Track Listing

1. Latin Flight
2. New Cha-Cha
3. Mambo Herd
4. Tito Meets Woody
5. Cha Cha Chick
6. Blue Gardenia
7. Prelude a la Cha Cha
8. It's Coolin' Time
9. Black Orchid
10. Original No. 2
11. Sinbad the Sailor
12. Mambo Bambo
13. Fire Island

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #628921 in Music
• Released on: 1993-11-30

Customer Reviews

One of the last big jazz bands, with a Latin twist...
Woody played clarinet and alto sax and was the leader. His 1958 "Herman's Herd" averaged 16-18 members. These selections were all recorded between Aug. lst and Dec. 26th of that year. I think I owned this on vinyl in '59 under the title "Tito Meets Woody" and I think it was on the Everest label. This CD reissue is a great deal of fun. In addition to Puente's Latin percussion and Herman's horn, Nat Adderly does some trumpeting, Charlie Byrd plays guitar a little, and Bob Brookmeyer can be heard on trombone. The other band members have less public recognition, but hey, nobody plays badly for a Herman band. The "Herd" could easily have been doing these tunes in the early 40's, in the glory days of big bands instead of the waning years. Tito brought the 50's fad of Cuban-style drumming into the mix, and the result is a total victory. You can probably get this at a good price used here in 2003, and if you like swing, jazz, percussion or big groups, this is for you. Not only does it make you feel like dancing, these sounds can lure you into thinking you actually can dance well. This is 41 minutes of joy.