Ken Burns Jazz

Performer: Count Basie
Artist: Helen Humes; Jimmy Rushing; Joe Williams; Frank Wess; Lester Young; Ben Webster; Coleman Hawkins; Harry "Sweets" Edison
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel includes: Count Basie (piano, organ); Helen Humes, Jimmy Rushing, Joe Williams (vocals); Frank Wess (alto & tenor saxophones, flute); Eddie Barfield (alto saxophone, clarinet); Earl Warren, Ernie Wilkins (alto saxophone); Lester Young (tenor saxophone, clarinet); Ben Webster, Chu Berry, Don Byas, Coleman Hawkins, Frank Foster, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (tenor saxophone); Hot Lips Page, Buck Clayton, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Thad Jones, Snooky Young (trumpet); Benny Morton (trombone); Eddie Durham (valve trombone, guitar); Freddie Green (guitar); Walter Page, Eddie Jones (bass); Jo Jones, Gus Johnson (drums). Compilation producers: Ben Young, Richard Seidel. Recorded between 1932 and 1957. Includes liner notes by Brian Priestly. Digitally remastered by Kevin Reeves (Universal Mastering Studios-East). This is part of the Verve Records Ken Burns JAZZ series. Personnel: Helen Humes (vocals); Eddie Durham (guitar, trombone); Freddie Green, Leroy Berry (guitar); Eddie Barefield (clarinet, alto saxophone); Herschel Evans (clarinet, tenor saxophone); Jack Washington (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Earle Warren, Ernie Wilkins, Marshall Royal (alto saxophone); Frank Wess, Lester Young, Ben Webster (tenor saxophone); Charlie Fowlkes (baritone saxophone); Joe Wilder (trumpet, flugelhorn); Reunald Jones, Joe Keyes, Ed Lewis, Bob Moore , Dee Stewart, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Hot Lips Page, Joe Newman , Thad Jones, Buck Clayton (trumpet); Henderson Chambers, Dicky Wells, Henry Coker, George Hunt, Benny Morton, Benny Powell, Dan Minor (trombone); Gus Johnson, Jo Jones , Sonny Payne (drums). Recording information: 1932-195?. Arrangers: Don Redman; Jimmy Mundy; Buster Smith . With cooperation from the Verve and Columbia Legacy catalogs, the Ken Burns Jazz series on CD individually spotlights the musical excellence of 22 jazz originators whose careers and influence are explored in Burns' PBS documentary Jazz. The selections representing Count Basie open with an early-1932 recording from Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra immediately after Basie joined them (eventually taking the helm from Moten). The set jumps ahead five years to the summer of 1937, highlighting several Decca sides including the classic Basie lineup with tenor saxophonist Lester Young on "One O'Clock Jump," "Jumpin' at the Woodside," "Doggin' Around," and "Cherokee," the two parts of the latter assembled together. The '40s are represented by only two tracks, the 1941-vintage "Goin' to Chicago" and "9:20 Special," both from the Columbia/OKeh library. The second half of the '40s were lean times for the band, which ended the decade temporarily paired down due to economics and a change in musical taste, and it wasn't until the early to mid-'50s that the orchestra gained momentum again, particularly in the wake of 1955's April in Paris on Verve and the Atomic Mr. Basie album on Roulette. Five sides from that decade finish out this set, culminating with "Lil' Darlin'" from Atomic Mr. Basie. It's impossible to sum up the history of Basie on a single disc -- after all, the man recorded for more than 50 years (starting when Rudy Vallee was the new popular music heartthrob) and was still working amid the ascendancy of MTV and acts like Culture Club. Still, some of Basie's highlights represented on Ken Burns Jazz should help novice listeners interested enough to continue searching out more material. There is nothing here for the aficionado, although the fresh remastering represents a sonic upgrade over the sound of earlier Basie compilations. It will come as no surprise to veteran listeners, however, that "Goin' to Chicago" from the Columbia/OKeh archive is the noisiest track here; whatever Columbia did with some of those masters, they didn't preserve them properly. ~ Al Campbell & Bruce Eder

Simply put, Count Basie led the most swinging of the classic big bands. His youthful education in playing stride piano in New York was meshed with a deep immersion in the hard-swinging Kansas City jazz scene of the early 1930s. As Basie moved from sideman to bandleader, his tight-knit ensemble eventually came to rival Duke Ellington's group. The Basie orchestra's perfectly interlocking rhythm section provided a springboard for a succession of jazz giants--most notably tenor man Lester Young--to launch their solo excursions. Basie's big-band vision was so strong that his group continued for decades after his passing.

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