JAZZ REVIEW : Woody Herman Herd Performs at Hermosa Beach Civic Center

Ghost bands are too often exactly what the name implies: dim and shadowy apparitions from a glorious past. But the current Woody Herman Herd is a vigorous, full-blooded exception.

Monday night at the Civic Center in Hermosa Beach, the 15-piece unit displayed the qualities that have made the Herman name a virtual synonym for energy and swing for more than half a century. The program was an eclectic mixture of old and new--from the classic “Woodchopper’s Ball” to a brassy variation on Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man.”

Frank Tiberi, a tenor saxophonist and clarinetist who has led the band since Herman passed away, took the spotlight here and there, most notably on “Body and Soul” and “Naima.” More often, he turned the solo stage over to his large collection of gifted young stallions.

The tenor-dominated saxophone section--a staple of the Herd’s sound since the late ‘40s--was easily comparable to the best the band’s ever had. Jimmy Giuffre’s “Four Brothers,” one of the great saxophone ensemble classics, sounded new and alive in the hands of Tiberi, tenors Tim McCall and Chip O’Neil and baritonist Mike Brignola.

Ron Stout, taking most of the trumpet solos, contrasted a delicate variation on “Body and Soul” with a rip-snorting, plunger-muted “Greasy Sack Blues.”

Tiberi, like Herman before him, seems to recognize that the magic formula for the Herd consists of mixing eager young players with high-voltage orchestrations and standing aside to let the musical explosion take place. It worked for Herman, and it’s working for Tiberi. You’ve got to think that the old Woodchopper would be proud of the current Herman Herd.

The Woody Herman Orchestra also appears Thursday in a free concert at the Marketplace in Long Beach, and Saturday at the Loa Club in Santa Monica.