New York -- "Woody Herman has the greatest ofay swing band in the country -- bar none!" That's what all the band popularity contests said this year and that's just the way I feel about it. Out of the 1,606 swing fans who named the Herman Herd their favorite dispenser of jive in Down Beat's annual contest, undoubtedly some (the bobby-soxers) cast their votes that way because they go for the snappy corduroy jackets that Woody sports on the stand. Most fans, however, picked Woody's crew for its crack over-all musicianship, for its up-to-the-minute presentation of advanced big band orchestrations, for Woody's superior talents as an instrumentalist, singer, showmanly stick-waver, and, above all, for his grasp of the right band idea.It's always been my contention that a great band demands a great leader. There may be exceptions to the rule but BG, the Duke, Basie, Artie Shaw and now Woody Herman are plenty of examples to prove its validity.
"Nothing But Truth"
One of my first meetings with Woody took place when he was playing a network show and had hired a new press agent to exploit it. It happened that I was sitting nearby when the p.a. came up to ask Woody his slants on publicity. Were there any special angles to his bandleader life that he wanted stressed or covered up?
Woody thought a minute.
"No," he said finally. "There's nothing special...just so you stick to the truth."
That answer is not only refreshing coming from a man in the limelight, it's a clue to Woody's real character and accounts at second remove for the integrity of his whole band.
Shortly after that meeting, I spent a week on the road with Woody's band, playing one-nighters in New England and ending up with a stay at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City. If the overheard conversation between Woody and his publicist gave me insight into the bandleader's character, days spent with him in trains, autos, hotel dining rooms, one-arm lunches, and dance halls only strengthened the conviction that here was a remarkably rare species of the genius big-time personality.
Balanced Showman
This is what I learned -- Woody Herman is not a musical trickster. He's aware of his own musical capacities, realizes that he doesn't play the greatest clarinet or alto in the world nor sing the best blues, but plays his considerable talents to the hilt. Neither is he a show-off on the bandstand, though he has an expert conception of what sells, due perhaps to the fact that he spent his early, formative years as a vaudeville performer. He's a proud parent, a happy husband and a home lover. Most indicative of all, his sidemen not only respect him as a leader-musician, they like him as a friendly, amusing guy.
Beyond this, Woody gave me some candid opinions of his own which I'll record here briefly. He likes what he calls "modern" jazz; jazz that is matured; that reflects the temper of the times; that demands both creative ability and command of instrument on the part of the performer. In other words, though he pays proper tribute to the historic jazz musicians and bands of the past, he feels that the old style (as exemplified by the New Orleans, Dixieland and Chicago groups) has had its day, and that big band music is the logical musical art form of our day.
Admires, Never Imitates
He likes the Duke obviously enough from the number of Ellington-inspired arrangements in his book. He is not, however, a sedulous imitator of the Duke nor of any other bandleader. The recent blast let loose by booker Joe Glaser which accused Woody of "stealing" ideas from Lionel Hampton was completely without basis. If Woody uses Dukish material it's only to give implicit credit and honor to Ellington and his matchless orchestra.
The man who leads the band that plays the blues was born, you may or may not know, in Milwaukee on May 16, 1915, which makes him twenty-nine years old. Like so many other jazzmen, he came from a musically-inclined family and started his own career
