Best Of Count Basie

Performer: Count Basie
Distributor: Fantasy (distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Count Basie (leader); Johnny Griffin, Jimmy Forrest, Eric Dixon, Danny Turner, Bobby Plater, Charlie Fowlkes (saxophone); Roy Eldridge, Sonny Cohn, Pete Minger, Bobby Mitchell, John Thomas, Jack Feierman (trumpet); Al Grey, Curtis Fuller, Bill Hughes, Mel Wanzo (trombone); Freddie Green (guitar); John Duke, Neils Henning Orsted Pedersen (bass); Milt Jackson (vibraphone); Butch Miles, Louie Bellson (drums). Digitally remastered by Phil De Lancie (Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California). Derived from sessions recorded in the early '80s, THE BEST OF COUNT BASIE presents the leader in his usual, 17-piece big-band setting. Staying true to the concept of swing he developed in the late '30s and early '40s, Basie performs seven rousing numbers that highlight the talents of Roy Eldridge (trumpet), Al Grey (trombone), and Milt Jackson (vibes), among others. Basie himself maintains his compact, stride-like piano style. Soloing has never been Basie's prime objective. When he does step forward, though, he artfully paces his lines with silence and sparse rhythms. We hear this best on "Tree Frog," where the pianist engages in call-and-response between himself and the trumpets, trombones, and saxophones. A live rendition of "Billie's Bounce" is of particular interest. Basie was never a fan of bebop, and his version of this Charlie Parker classic brings out the "down home" quality of the late saxophonist's tune. Structured around a twelve-bar blues form, this bebop anthem serves as a vehicle for the distinctly bluesy musings of tenor player Johnny Griffin and trumpeter Roy Eldridge. Throughout, BEST finds the Count Basie Big Band swinging with the authority that only musicians of this exceptional caliber can command.

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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