Customer Reviews

Count Basie At Newport

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

You want to hear Basie? Than i just can say: BUY THIS RECORD! This is swinging, living and cooking Big Band music at it`s best (and there are a lot bad one...believe me.) I had the luck to talk to Mr. Joe Newman (with Basie in the 40th and 50th), who has a few solos on this record, in 1981 and he told me that it was one of the most memorable nights in his life (which realy was not poor of memorable nights...just remember "Live At Newport" with Mr. Hampton). Prez playing his heart out (Polka Dots and Moonbeams), "Little" Jimmy Rushing shouting the Kansas City Blues, Freddie Green popping his strings, Little David wailing to the stars, Joe Williams having the blues and nothing but the blues ("nobody loves him"), Jo Jones swinging the drums, the Count pretending not being able to play "real piano" (what a joke), not to forget John Hammond (who brought Basie from KC to NY) introducing the band one by one (but mixing up Lester Young and Jimmy Rushing)...what a night it must have been at July 7th, 1957...I wish to have been there that night. I listen to it since 1979 when i bought it the first time. As Lester Young said when he listened to this record 2 years after it was recorded: "Man...it burst my nuts" My point. Oh...not to forget... the sound is so fine that you wouldn`t believe that it is from 1957...just five stars for the sound! SO BUY THAT RECORD AND HAVE A LOT OF FUN!

1957. And the Last Reunions had already begun. Was this Lester's last time playing with Basie? Maybe not, but it's the last one readily available. So often in Jazz these kind of records are more impressive for who is on them than for what actually happens musically. Not here. Maybe Jo Jones' drumming was considered passe by some of the audience, and even by some of the musicians. If so, they were crazy. He burns his way through the tracks he plays on and goads and gooses Lester Young to some of his last great moments. Roy Eldridge plays clean-up on One O'Clock Jump and he plays to the cheap seats. When this kind of thing works from Roy (Flyin'Home - Metronome All-Stars Concert, 1944) it's amazing, but here it's a bit too over the top. But the sense of occasion is all over this disc and if you have ANY Jazz nostalgia whatsoever, you have to own it. The '50's Basie band and Joe Williams sound positively mechanical and empty next to all of this, but that's OK. You can study their tracks as a primer on the change and evolution of Jazz styles.

This is an amazing CD that will show you why the Count Basie bands stood out from all others in the genre. Lester Young is in incredible form, blowing tenor like mad in one of his last great appearances, with Jo Jones' drumming swinging him into the next dimension! When the great blues shouter Jimmy Rushing comes out and the band swings into some great 30's tunes ("Sent for you Yesterday" "Evenin"), it gets even better! Plus you get the "new testament" Basie band with Joe Williams in delicious form. Add to that an all-star One O'Clock Jump with Illinois Jacquet and Roy Eldrige joining in and you can rock the night away!

Word to the wise: skip the 5 minute introduction by John Hammond. It may be interesting to hear his litany of band members one time, but it is quite tedious to listen to every time you pop in the CD. The best point he makes is that Basie can make a big band sound like an inspired small band. Hammond introduces some of the songs too, even talking over the beginning of the music at one point. The recording quality sounds like it was recorded live in the 1950's, probably because it was.

Fortunately, the music rises above all of this. I am not a jazz or big band aficionado, but I can tell this is great stuff. The band moves seamlessly in and out of solos, and they sound like they are having a great time, too. It makes me wish I could have been there to see these legends live on stage.

In rattling off a list of the great live jazz ever recorded, this Basie album would be at the top. Longer versions of some Basie standards make this reissue on CD an excellent addition to any jazz collection. It was the first Basie album I ever purchased, and it is the one that gets the most play. When I first bought it, it didn't leave my stereo for weeks.

This CD rips it up! I expected tastefully played but kinda boring big band stuff, but wow, was I wrong. Rip-snorting virtuoso playing here....thrilling music and a must own.

It's not quite up to the remastered edition of Ellington at Newport (what is?), but this 1957 date is an inspired Basie reunion session with audio quality that is more real, more "present" than the original vinyl recording (even if balance is occasionally problematic). Before taking seriously a previous reviewer's recommendation to bypass the opening announcements, remember who's making them: John Hammond, the legendary producer who discovered Count Basie! Among the featured Basie alumni are Lester Young (sounding surprisingly strong compared to other recordings by him during this period), Joe Jones (still at the top of his game), Illinois Jacquet (as good as ever) and Roy Eldridge (putting the proceedings into a stratospheric bed on "One O'clock Jump"). The "modern" Basie Band is tight and explosive, with Sonny Payne kicking up a storm. After Jimmy Rushing (who unfortunately is undermiked), Joe Williams sounds solid but anticlimactic (partly because of overly familiar material--pick up his Live at Newport 1963 recording instead). All in all, not only a classic session from the Newport Festival but a highly spirited and, well, festive one.

This is a great wild and swinging performance, both the "reunion" sides and the straight band stuff.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s Lester Young toured and performed with the Basie New Testament band quite often. In fact, at times he would simply show up for a rehearsal or stage performance unannounced and just blow. Basie always kept the door open for him. However, even though THE PRESIDENT was in rough shape that weekend (he wasn't dying that happened 3 years later), there are no later day recordings of Prez with the band that capture the swing that the reunion sides do here. I think it had to do with having Joe Jones and Mr. Rushing present.

One of the great things here is hearing Jimmie Rushing--who was a bit more of a stranger to Basie in these years than Prez--swinging the band. The New Testament band reacts to his singing by swinging back at him like they would any other master soloist. You can also pick up on some of the other cuts where Jimmie isn't singing, where his hand clapping and shouting is adding to the fury of the bands swing. Even if you are so culturally deprived as not to be a Jimmie Rushing fan, you will be after you hear his sides on this CD.

Illinois Jacquet and Roy Eldrige also shine on this record, on the killer rendition of One O'clock Jump. They were both at the height of their powers here and really burnt it up. Both of them are the real stars of the One O'clock Jump.

Don't forget the Count Basie Orchestra here. I have three other recordings of Bleep Blop Blues (the first with the nonette and two studio recordings). The live jumping version on this CD is the best one I have ever heard. As much as I love the other cuts on the CD, I find myself putting that on repeat and repeat and repeat. Joe Williams does show you why he is the righteous successor to Mr. Rushing, (although Joe always saw himself as more of a disciple of Joe Turner). I also love the interaction between the New Testament Band and some of the swing veterans as their riffs rise behind the veterans, especially on One O'clock Jump. Any idea that Basie's new band was not the leading swing organization of its time is quickly dispelled by what the band does here.

And John Hammond LOL: Oh well, at least his introductions aren't faked like he did on the Vanguard recordings of the Spirituals to Swing concerts. His introduction of the Basie band is interesting in giving you a picture of how many members of the New Testament band came out of the old swing bands. His patronizing tone really takes you back to what Jazz musicians, and African American artists in general had to put up from supposedly liberal (NAACP board member was Hammond) whites just to perform.

This is a one in a million special CD. This was the first CD I bought. It belongs in every home!

Brilliant!

Although introductions by John Hammond are too long and reveal slight confusion, this is swing music at its best, the power and energy of classic Basie band recreated in the age of stereo technology. For, Lester Young (one of two swing-era candidates for the best tenorist ever), Jimmy Rushing (perhaps the best blues singer in jazz) and Jo Jones (probably the best swing-drummer) return to the flock. What a performance - a festival whithin Newport festival!

These veterans give the orchestra (powerful on its own) a new impetus - more than anything else in hard, merciless drive. Solos and obligattos by Young are beautiful, combining brutal blues "primitivism" with proto-modern harmony and tone in Young's inimitable way, Rushing is in his musical prime, while "Papa Jo" does what he does best - Basie's big band remains the most inspiring musical environment for him.
Naturally, the part of the CD with singer Joe Williams (sans Rushing, Young and Jones) although excellent, is not on the level of the recordings with these older giants, but than again, how could it be? It is a pitty that this sort of reunion was not more common.
In addition to great colaboration in the first part of the concert, another giant of swing, Roy "Little Jazz" Eldridge (bop-buffs know him as the musical daddy of Dizzy Gillespie), climbs to the stage to join Young, Jo Jones and Illinois Jacquet for powerful big-band finale. The piano work of Bill Basie, the arragements and ensemble work are top class throughout, so I'm really wondering why You haven't purchased it yet?
Some 15 years ago I first heard "Evenin'" (with Rushing's macho but lyrical rendition of the verse) and "Sent for you yesterday" (which rocked my old phonograph) on two Verve compilations and ever sice that moment I was wondering what the entire album sounds like. It turned out to be one of my favorite CDs, and, although I'm not an expert, probably one of the finest moments in the history of swing style. Young passed away not long after this reunion (although he lived long enough to hear the record) and, sadly, no concert like this one will ever take place again.

This is a quality issue of an amazing live performance. This version of "Evenin'" is my favorite vocal by Jimmy Rushing (the greatest blues shouter of the 20th century). Also included on this CD is the set with Joe Williams singing. The williams set was not on the LP and is a welcome addition to this classic album. Joe really blows them away, singing as great as he ever did. The band is awesome, and this is well recorded in stereo.