Woody Herman: Blue Flame - Portrait Of A Jazz Legend

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Woody Herman Blue Flame: Portrait Of A Jazz Legend e: Jazzed Media 2012 Innovation and boundary pushing is often seen as a young man's game, so the obvious question is, how did clarinetist/saxophonist/vocalist/bandleader extraordinaire Woody Herman manage to keep things fresh for virtually his entire half-century run? The answer is so simple that it almost belongs in the common sense category: Herman continued to tap young musicians to shape his groups' sound from the time of "The Band That Plays The Blues" in the late 1930s and early 1940s through his fusion-y "Thundering Herd" in the 1970s, and beyond. This is only one element of his genius that's discussed in this near-indispensable documentary DVD, but it's an important one to note. Other band leaders may have had more fame, long term financial success and/or greater recognition with the general public, but virtually no other figure-fronted big band grew and evolved as much over the years...

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