HERDSMAN PLAY PARIS

A classic from The Herdsmen -- a smaller group of players who'd all worked with Woody Herman -- all of them budding modernists in their own right! The ensemble here includes Ralph Burns on piano, Dick Collins on trumpet, Cy Touff on bass trumpet, Jerry Coker and Bill Perkins on tenor, and Dick Hafer on alto -- plus rhythm from French players who include Henri Renaud on piano, Jimmy Gourley on guitar, and Jean Louis Viale on drums! There's an open, flowing quality to the work that's great -- a bit more of a relaxed vibe than the Woody Herman sound, with lots of nice Parisian postwar touches in the way the tunes are put together. ?Bassist Red Kelly remembers the Woody Herman Third Herd's triumphal tour of Europe in 1954: 'We weren't used to that kind of adulation. We were treated like rock stars are today. They tried to get the buttons off of our coast and all that stuff.' The fans were not alone in their enthusiasm. The Paris sessions give us stimulating extracurricular music by some of the talented young musicians Herman assembled during one of his greatest periods.?Recorded: Paris, France, April 23, 1954 and May 5, 1954?Track listing ?DISC ONE SIDE A'?1. The Gypsy 3:52'?2. Wet Back On The Left Bank 7:08'?3. Embarkation 4:51'?4. Thanks For You 3:42'?DISC ONE SIDE B'?1. So What Could Be New 6:42'?2. Just 40 Bars 4:13'?3. Palm Cafe 5:43'?4. Pot Luck 7:23