Customer Reviews

Basie Jam

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Heres a late 1973 session that features Count Basie with an eight piece band. After a classic Basie Piano intro the first track "Doubling Blues" swings like mad, but then you notice theres something different going on when the solos start. Whats different is that Basie is playing Organ for most of the rest of the track and the difference is amazing. The little Piano phrases that we're all so used to hearing Basie play aren't there. Then after six minutes the Piano comes back in and we finish track with Basie as we started.

For more of Basie's Organ playing have a listen to 'One-Nighter' a lovely medium tempo number on which he plays a restrained introductory solo, before Zoot Sims (I think) plays the opening Tenor Sax solo. Listening to Basie's Organ comping behind the Sax solo I began to wish he'd played more Organ in his career as it seemed to be as natural as his Piano playing. I assume its a Hammond B3 he's playing and it makes a beautiful sound.

You will soon realise as you listen to the rest of the tracks on this great album, that as the title indicates, this is like a jam session, so all the tracks are based around the blues. When you have musicians of this standard thats no bad thing. Apart from those I've already mentioned there is also Louie Bellson - drums, Bass is Ray Brown, J J Johnson - Trombone, Irving Ashley - Guitar, Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis - Tenor sax, Harry Edison - Trumpet.

The running time is just under 50 minutes, and with only five tracks on the album that tells you that the musicians were given plenty of opportunity to stretch out. They do, and its well worth getting a copy of this album.

From the first notes of Doubling Blues to the end of this terrific album, I have not a single complaint. This is my favorite sunny-Sunday-morning-making-brunch-in-my-pyjamas-jazz.

Five tunes, five blues - all slightly different, and all done with distinction. Count Basie has assembled some monster players for this jam session recording (Sweets Edison, Lockjaw Davis, Zoot Sims, JJ Johnson), and although guys of this talent could go through a session like this half asleep, the results indicate they were all primed to play to the best of their astonishing abilities. The CD opens with an up-tempo cooker (DOUBLING BLUES) with Basie switching from piano to organ and back again, and Lockjaw taking a searing solo. Things slow way down for HANGING OUT, which features a gorgeous Zoot Sims solo on tenor. ONE-NIGHTER is medium-slow and is as mellow as they come with Basie on organ all the way. The biggest kicker for me is the excellent playing of guitarist Irving Ashby: whether soloing as he does so well on DOUBLING and ONE-NIGHTER or simply playing accompaniment, he's a dynamic member of the group here. Terrific stuff, this - and Basie fans (or any jazz fans, for that matter) will dig this CD a lot.

My God, if Basie didn't record with his big band AT ALL and left us only with these late Norman Granz/Pablo/jam albums, he'd still be a true jazz giant!

Here he plays some really beautiful organ in addition to piano and, with marvelous contribution from JJ Johnson (who really played well, more mainstream less bop with Basie), Zoot Sims, Eddie Lockjaw Davis (two quite different but equally marvelous tenor men), Irving Ashby, Ray Brown, Louie Bellson and even Harry Sweets Edison (who was still capable to deliver some fire as well as switness in the first half of the 1970s),

this string of blues based jams and gems swings like mad.

When asked about the best jazz from the 1970s people should check out Basie's discography before making their final lists.

Heres a late 1973 session that features Count Basie with an eight piece band. After a classic Basie Piano intro the first track "Doubling Blues" swings like mad, but then you notice theres something different going on when the solos start. Whats different is that Basie is playing Organ for most of the rest of the track and the difference is amazing. The little Piano phrases that we're all so used to hearing Basie play aren't there. Then after six minutes the Piano comes back in and we finish track with Basie as we started.

For more of Basie's Organ playing have a listen to 'One-Nighter' a lovely medium tempo number on which he plays a restrained introductory solo, before Zoot Sims (I think) plays the opening Tenor Sax solo. Listening to Basie's Organ comping behind the Sax solo I began to wish he'd played more Organ in his career as it seemed to be as natural as his Piano playing. I assume its a Hammond B3 he's playing and it makes a beautiful sound.

You will soon realise as you listen to the rest of the tracks on this great album, that as the title indicates, this is like a jam session, so all the tracks are based around the blues. When you have musicians of this standard thats no bad thing. Apart from those I've already mentioned there is also Louie Bellson - drums, Bass is Ray Brown, J J Johnson - Trombone, Irving Ashley - Guitar, Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis - Tenor sax, Harry Edison - Trumpet.

The running time is just under 50 minutes, and with only five tracks on the album that tells you that the musicians were given plenty of opportunity to stretch out. They do, and its well worth getting a copy of this album.