Herman was particularly good at finding talented individuals — like Stan Getz, Bill Harris, and Zoot Sims — and allowing them to "find themselves." Herman was also interested in playing and creating new music, and his band was the first to absorb the innovations of bebop.
In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends the album, The Three Herds (Columbia), which is now available as an import CD from Amazon.com.
Jim Determan also recommends as an alternative The Thundering Herds 1945-1947 (Columbia), which is available at Amazon.com.
His first band — sometimes known as "The Band That Plays the Blues" — plays its first hit, "Woodchopper's Ball," here:
Robert
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