Bill Holman has long been one of jazz's most inventive and creative arrangers. He finally began to get some recognition for his abilities beyond the West Coast in the early 21st century, despite having had a very productive career for over a half-century. On
Hommage, most of which was recorded live at a West Coast jazz festival, he pays tribute to Woody Herman with a greatly modernized version of "Woodchopper's Ball" and the three-part "
Hommage à Woody" ("A Man of Few Herds," "Milwaukee Nights," and "The Chopper"), featuring Bob Efford in Herman's role on clarinet. The arrangements are more complex than Herman would normally play, but there are hints of Woody's music, both in Efford's solos and in the charts. In addition, Holman revitalizes three standards ("Raincheck" is particularly memorable) and contributes "Sunshinola" and a classic in "Zamboni." The key soloists in addition to Efford include tenor saxophonist
Pete Christlieb; trumpeters
Jonathan Dane,
Ron Stout, and
Larry Lunetta; pianist
Christian Jacob; and altoist
Lanny Morgan -- but the dense, exciting, and thoroughly unpredictable arrangements are the real stars. Highly recommended. This CD was nominated in 2007 for a Grammy award as Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album.
![Title: ArtScience [LP]](https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602547970527_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg)
