Virtually to the end, Count Basie was at the piano in front of the band that was his natural environment for more than half a century, inspiring music that defined the verb 'to swing.' In this collection recorded a little more than a year before he died, Basie divided the performances between the big band and a small group. In his last couple of decades, Basie went into the Pablo studios frequently with combos ranging in size from two (the pianist and Zoot Sims) to the octet heard here. In this case, the small group came out of the big band and featured the bright young trumpeter Bob Summers along with veteran trombonist Booty Wood and saxophonists Eric Dixon and Chris Woods. In large group or small, Basie and guitarist Freddie Green were at the heart of the rhythm, lifting the proceedings to a rarified plane of swing never to be duplicated after they were gone. Mastered by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab from the original analog master tape. Pressed at Quality Record Pressings for superior sound quality, and housed in a Stoughton Printing tip-on single pocket jacket. 180-gram vinyl Mastered by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab from the original analog master tape Pressed at Quality Record Pressings Housed in a Stoughton Printing tip-on jacket Tracklist: Side 1 1. Mr. Softie 2. Moten Swing 3. She's Funny That Way 4. Right On, Right On Side B 1. Me And You 2. Crip 3. Bridge Work 4. Easy Living

Track Listing
1. Hey, Pretty Baby
2. Seventh Avenue Express
3. Walking Slow Behind You
4. Mister Roberts' Roost
5. Don't You Want a Man Like Me
6. South
7. You Call Yourself a Jungle King (I Found Out You Ain't a Doggone Thing)
8. Sophisticated Swing
9. House Rent Boogie
10. Basie's Basement
11. Brand New Wagon

Personnel includes: Count Basie (piano); Jimmy Rushing (vocals); Preston Love, Rudy Rutherford, C.Q. Price, Earl Warren (alto saxophone); Paul Gonsalves, Buddy Tate (tenor saxophone); Jack Washington (baritone saxophone); Ed Lewis, Snooky Young, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Clark Terry, Jimmy Nottingham, Gerald Wilson (trumpet); Bill Johnson, Ted Donnelly, George Matthews, Eli Robinson, George Washington (trombone); Freddie Green (guitar); Walter Page (bass); Jo Jones, Butch Ballard (drums).

Recorded between January 3 and December 12, 1947.

But for the fact that it only has 11 tracks, this mid-priced compilation (not to be confused with the identically titled Bluebird collection covering Basie's early-'30s recordings with the Bennie Moten band) could easily get the highest rating. And this could be the place to start for any rock fans wondering what Basie was about, at least some of the time. This disc shows Basie and company (especially singer Jimmy Rushing) working in an R&B mode, doing such songs as Willie Dixon's "You Call Yourself the Jungle King (I Found Out You Ain't a Doggone Thing)," "Hey, Pretty Baby," "Brand New Wagon," and "Walking Slow Behind You." Rushing and the band sound like they're pushing toward Chess Records' turf. And the astonishing thing is that they pull it off -- if these records had sold in any serious number, Basie and Rushing might have had a whole second career in R&B, right up there with Big Joe Turner. There's a minimum of annotation, and not all of the sound is quite perfect -- amazingly, the 1991 remastered "Basie's Basement" featured here has a click or two in evidence, for which there's no excuse. But the sound quality everywhere else is pretty much beyond reproach, and there's also one number here, "Mister Roberts' Roost," a laidback instrumental prominently featuring Basie's piano, that's otherwise unavailable.

Track Listing

Disc 1:
1. Bill's Mill
2. Brand New Wagon
3. One O'Clock Boogie
4. Futile Frustration
5. Swingin' the Blues
6. St. Louis Boogie
7. Basie's Basement
8. Backstage at Stuff's
9. My Buddy
10. Shine on Harvest Moon
11. Lopin'
12. I Never Knew
13. Sugar
14. Jungle King, The
15. I Ain't Mad at You
16. After You've Gone
17. House Rent Boogie
18. South

Disc 2:
1. Don't You Want a Man Like Me
2. Seventh Avenue Express
3. Sophisticated Swing
4. Guest in a Nest
5. Your Red Wagon
6. Money Is Honey
7. Just a Minute
8. Robbin's Nest
9. Hey Pretty Baby
10. Bye Bye Baby
11. Just an Old Manuscript
12. She's a Wine-O
13. Shoutin' Blues
14. Wonderful Thing
15. Mine Too
16. Walking Slow Behind You
17. Normania
18. Rat Race
19. Sweets

Personnel includes: Count Basie (piano, organ); Taps Miller, Jimmy Rushing (vocals); Preston Love, Rudy Rutherford, Charlie Price (alto saxophone); Buddy Tate, Paul Gonsalves (tenor saxophone); Jack Washington (baritone saxophone); Ed Lewis, Emmett Berry, Clark Terry, Snooky Young, Harry Edison (trumpet); Ted Donnelly, George Matthews, Eli Robinson, Bill Johnson, Dickie Wells, George Washington (trombone); Freddie Green (guitar); Rodney Richardson, Walter Page (bass); Shadow Wilson, Jo Jones (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, California; New York, New York; Chicago, Illinois between January 3, 1947 and February 2, 1950. Includes liner notes by Don Waterhouse.

This is part of RCA's Jazz Tribune series.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Recorded in Paris in 1957, 1960 and 1962, this set presents three concerts by Count Basie, the jazz legend and King of Big Band Swing, who modernized jazz during his whole career. Count Basie, like Duke Ellington, will always be remembered for writing some of the finest chapters in orchestral jazz; and Basie was at his peak in the early 60’s, an iconic figure after albums like “April in Paris” or “Atomic Basie”. Here we have some of the greatest big-band pieces in Basie’s book, by composers like Thad Jones, Neal Hefti or Quincy Jones. Today these are unavoidable standards, and this set swings generously, “live” in concert, led by one of the greatest conductors in jazz. Patrick FReMEAUX The Live in Paris collection by Michel Brillie allows listeners to hear previously-unreleased recordings (made at concerts and private- or radio-sessions) by the great 20th stars in jazz, rock & roll and song. These “live” takes, and the artists’ rapport with their audiences, gives these performances an additional soul and sensibility in counterpoint to the rigorous demands of studio recordings. Particular care was taken when restoring the sound of these tapes in order to meet CD standards while preserving the original colours of the period. Patrick FReMEAUX & Gilles PeTARD

William “Count” Basie (1904 – 1984) had a long successful career over a span of six plus decades leaving an enormous legacy in the history of jazz. The existence of this live recording from Copenhagen in 1962 has never been public, not even in the most extensive bio-discography by the late journalist/author Chris Sheridan. The concert here was a part of Basie’ New Testament Orchestra’s frequent European tours in the late 50’s and early 60s, an era that’s called The Atomic Period.

Count Basie - The Legendary New Testament Band 1952-55 - Count Basie was one of the most celebrated and influential personalities in jazz, as pianist, organist, bandleader, composer and innovator, both during his stellar career which spanned half a century across the middle decades of the 20th century, and in the years since then. That career encompassed several musical and stylistic eras, and one of the most notable of those was the period in the early 50s, when, after a creative re-think, he formed a new orchestra, which became known as "The New Testament Band", which adopted a musical approach which was fresh and distinctive. That approach was captured on recordings which were done at sessions covering a period of around four years, with the titles being issued on several albums which came out on Norman Granz's Clef and Verve labels during the mid-1950s. This 63-track 3-CD 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". As one would expect, the performances feature some notable jazz names, including vocalist Al Hibbler, as well as renowned arrangers like Neal Hefti, Buster Harding and Manny Albam. It's a collection which offers an enlightening, entertaining and substantial snapshot of Basie's music at a key moment in his career. - It's a collection which offers an enlightening, entertaining and substantial snapshot of Basie's music at a key moment in his career.

William "Count" Basie was one of the most important, innovative and influential personalities in jazz during the middle decades of the 20th century, both as pianist, composer and bandleader, his music transcending the worlds of small group jazz, big band music, swing and R&B, and with many future stars of the genre coming to prominence playing with his orchestra. Having honed his skills with Bennie Moten's band in Kansas City, he formed his own orchestra in 1936 after Moten's death and after a lengthy engagement in Chicago signed to Decca, recording for them until almost the end of the decade. This 63-track 3-CD set comprises 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 O'Clock 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. It's a substantial, entertaining and enlightening overview of this key era of Basie's career.

W. His Orch. Inc. Lester Young, Harry Edison, Dicky Wells.

And his orchestra inc. Thelma Carpenter, Lester Young, Jimmy Powell +.