Count Basie in London

Performer: Count Basie
Producer: Norman Granz
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Count Basie (piano); Joe Williams (vocals); Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Wendall Culley (trumpet); Benny Powell, Henry Coker, Matthew Gee (trombone); Marshall Royal, Bill Graham, Frank Foster, Frank Wess, Charlie Fowlkes (reeds); Freddie Green (guitar); Eddie Jones (bass); Sonny Payne (drums). Recorded live in Gothenburg, Sweden, September 7, 1956. Digitally remastered by Dennis Drake. IN LONDON captures the Count Basie Orchestra of the mid '50s, during a period of great excitement. Basie and company play their usual repertoire including "Jumpin' at the Woodside," "Shiny Stockings," and "Corner Pocket," while vocalist Joe Williams adds a distinctly bluesy touch to "Alright, Okay You Win," "Roll 'em Pete," and others. Moreover, as an added bonus, Verve records includes four previously unreleased tracks. Recorded after the bebop revolution--and featuring some of its main practitioners, such as Thad Jones--IN LONDON represents considerable change for Basie. Lyrical blues solos, ala Sweets Edison and Lester Young, are now replaced with flashier, albeit virtuoso-bop-inflected, improvisations. Thankfully though, this inevitable modernization never interferes with Basie's basic "swing" philosophy. Indeed, swing's main tenets are still observed here, with great care. Basie's stride roots are also still heard on tracks such as "Blee, Blop Blues" and "Plymouth Rock." The only mystery that surrounds this release is its title--this concert was recorded in Gothenburg, Sweden.

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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