Woody Herman - The Complete Decca, Mars and MGM Sessions (1943-1954) (7CD, 2019)

The Complete Woody Herman Decca, Mars and MGM Sessions (1943-1954) presents Woody on seven CDs over a remarkable span of his development: at the very beginning of his career leading a band that would become one of the most enduring in music; a few years later, in the studio and in concert at Carnegie Hall, when the band was enjoying its much-deserved, worldwide renown; and during the Third Herd period, when Woody was not only running his own band but his own record operation as well.

These three dips into Woody's career have had far less exposure than his more-famous work for Columbia and Capitol, previously collected by Mosaic on sets that are now completely sold out. Some of the music has been completely unavailable since the long-playing era. And even if you own Mosaic’s other box sets, or even the Mosaic Select mini-set documenting his early 1960s work on Phillips, you've never had a chance to sample such diverse material in one set by a bandleader who was never content to sit still.

Through its diverse material and the evolving nature of the personnel, Woody's point of view remains consistently crisp, energetic, youthful and relevant. His commitment to big bands was never nostalgic or locked in time, but always looking ahead


CD1

01. The Music Stopped (3:03)
02. Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me (3:21)
03. I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night (2:50)
04. By the River of the Roses (2:58)
05. Basie's Basement (3:26)
06. Who Dat Up Dere? (3:10)
07. Noah (3:16)
08. I've Got You Under My Skin (2:57)
09. I Get a Kick Out of You (2:59)
10. I'll Get By (3:00)
11. Crying Sands (3:10)
12. Don't Believe Everything You Dream (3:07)
13. Speak Low (3:08)
14. Just Dreaming (2:45)
15. Starlight Souvenirs (3:12)
16. Cherry (3:06)
17. Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet (3:06)
18. Irresistible You (3:06)
19. It Must Be Jelly (3:00)


CD2 

01. Say So (2:54)
02. Goin' Home (3:14)
03. Refuse It (2:25)
04. Ingie Speaks (3:14)
05. As Long as I Live (3:10)
06. Perdido (Lost) (3:02)
07. I Didn't Know About You (3:04)
08. Blue Lullaby (3:30)
09. As Long as I Live (rehearsal #1) (2:19)
10. As Long as I Live (alternate take 1) (3:06)
11. As Long as I Live (rehearsal #2) (0:17)
12. As Long as I Live (alternate take 2) (3:08)
13. As Long as I Live (3:13)
14. Saturday Night (3:11)
15. Please Don't Say No (2:43)
16. I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues (alternate take 1) (3:19)
17. I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues (3:02)
18. I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues (alternate take 2) (3:01)


CD3 

01. Bijou (3:12)
02. Sweet and Lovely (4:55)
03. Superman with a Horn (1:44)
04. Blowin' Up a Storm (Parts I & II) (5:12)
05. The Man I Love (4:36)
06. Four Men on a Horse (4:35)
07. The Good Earth (2:26)
08. Woody introduces Ebony Concerto (0:24)
09. Ebony Concerto (3:48)
10. Leonard Feather introduces 2nd half of concert (0:54)
11. Your Father's Moustache (4:30)
12. Everywhere (3:56)
13. Mean to Me (4:13)
14. Red Top (4:10)
15. I'll Get By (4:00)
16. Panacea (3:54)
17. I Surrender, Dear (4:04)
18. Hallelujah (1:53)
19. Heads Up (2:37)
20. One-Two-Three-Four Jump (3:01)


CD4 

01. Summer Sequence (8:03)
02. Wild Root (Parts I & II) (6:19)
03. With Someone New (5:33)
04. Here Come the Blues (3:10)
05. Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries (2:45)
06. I Left My Hat in Haiti (2:43)
07. As Long as I Live (2:50)
08. Jet (2:41)
09. Lonesome Gal (2:29)
10. Ninety-Nine Guys (2:57)
11. Searching (3:06)
12. I Can See You (2:52)
13. By George (Bop, Look and Listen) (2:51)
14. It Isn't Easy (3:07)
15. Leo the Lion (2:37)
16. Cuban Holiday (3:07)
17. The Glory of Love (2:17)
18. Hollywood Blues (2:52)
19. Pass the Basket (3:05)


CD5

01. Blue Flame (2:57)
02. New Golden Wedding (2:37)
03. Business Man's Bounce (2:50)
04. Prelude to a Kiss (3:17)
05. Brother Fats (2:46)
06. Three Handed Woman (2:24)
07. Dandy Lion (2:29)
08. My Baby's Gone (2:27)
09. Nostalgia (3:18)
10. Harlem Nocturne (3:08)
11. Former Members of the 106th Division (Ninety-Ninth Regimental Band) (2:31)
12. One for the Wonder (2:21)
13. Blues in Advance (3:14)
14. Jump in the Line (2:46)
15. Terrissita (3:24)
16. Stompin' at the Savoy (2:33)
17. Early Autumn (2:54)
18. Celestial Blues (2:52)
19. Baby Clementine (3:03)
20. Perdido (3:11)
21. Moten Stomp (2:39)
22. Singin' in the Rain (3:13)