Chick, Donald, Walter & Woodrow

I couldn't believe I found this on Amazon. I ordered it and it arrived 3 days later and is in pristine condition. When I opened the album, I discovered it was autographed! If I were so inclined, I could resell this album for $200-$250, easily. I paid around $32 for it.

of Steely Dan favorites.

I got this album on vinyl when it originally came out. The greatness starts with the album cover: Chick (Corea), Donald (Fagen, half of Steely Dan), Walter (Becker, the other half of Steely Dan) and Woodrow as four penguins riding in a 50's two-tone car with fins just peaking above the cloud cover at 23,000 ft.Next is the man, Woody Herman. I'm too young to have heard Woody at the height of swing, but Woody is one of the big-band heros known for hot, high quality ensemble work with lots of drive and swing.I'm old enough to have heard him in the late 70's, playing at the long defunct Steak and Brew in Hartsdale, New York. Woody was a serious road warrior: he was nursing a broken hip received in a car crash. So, he had to lean on a stool. From what I saw, he was a generous guy: when it came to playing, he was a member of the band. But I would imagine he was also very demanding of quality work both as regards playing and arrangements. Suffice to say, he and the band were great and you can hear some of that greatness on this album.Next are the players on the album. Woody's lead tenor man, Frank Tiberi can really blow. To give you some idea, Tom Scott, also on this album, can also really blow. But he doesn't outshine Frank. If you need more clues, Joe Lovano, who's been a big name tenor guy for a number of years was just a section player on this album. Victor Feldman is also on the album on vibes as well as an arranger of a couple of the tunes. Both Tom and Victor played in the Steely Dan "band."The best tunes on the album, for me, are three of the five Steely Dan tunes: Green Earrings, I've Got the News and Kid Charlemagne. Aja and FM are good, but slightly less so.The arrangements are fairly typical of good, modern big band arrangements. I'm thinking of bands like Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Toshiko Akiyoshi, GRP Big Band, HR Big Band, etc.What brings this album down a star, for me is the Chick Corea material. My favorite Chick is the Light as a Feather phase of Return to Forever. The Al Dimeola/Lenny White phase was a lot less pleasing fusion than what Mahavishnu Orchestra or Herbie Hancock and Headhunters were doing. Unfortunately, the material on this album is more from the Dimeola/White phase.When translated to big band, I feel that most of it sounds like some crazy high school symphonic band piece. Scattered throughout are some very good sections. When I digitize this album, I'll isolate those parts and leave the rest on the cutting room floor.So, in sum, this album is a big band icon, with a great band doing justice to some great Dan tunes.......with a little good Chick thrown in for good measure. It would be great if they would issue this in disc/mp3 form. Then I would say you should definitely buy it.As a rare and pricey vinyl offering, I would say that if you're big into big band and Steely Dan, you'll be satisfied if you buy.

This album was actually recorded in binaural sound using a the "dummy head" microphone arrangement for "being there" realism. To hear this you must use headphones and what you will hear is the trumpets and trombones 'behind you' and the rhythm section there as well. I takes some getting used to but the sensation is quite amazing. Three other albums were recorded using the same technique, two Joe Roccisano albums and the Hoops McCann album. Strange that this format was used. Try it with headphones, you will get the idea.

An incredible assemblage of classic Steely Dan tunes expertly arranged and inspiringly performed.The Corea piece "Suite For a Hot Band is exemplary modern big band Jazz and Woody's group acquit themselves admirably. There are a couple of Steely Dan tunes that are (for whatever reasons) not "Big Band Friendly" (the one I always hear as being struggled with is "FM-No Static at all") so it's not quite as "perfectly translated" as the rest of the tunes are, but this (along with the HR Radio big band's "Three Decades of Steely Dan") are the two best modern Jazz treatments of their music you can find. If you're seeking this type of modern Big Band Jazz, there's also "The Hoops McCann Band plays Steely Dan", which was a "studio" group" put together for the express purpose of paying homage to the (then) MCA Artists, themselves. I recommend all three. If you're a fan of the "Horn section" iteration of Return To Forever ("Live" and "Musicmagic") you will hear some things that are germs of ideas and motifs on the 4 LP set of the RTR "Live" album. But the ideas are developed differently and can stand well on their own. I sought them all out. You should too!

I have owned this record for 33 years and it sounds like it could have been produced last week. If you are a Chick Corea fan, or a fan of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, you will LOVE this very rare and hard to find vinyl gem.The Woody Herman Band really steals the show on both the A and B sides.The players on this record are quite noteworthy and they include Joe Lovano on tenor sax, Victor Feldman on percussion and vibraphone and Tom Scott on tenor sax and lyricon and the great Woody Herman on clarinet,vocals,and soprano sax.By the way for the other reviewer of this LP, the automobile on the cover is NOT from the 1950's its a 1963 Chevrolet Impala !!John Baker,Columbia,SC

I also owned this album from the time it was released around 1978. I'm a fan of contemporary big band arrangements from the likes of Fedchock, Mintzer, Baylock, McConnell, and the arrangers with the Air Force Airmen of Note.Actually, some of the cuts from this LP can be found on a CD entitled "Big Band Jazz" with the Buddy Rich and Woody Herman Band's. You can find this CD right here on Amazon by using the following search string... "Big Band Jazz Various". Once you find it, you'll see that they list Buddy Rich as the artist for all cuts, but look closely and you'll see the last 4 tracks are from the CHICK, DONALD, WALTER AND WOODROW LP. You can download 3 of these in MP3 format if you're not interested in buying the entire CD.Also, another correction on the cover car, if I may... It is not a Chevy Impala, but is indeed from the 50's... It's a 1951 Buick LeSabre concept car. I have an image which will confirm this ...as long as I can get it uploaded here.Best regards,Norm WeilerBranchville, NJ