Customer Reviews

Count

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These recordings are part of Basies sides he recorded in the late 40's. Critics tend to pass over this period in Basies career, but the band is still tight and nobody sings the blues like Jimmy Rushing. there's some boogie, some small band pieces, and some R&B style big band pieces. A good, although short, sample of how the bnad sounded during the period when be-bop was ascending, and swing bands were struggling.

I'm one of those guys who likes lots of annotation on an album -- who wrote what, who played what on which, when it all was recorded, and, if possible, an essay of commentary discussing the thises and thats and whats of it. I got a cheap cassette version of this collection years ago, and loved it despite its minimal verbiage -- no credits (except the names of the songs and the names of the 2 singers who sing 4 of them), just great music. I recently found the CD reissue and eagerly snapped it up, as my cassette was worn out. The CD reissue has songwriter credits and a short essay on basic Basie history but does not address any of the music on this particular album; and there is no recording info or band credits, again except the singers.

Since I first got the cassette, I've gotten more deeply into the Count, and my ears tell me that a lot of this recording is the '50s New Testament Basie Orchestra, and some I'm pretty sure is from the '30s-early-'40s band. Some of it is small ensemble, even as small as piano-bass-drums trio. The ebullient & nonpareil Jimmy Rushing sings three songs, "Money is Honey," "Bye Bye Baby," and "After You've Gone." Ann Moore sings "Me and the Blues" very well. Basie's wonderful piano is featured a lot, the band swings swings swings as ever, and it's great to hear the Tin Pan Alley classics mixed in with the Basie blues-riff originals.

I'm surprised to say this is my favorite Basie CD. If I were picking my own Basie compilation, a lot that is not on here would be -- "One O'Clock Jump" or "Lester Leaps In" or "Jumpin' on the Woodside" from the awesome '30s band, and "April in Paris" or "Corner Pocket" from the terrific New Testament band, for example -- but I enjoy listening to this all the way through more than any of the other collections I've heard. And it's surprising, because no single tune on this rocks me like "Jumpin' on the Woodside" does. What I'm trying to say is, some of Basie's peaks dazzle me more than any of these, but this collection is all peaks.

Now I'm curious to know when the tunes were recorded, and who plays on them!