Count Basie's Finest Hour

Performer: Count Basie
Artist: Lester Young; Thad Jones; Jo Jones; Urbie Green
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel includes: Count Basie (piano); Marshal Royal (alto saxophone); Frank Foster, Frank Wess, Lester Young (tenor saxophone); Buck Clayton, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Thad Jones (trumpet); Urbie Green, Benny Powell (trombone); Freddie Green (guitar); Jo Jones (drums). Producers include: Jim Davis, Norman Granz, Tom Mack, Teddy Reig. Compilation producer: Bryan Koniarz. Recorded between 1937 & 1969. Includes liner notes by Andrew Homzy. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Personnel: Count Basie (piano, organ); Eddie Durham (guitar, trombone); Freddie Green (guitar); Frank Wess (flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Bobby Plater (flute, alto saxophone); Eric Dixon (flute, tenor saxophone); Marshall Royal (clarinet, alto saxophone); Frank Foster (clarinet, tenor saxophone); Charlie Fowlkes (bass clarinet, baritone saxophone); Ernie Wilkins (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Earle Warren, Jack Washington (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis , Herschel Evans, Lester Young (tenor saxophone); Al Aarons (trumpet, flugelhorn); Reunald Jones, Don Rader, Ed Lewis, Bob Moore , Flip Ricard, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Gene Coe, Joe Newman , Oscar Brashear, Snooky Young, Thad Jones, Sonny Cohn, Wendell Culley, Buck Clayton (trumpet); Bill Hughes (trombone, bass trombone); Frank Hooks, Grover Mitchell , Henry Coker, George Hunt, Richard Boone , Urbie Green, Benny Morton, Benny Powell, Dan Minor (trombone); Gus Johnson, Jo Jones , Sonny Payne, Harold Jones (drums). Liner Note Author: Andrew Homzy. Recording information: Blue Room, Hotel Tropicana, Las Vegas, NV (07/07/1937-01/30/1969); Fine Sound, New York, NY (07/07/1937-01/30/1969); New York, NY (07/07/1937-01/30/1969); R&B Studios, New York, NY (07/07/1937-01/30/1969). Arrangers: Chico O'Farrill; Eddie Durham; Frank Foster; Freddie Green; Neal Hefti; Quincy Jones; Wild Bill Davis; Billy Byers; Buster Smith . The Verve compilation Count Basie's Finest Hour features a nice mix of sides recorded by the pianist/bandleader and his big band over the years. While it is by no means a definitive overview, it is a nice single-disc introduction to some of the jazz icon's best work. Included are such legendary tracks as "Corner Pocket," "One O'Clock Jump," and "Li'l Darlin'." ~ Matt Collar

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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