Woody Herman

小简介
伍迪·赫尔曼原名Woodrow Charles Herman。1913年5月16日生于威斯康星州的Milwaukee。他在儿童时代就表显了充分的音乐才能。在12岁之前，他就在当地俱乐部里唱歌，跳踢踏舞，后来又到轻歌舞剧团中充当歌手。12岁时，为了充实他的演艺，他先后学习了萨克管和黑管，没过几年就完全是一位合格的乐队成员了。在20年代到30年代初，他曾在不少的跳舞乐队中工作过。最后他为之工作的是Isham Jones乐队。他随这支乐队早在1936年就已录制唱片了。到了1936年底，Jones放弃了这支乐队，但队员中一些核心成员仍愿维持乐队继续下去，便选上了赫尔曼来领导。这是一支‘演奏蓝调的跳舞乐队’，在大乐队时代称雄一时。最先令他们成功的两支舞曲是Jiggs Noble改编‘金婚式－La Cinquantaine’的舞曲《Golden Wedding》及乐队成员Joe Bishop写的《Woodchopper’s Ball》。
40年代初，乐队成员开始轮流大变动，直到1944年才固定下来。这些新成员被称为‘第一群’。他们演奏的音乐不仅效果好，其中一些乐曲如《Apple Honey》、《Caldonia》、《Northwest Passage》、《Goosey Gander》等都获得很好的销售成绩 。1946年该乐队虽保留了部成员，但引进了大量新鲜血液。这个‘第一群’虽然在卡内基音乐厅（纽约著名音乐厅，以接纳高质量演奏艺人称著）举办了一个场极受欢的音乐会，加深了知名度，但在年底由于财政困难，这个乐队临时解散了。1947年赫尔曼又组成了他的‘第二群’传称为‘四兄弟’乐队。这支乐队的风格接近现代大乐队。所以被称为‘四兄弟’是指乐队中萨克管部分。他们的音效不同于同时代的任何其它其乐队，但还是摇摆型的。成功的唱片有《Keen And Peachy》、《The Goof And I》、《Early Autumn》等。在《Early Autumn》中Stan Getz的独奏部分，是爵士乐界萨克管吹出抒情乐句的第一范例。也许是这支乐队在那时太前卫了一些，被大众接受的程度有限，赫尔曼又将之解散，但立即又重组了一支。
要数清赫尔曼的‘群’太不容易了，不过赫尔曼将这支50年代初形成的乐队称为‘第三群’。虽然乐队中缺少了‘四兄弟’及‘第一群’所表现的激情，但却表现了很好的摇摆状态。乐队和以前一样，拥有一流的乐手。特别是Nat Pierce，他不仅弹钢琴，编了不少很好的曲子，还充当了副领队的角色。但50年代中期终究不是大乐队称雄的时代，此时赫尔曼也有点不知所措，乐队成员笑称自己为‘非群’。1955年的成员相对稳定，只有少许变动，继而了推出如：《Bijou》、《Your Father’s Mustache》、《Wild Root》、《Blowin’ Up A Storm》等好唱片。到了60－70年代，赫尔曼的乐队有着各种非正式的称呼，如‘摇摆群’、‘雷呜群’等，到也名副其实。在60年代后期，他也曾表现出爵士摇滚的风格，但并非他心甘情愿。
1976年，他在卡内基音乐厅作了他在那里初露头脚40周年纪念的音乐会。进入80年代，赫曼的健康状况不佳，想到了退休。可是在他60年的演出生涯中，他的经纪人一直有着偷漏税的行为，此举这时令他几乎一贫如洗，还欠了税务局好几百万美金，还差点让人把他从在好莱坞山的居所内逐出出去。为了付清债务，他不得已托着有病的身体带领乐队到全世界巡回演出，虽取得了巨大的成功，但却损伤了他的健康。
1986年他做了庆祝作为乐队领队50年的巡回演出。1987年他的名字被刻印在好莱坞大道的名人大道上。同年3月，赫尔曼的‘群’（弄不清是第几群了）还在开音乐会，并且有些音乐会还录了音。赫尔曼于1987年10月29日逝世。
by Scott Yanow
A fine swing clarinetist, an altoist whose sound was influenced by Johnny Hodges, a good soprano saxophonist, and a spirited blues vocalist, Woody Hermans greatest significance to jazz was as the leader of a long line of big bands. He always encouraged young talent and, more than practically any bandleader from the swing era, kept his repertoire quite modern. Although Herman was always stuck performing a few of his older hits (he played Four Brothers and Early Autumn nightly for nearly 40 years), he much preferred to play and create new music.
Woody Herman began performing as a child, singing in vaudeville. He started playing saxophone when he was 11, and four years later he was a professional musician. He picked up early experience playing with the big bands of Tom Gerun, Harry Sosnik, and Gus Arnheim, and then in 1934, he joined the Isham Jones orchestra. He recorded often with Jones, and when the veteran bandleader decided to break up his orchestra in 1936, Herman formed one of his own out of the remaining nucleus. The great majority of the early Herman recordings feature the bandleader as a ballad vocalist, but it was the instrumentals that caught on, leading to his group being known as the Band That Plays the Blues. Woody Hermans theme At the Woodchoppers Ball became his first hit (1939). Hermans early group was actually a minor outfit with a Dixieland feel to many of the looser pieces and fine vocals contributed by Mary Ann McCall, in addition to Herman. They recorded very frequently for Decca, and for a period had the female trumpeter/singer Billie Rogers as one of its main attractions.
By 1943, the Woody Herman Orchestra was beginning to take its first steps into becoming the Herd (later renamed the First Herd). Herman had recorded an advanced Dizzy Gillespie arrangement (Down Under) the year before, and during 1943, Hermans band became influenced by Duke Ellington; in fact, Johnny Hodges and Ben Webster made guest appearances on some recordings. It was a gradual process, but by the end of 1944, Woody Herman had what was essentially a brand new orchestra. It was a wild, good-time band with screaming ensembles (propelled by first trumpeter Pete Candoli), major soloists in trombonist Bill Harris and tenorman Flip Phillips, and a rhythm section pushed by bassist/cheerleader Chubby Jackson and drummer Dave Tough. In 1945 (with new trumpeters in Sonny Berman and Conte Candoli), the First Herd was considered the most exciting new big band in jazz. Several of the arrangements of Ralph Burns and Neal Hefti are considered classics, and such Herman favorites entered the book as Apple Honey, Caldonia, Northwest Passage, Bijou (Harris memorable if eccentric feature), and the nutty Your Fathers Mustache. Even Igor Stravinsky was impressed, and he wrote Ebony Concerto for the orchestra to perform in 1946. Unfortunately, family troubles caused Woody Herman to break up the big band at the height of its success in late 1946; it was the only one of his orchestras to really make much money. Herman recorded a bit in the interim, and then, by mid-1947, had a new orchestra, the Second Herd, which was also soon known as the Four Brothers band. With the three cool-toned tenors of Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, and Herbie Steward (who a year later was replaced by Al Cohn) and baritonist Serge Chaloff forming the nucleus, this orchestra had a different sound than its more extroverted predecessor, but it could also generate excitement of its own. Trumpeter/arranger Shorty Rogers and eventually Bill Harris returned from the earlier outfit, and with Mary Ann McCall back as a vocalist, the group had a great deal of potential. But, despite such popular numbers as Jimmy Giuffres Four Brothers, The Goof and I, and Early Autumn (the latter ballad made Getz into a star), the band struggled financially. Before its collapse in 1949, such other musicians as Gene Ammons, Lou Levy, Oscar Pettiford, Terry Gibbs, and Shelly Manne made important contributions.
Next up for Woody Herman was the Third Herd, which was similar to the Second except that it generally played at danceable tempos and was a bit more conservative. Herman kept that band together during much of 1950-1956, even having his own Mars label for a period; Conte Candoli, Al Cohn, Dave McKenna, Phil Urso, Don Fagerquist, Carl Fontana, Dick Hafer, Bill Perkins, Nat Pierce, Dick Collins, and Richie Kamuca were among the many sidemen. After some short-lived small groups (including a sextet with Nat Adderley and Charlie Byrd), Hermans New Thundering Herd was a hit at the 1959 Monterey Jazz Festival. He was able to lead a big band successfully throughout the 1960s, featuring such soloists as high-note trumpeter Bill Chase, trombonist Phil Wilson, the reliable Nat Pierce, and the exciting tenor of Sal Nistico. Always open to newer styles, Woody Hermans bop-ish unit gradually became more rock-oriented as he utilized his young sidemens arrangements, often of current pop tunes (starting in 1968 with an album titled Light My Fire). Not all of his albums from this era worked, but one always admired Hermans open-minded attitude. As one of only four surviving jazz-oriented bandleaders from the swing era (along with Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Stan Kenton) who was still touring the world with a big band, Herman welcomed such new talent in the 1970s as Greg Herbert, Andy Laverne, Joe Beck, Alan Broadbent, and Frank Tiberi. He also recorded with Chick Corea, had a reunion with Flip Phillips, and celebrated his 40th anniversary as a leader with a notable 1976 Carnegie Hall concert.
Woody Herman returned to emphasizing straight-ahead jazz by the late 70s. By then, he was being hounded by the IRS due to an incompetent manager from the 1960s not paying thousands of dollars of taxes out of the sidemens salaries. Herman, who might very well have taken it easy, was forced to keep on touring and working constantly into his old age. He managed to put on a cheerful face to the public, celebrating his 50th anniversary as a bandleader in 1986. However, his health was starting to fail, and he gradually delegated most of his duties to Frank Tiberi before his death in 1987. Tiberi continued to lead a Woody Herman Orchestra on a part-time basis but it never had the opportunity to record. Fortunately, Herman was well documented throughout all phases of his career, and his major contributions are still greatly appreciated.