to the set and thinking, "Man, that's a melancholic take on 'A Taste of Honey'" and then later read that that was one of the tunes they laid down that afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 Got it. Nice to know my schoolboy French wasn't wasted ! props go to brownie for letting me know about this cheap prize (it's the only Select that goes so cheaply, alas - I saw it in a local store almost as cheap though, but it was opened and has some cuffs... I'd wish more Selects would turn up like this, when they were new, local stores were asking two or two and a half time as much as Mosaic themselves before shipping...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 Got it. Nice to know my schoolboy French wasn't wasted ! props go to brownie for letting me know about this cheap prize (it's the only Select that goes so cheaply, alas - I saw it in a local store almost as cheap though, but it was opened and has some cuffs... I'd wish more Selects would turn up like this, when they were new, local stores were asking two or two and a half time as much as Mosaic themselves before shipping...) Thank you King Ubu and Brownie for the advisory. It's 'in the mail' apparently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainwrong Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 Just got this as I found a too good to pass up price. Wow. I'm enjoying the heck out of it. Great band, good charts, the whole package is smokin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 On 6/21/2007 at 2:01 PM, JSngry said: Sal Nistico y'all. Sal MOTHERFUCKING Nistico! Nothing more than a damn fine player, but a damn fine damn fine player he was. Nothing but pure Tenor Love for him here. This morning I just scored a seemingly brand new (still sealed!) copy of the OOP Herman Select on eBay -- for only $45.00 (including postage) -- almost can't believe it. Seller wanted almost $55 for it (with a buy-it-now price of that), but left open the option of "Best Offer". So I thought I'd try to get it for $50, so I counter-offered $45 to start with (so $50 was my meet-in-the-middle price), but then he accepted my first lowball offer of $45! Seems to be a seller of a great many things, so he's obviously more considered about volume than price-per-item. Any ANY case, this is actually my first Woody Herman purchase (if you can believe it). And part of what finally drove me to it was how DAMN much I love those 2-3 albums that Sal Nistico is on, on the Bee Hive set (and he seems terribly under-recorded). The first real time I got to spend with the Bee Hive set was in the car, on a road-trip with my father (and my wife) for about 10 days -- for my dad's 90th birthday. (I'd just gotten the set in the mail less than a week before.) So it made for good road-trip music. And those sides with Sal Nistico absolutely demanded my attention, and I remember spinning them twice -- maybe the single biggest surprise out of the entire Bee Hive set, come to think of it. So I'm seeing Sal was part of this band, and seems to have been on most of these specific Herd albums for Phillips. I snoozed on the Woody Herman Select, about which I only had second thoughts too late. Well, seems I may have lucked out in this case -- $45 shipped (still sealed) -- damn! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 Oh, Sal Nestico could play. That whole band had in a zone of its own. Most of the Select finds them firmly ensconced therein. It's just good old-fashioned road-band-ish get off the bus make a joyful noise here and then get back on the bus music. Nothing necessarily "deep", but wide as fuck, and sometime deep enough. You done good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tapscott Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 (edited) Yes, you'll really like the Herman set, I'm sure. But what you'll find is that Nistico's playing had changed a bit by the time of the Beehives, tonally anyway, perhaps showing more influence of "Trane, Joe Hen, Shorter and others. I like Nistico either way (I think his playing is terrific on the Curtis Fuller Beehive date), but I may slightly prefer the sheer tonal purity and joy of his playing with Herman. I'll tell you, Jake really kicked his butt(or maybe it was the other way around, a mutual butt - kicking). Edited September 25, 2017 by John Tapscott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 I definitely prefer Herman-era Nistico. But it's not like I dis-prefer the post-Herman work. But Sal was definitely tired at some point, not a happy ending to that story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 (edited) Well, Sal on those Bee Hive sides were SERIOUSLY eye-opening. I was driving at the time, my first time hearing any of the dates with him, and I could not wait for the next rest stop so I could figure out who the heck was playing like THAT - ! About dropped me teeth, to employ another cliche, to be perfectly honest. Wish he'd recorded more, and I need to find more, that I know. Edited September 26, 2017 by Rooster_Ties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 I remember seeing him a couple of times with the Herman band. Very heavily featured, not surprisingly. His work on the sessions in the Beehive box is first rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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