The Bebop Shop : Artistry In Rhythm: Early Jazz, Big Bands & Swing : Count Basie
This 3CD set includes his releases for Decca during those years, which laid down a marker as to the talent and style of his bands, and constitute a significant and satisfying body of work. The collection features many of his well-known compositions like One OClock Jump, Blue And Sentimental, Blues In The Dark, along with some of the classic standards of the era. A number of the tracks feature vocals by the great singers Jimmy Rushing and Helen Humes, and among the predominantly big band recordings are some by Basie with a trio comprising Fred Green, Walter Page and Jo Jones. Among the other musicians in his line-up were Buck Clayton, Lester Young, Harry Edison and Dickie Wells. (Trapeze Music) Price: £16.99
Formed circa 1952, after Basies brief hiatus from the full orchestra as he was working with a small group of six to seven pieces during the industry imposed recording ban that began in 1948, the new approach was captured on recordings which were done at sessions covering a period of around four years. Many of the titles were issued on Norman Granzs Clef and Verve labels during the mid-1950s.
This 63-track collection comprises just about all the recordings which were released on the albums The Count, Basie Jazz, Basie Rides Again, The Swinging Count, Dance Session, Dance Session No.2, and Basie. The orchestra began to set standards of musical achievement that have been emulated by every jazz orchestra since that time. One of the things that set Basies collective apart from all others was the fact the Basie allowed and encouraged his musicians to compose and arrange. As one would expect, the performances featured here include some notable jazz names, including vocalist Al Hibbler, as well as renowned arrangers like Neal Hefti, Buster Harding and Manny Albam.
Its a collection which offers an enlightening, entertaining and substantial snapshot of Basies music at a key moment in his career. (Trapeze Music) Price: £16.99
'The Count's best-known single album, including "Whirlybird" and "Li'l Darlin'". Tenor soloist, and later band manager, Lockjaw Davis enlivens several of the tracks, all written by prolific Basie contributor Neal Hefti.' (The Rough Guide To Jazz)
A BEBOP SHOP MILESTONE- An essential recording for your jazz CD shelf Price: £9.99
The 99 tracks in this box set are testimony to the greatest swing band ever. The 48 page booklet traces Basie's story and his 40 years as leader of bands that were the epitome of swing. Also included is a discography and many rare photographs. Tracks include: One O'Clock Jump/Swinging The Blues/Jumpin' At The Woodside/My Heart Belongs To Daddy/Rock-A-Bye-Basie/Dickie's Dream/Lester Leaps In/Down For Double/Harvard Blues/The King/Seventh Avenue Express. (Proper Records) Price: £16.99
When in January, 1970 Count Basie entered the studio with his 17-piece big band to record 'High Voltage', he ushered in the last full decade as bandleader of his Orchestra. The Orchestra had left its imprint on the sixties by recording with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. There would be more great albums with star vocalists in the seventies, but the band's purely instrumental works, which had begun in 1965, would also continue. Back then Basie had engaged acclaimed Cuban composer/arranger Chico O'Farrill to arrange the music for such concept albums as "Basie Meets Bond" and "Basie's Beatle Bag", transforming them into crossover gems.
On 'High Voltage' O'Farrill demonstrates his affinity to Basie's big band sound, this time with a repertoire of standards. For this album, Basie specifically chose pieces the band had never recorded in their more than 30-year existence. This is saying something, since the band covers such an impressive span of jazz history, from the beginning of the swing era to the bop-influenced bands of the 50's on through to the present album.
The Count's new drummer Harold Jones propels Fred Fisher's "Chicago" with a tremendous drive. The Rogers and Hart classic "Have You Met Miss Jones" features beguilingly dense deep-register horn lines and an almost languorous piano, and Eric Dixon's tasty flute solo spices up "The Lady Is A Tramp". With its smoky sophistication, Eddie Lockjaw Davis' Tenor dominates "Bewitched", whereas guest trumpeter Joe Newman's muted tongue-in-cheek solo highlights "Day In Day Out". Of course, Basie himself also steps forward: for instance, on the Fats Waller-like intro to "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You", and with the playful grace notes on "If I Were A Bell"." Reminiscent of the Las Vegas shows the band performed with Frank Sinatra, "Get Me To The Church On Time" is also a masterful dialogue between the horn sections. (Proper Music) Price: £12.99