Frankly Basie: Count Basie Plays The Hits Of Frank Sinatra

Performer: Count Basie
Engineer: Val Valentin
Producer: Jim Davis
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: This release contains an eight-page booklet with original release liner notes by Stanely Dance and reissue liner notes by James Isaacs and Frank Foster. Personnel: Count Basie (piano); Billy Byers (arranger); Bobby Plater (alto saxophone); Charlie Fowlkes (baritone saxophone); Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Frank Foster (tenor saxophone); Al Aarons, Sonny Cohn, Wallace Davenport, Sam Noto (trumpets); Henderson Chambers, Al Grey, Bill Hughes, Grover Mitchell (trombones); Eric Dixon (flute, tenor saxophone); Marshall Royal (clarinet, alto saxophone); Freddie Green (guitar); Buddy Catlett, Wyatt Ruther (bass); Sonny Payne, Irving Cottler, J.C. Heard (drums). Recorded in New York on April 8-11, 1963 and Los Angeles, California on January 13-14, 1965. Frank Sinatra and Count Basie, after their initial collaboration in 1962, brought about a revival both in swing and in big band music that would earn them a place in the annals of pop culture. FRANKLY BASIE is an all-instrumental album featuring the Basie band in superb form. "I'll Never Smile Again" and "Only the Lonely" sound particularly inspired. On the former, trombonist Urbie Green performs an elegant, warm-toned solo that recalls the great Tommy Dorsey without actually mimicking him, while on the latter, alto saxophonist Marshall Royal plays a silken, vibrato-laden solo that gives the music a sultry feel. Other standout tracks include the familiar "I Thought About You" and "All of Me." A fitting tribute to The Chairman Of The Board, FRANKLY BASIE is a hard swinging, toe-tapping gem.

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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