JAZZ REVIEW : A JOYOUS NIGHT AT THE WOODY HERMAN TRIBUTE

The evening was titled “A Tribute to Woody Herman,” but, like the honoree, it was a lot gutsier than that. Call it a celebration--a joyous get-together to kick around some old tunes and reminisce about the remarkable man who has been so important to jazz.

Radio station KKGO, which produced the Wadsworth Theatre program Friday night for the benefit of the “Woody Herman Memorial Trust Fund” (created to aid Herman, as well as other performers in need) has been in the forefront of efforts to aid Herman in his recent time of troubles.

With major names like Tony Bennett, Dudley Moore, Rosemary Clooney and Doc Severinsen contributing their time, the evening was virtually guaranteed a success.

Bennett and Clooney--pop singers who have wisely stayed close to jazz--sang brief effective sets. Clooney, who has recorded with the Herman Band, was especially effective on the easy swinging “You’re Gonna Hear From Me,” while Bennett, surprisingly, managed to find a new way to revive “As Time Goes By.”

Appropriately, however, most of the evening’s flash points were provided by the musicians of the Herman Alumni bands and the Tonight Show Band.

Doc Severinsen led his highly skilled group of players through a program that was long on technique if perhaps a bit short on heart.

The Alumni Band, less technically accurate than the Tonight Show group, nonetheless had the benefit of classic compositions, arrangements and veteran players from more than four decades of Herman history.

Ralph Burns, the premiere arranger of what were probably the best Herman bands, led the Alumni ensemble through a powerfully evocative interpretation of his classic “Early Autumn” (in which, unexpectedly, the most heated solo was provided by alto saxophonist Med Flory).

Bill Holman’s stunning “After You’ve Gone” recalled another Herman era, and Mary Anne McCall--a Herman vocalist in both the ‘30s and the ‘40s--provided a further perspective with a nostalgic reading of her (and Herman’s) classic ballad “Detour Ahead.”

But it took the round and jocular Chubby Jackson to finally bring the evening to life, as he had done so many times in the ‘40s when he was the Herman bass player and head cheerleader. With Shorty Rogers substituting for Terry Gibbs as his singing partner, Jackson mugged and scatted his way through the be-bop special “Lemon Drop,” shuffling, twisting and shouting, doing everything except a breakdance to lead the charge.

Those brief moments provided a brief but telling glimpse of the wild mix of high humor, infectious enthusiasm and stunning jazz playing that typified the Herman Herds at their best.