DePaul University is located in Chicago, which may explain the readiness of top players like drummer Jeff Hamilton and Phil Woods to mentor the jazz course students and then to collaborate on recordings like this. Band director Bob Lark is a trumpeter of some renown who has recorded small group albums with the likes of Woods and bassist Rufus Reid among others and clearly knows all the right people. His invitation to Hamilton was to mark the centenary of Herman’s birth [in 1913], the drummer having been a Hermanite in the past and a pretty good one at that. Their collective programme revisits many great staples in the Herman canon, cleverly re-thought but not mucked up, kicking off with Woody’s biggest hit, ‘Woodchoppers Ball’ and travelling through everything from ‘Early Autumn’, ‘Apple Honey’, ‘Bijou’ to ‘The Good Earth’ and beyond. If none of the soloists is especially noteworthy, save trombonist Bryan Tipps who tackles ‘Bijou’ without giving Bill Harris a backward glance, all concerned do give it their all. The ensemble playing is tight and zestful, the sections crisp and pertinent, with Hamilton propelling these performances with his customary power and drive. I was reminded of the current version of NYJO at times. Just the thing for those who still hanker for that unbeatable big band sound. Superb recording quality too, by the way.