Night Rider

Performer: Count Basie
Artist: Louie Bellson
Engineer: Val Valentin
Producer: Norman Granz
Distributor: Fantasy (distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Count Basie (piano, organ); Oscar Peterson (acoustic & electric pianos); John Heard (bass); Louis Bellson (drums). Recorded in February 1978. Orignally released on Pablo (2310 843). Includes original release notes by Nat Hentoff. Digitally remastered by Phil De Lancie (1992, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California). Personnel: Count Basie (piano, organ); Oscar Peterson (piano); Louie Bellson (drums). Liner Note Author: Nat Hentoff. Recording information: Group IV Studios, Hollywood, CA (02/21/1978-02/22/1978). Unknown Contributor Roles: Count Basie; Oscar Peterson. At first blush, an album featuring both Count Basie and Oscar Peterson seems suspicious. Indeed, the two pianists' styles fall on opposite sides of the musical spectrum. Basie's approach has sometimes been described as minimalist, non-pianistic, and certainly bluesy. In contrast, Peterson is known for his technical wizardry, pianistic exhibitionism, and hard-bop vigor. The two piano legends actually develop a strong simpatico on NIGHT RIDER, and the album defies any attempts at stereotyping. In fact, Basie's playing is slightly more extroverted than usual, while Peterson's playing is more understated and economical. On "It's a Wonderful World," the two musicians' styles blend until the music almost sounds like the work of a four-handed pianist. Peterson refrains from his trademark two-handed-octave flourishes and embraces the blues instead. Conversely, Basie unlocks his reserves of pianism and infuses the music with more urgency and intensity. Bassist John Heard and drummer Louis Bellson support the two icons with an unerring sense for the idiom.

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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