[Dixielandjazz] Woody Herman documentary reviewed - Hartford Courant

[Marek Boym]

Steve mentions Woody Herman's vocal talents.  That reminded me of his
vocal on "The Sheik of Araby" with Ruby Braff, recorded some time in
the 1970's, with topical words.
It is eithr not available on You Tube, or I don't know how to find it).
Cheers

On 23 December 2012 11:43, Steve Voce <stevevoce at virginmedia.com> wrote:
> I reviewed this for Jazz Journal:
>
> WOODY HERMAN
> BLUE FLAME
> A film by Graham Carter (110 minutes)
>
> Jazzed Media DVD JM9005
>
> It's some time since I enjoyed two hours so much. Graham Carter's film of
> Woody Herman's career succeeds on so many counts. It sits beside the few
> outstanding films about bandleaders -- one thinks of notable depictions of
> Shaw, Quincy Jones and Teagarden. If only someone could do the same for
> Basie and some of the others....
>   The opening titles include a copious list of chapters, and it's because
> the story flows so smoothly between these chapters (from the mid '30s to the
> mid '80s) that one sits spellbound from the opening to the close. Along the
> way Herman's character is rounded out as his sidemen confirm that he was a
> kind and generous man, a vital link between his musicians and their
> audience, an imaginative band leader, an unsurpassed and instinctive editor
> of his writers' works, a superb alto player, a much better clarinettist than
> you might think and a jazzman whose mission in life was to give a platform
> to new and young talent. Not much for one man, eh?
>   The work that Carter has put in to amassing and editing his material is
> remarkable and one might think that a large production team has been
> involved. However, Mr Carter has form. His were the vivid 'A Life in E Flat'
> on Phil Woods and 'Against the Tide' for Bud Shank. He also created one that
> I haven't seen - 'Artistry in Rhythm' - to cover you know who.
>   He's been assiduous in interviewing anyone that's left, and that means 35
> musicians and historians like Dan Morgenstern and Bill Clancy (Clancy wrote
> the finest book on Herman). But for me the great pleasure is seeing close up
> on camera people like Ralph Burns, Phil Wilson, Nat Pierce and Med Flory.
> There are also many clips from interviews with Woody himself over the years.
> The voluble Terry Gibbs is a valuable contributor and there's much wisdom
> from a variety of people including Bill Holman, John Fedchock and so on.
>   The collection of music is good, with much reliance on a comprehensive
> full colour 1976 television broadcast from Iowa. This has a fine Four
> Brothers and Alan Broadbent's remarkable 12-minute exposition of Blues in
> the Night (nobody should need reminding what a fine singer Woody was).
> There's a vintage Lemon Drop by the Second Herd with Gibbs and a splendid
> I've Got News for You. The First Herd was sadly never properly done on film,
> so there's no Flip Phillips and no more than a mention of the Candolis. One
> brief Bill Harris solo and mentions only of Fontana and Urbie Green because
> of course the Third Herd didn't get much on camera either. Never mind, the
> whole thing has tremendous atmosphere and there's enough typical Herman
> music to make sure that the time flies by.
>   Incidentally the 'includes almost 400 rare photographs' claim mightn't
> sound sensational. But the truth is these pictures are absorbing and,
> surprisingly to someone who's been a lifelong fan of Woody's, they are
> largely new to me. They have also been beautifully reproduced.
>   Most importantly, this is the kind of DVD that you'll want to watch
> again...and again.
>                                   Steve Voce
>
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