Most big band fans remember Woody Herman's tenor players such as Flip Phillips, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Herbie Steward and, in later years, Sal Nistico. A less familiar name is
Arno Marsh who was a stellar member of the Third Herd alongside Bill Perkins and Dick Hafer. This was one of the lesser known herds but could still swing as hard any of them.
They recorded several sides on the Mars label which were issued in the UK on Decca's subsidiary London label with the tenor solos shared between Perkins and Marsh. Marsh, who passed away on July 12, had the beefier sound without losing any of the then current cool ideas. I well remember the excitement I felt when I first heard the Third Herd's versions of Perdido, Moten Stomp (a reworking of Moten Swing) Stomping at the Savoy and Men From Mars which I now have on Verve vinyl. Arno solos on all of them and the band loses nothing by comparision with its predecessors or its successors.
To learn more about this great, unsung hero, visit
JazzWax which includes an interview as well as several tracks featuring Arno Marsh.
Arno Marsh was 91 - sadly missed.
Lance
Obituary
Most big band fans remember Woody Herman's tenor players such as Flip Phillips, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Herbie Steward and, in later years, Sal Nistico. A less familiar name is Arno Marsh who was a stellar member of the Third Herd alongside Bill Perkins and Dick Hafer. This was one of the lesser known herds but could still swing as hard any of them.
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