Customer Reviews

Essential Basie 1

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In the late 30's and early 40's, Count Basie had the greatest swing band in history (unless you count Duke Ellington's band at the time, which aspired to much more than swing). During that time, he made his first and best recordings with Decca and Columbia. Personally, I prefer the Decca recordings, which are available in the definitive Basie set, "The Complete Decca Recordings." When he started recording for Columbia after his Decca contract expired, some of the band's trademark sounds were becoming dangerously close to cliches, but the music they made was still incredible. It was impossible for a band like Basie's to make anything bad, but I don't want to give the impression that the music was second-rate. As one can see from this compilation, "The Essential Basie Vol. I," cuts like "Taxi War Dance" and "Oh Lady Be Good" are some of the absolute best. Lester Young himself was simply stunning, playing some of his most beautiful solos, particularly on "Oh Lady Be Good," a recording that was actually made before the band's tenure at Decca. Lester's recording debut on that track is possibly one of the greatest in history, and some consider his solo on it to be his best.

Despite the high quality of music, this CD was made in the late 80's, during which Columbia released a well-intentioned but ultimately poor-sounding line of CD's featuring their classic jazz catalog. The sound is so muted, so weedy, so raspy that it sounds like an old fifth-generation cassette copy found in someone's old car. One obvious culprit is the use of noise reduction processing that sucked the life out of these recordings, compressing them into middle range. However, I get the feeling that inferior source materials were used as well (which was the case with other Columbia CD's of the time). What's really frustrating is how bad this stuff sounds compared to "The Complete Decca Recordings." Go ahead and compare the sounds for both CD's. The Decca material was recorded between 1937-1939, so how can it possibly sound so much worse than this CD, which for the most part was recorded soon afterwards?

As a less than ideal alternative, I suggest seeking out "The Columbia Recordings," a two CD set by the independent, European label Definitive Records. It's an unauthorized release, so much of the source material isn't the absolute best. However, even with that working against them, the music has been carefully restored and remastered with warm, full 24-bit sound, putting "The Essential Basie" CD's to shame. Columbia has it in them to top it, but they haven't given any indication that they'll try anytime soon.

I am not lukewarm about it, although I consider the last part of the Decca sides to be the creme de la creme, this is creme. This is the band smoothed out, its intonantion even, its instruments up graded, and arranged well, and providing a fantastic platform for Lester Young's maginficent solos. Some believe that the Taxi Dancer's War Dance here is Lester Young's greatest performance. These are the initial recordings Basie made on Columbia, after he had gotten out of his infamous 700 buck contract with Decca and was now on Columbia produced by John Hammond Sr who was essentially Basie's manager, benefactor, and perhaps too great a manipulator of the band.

A great extra here is the "Lady Be Good" from the Smith and Jones session, a small group set of Lester Young, Tatie Smith a Trumpet player who didnt last once the band hit New York, Joe Jones, Walter Page, and Basie, recorded in Chicago in 1936 while the Basie Band was enroute from Kansas City to the big time in New York. Hammond had hoped to sign the band to Columbia, but Kapp from Decca snuck in and signed one of the most exploitative contracts in history--700 bucks to Basie for three years of recordings, nothing to the musicians!!!!! Hammond did do these small group sides Shoe Shine Boy, Evening, Boogie Woogie, and the great Lady Be Good here, and released under sidemen Tatti Smith and Joe Jones names.

Aw well, the other treat here are the Organ Blues here with Jimmie Rushing signing, and Lester Young playing clarinet, the classic "Going to Chicago," and the mislabeled on Amazon "Nobody Knows" which is not Nobody Knows you when you are down and out. Jimmie Rushing is more relaxed, Basie who learned organ from Fats Waller and who really treasured that instrument,really hits you, and Lester Young who was too rarely allowed to use his clarinet with Basie and who too rarely soloed on Jimmie's other blues, demonstrates why he is the master of all music, the man, the man the man.

There recordings were made after Buddy Tate replaced Herschel Evans who passed away--actually Tate replaced Chu Berry who came in when Evans died, but the guys wanted to keep the Southwestern Tenor tradition going and brought in Buddy, much to Berry's chagrin. (You should hear the great Lady Be Good at the end of the Decca period which is a great Sax battle between Berry and Lester Young where you get to see a very progressive modernistic side of Chu Berry his recordings with other groups never brought out). Buddy Tate does some solid blowing here as well.

I could go on and on and on. I know I will be listening to these sides when I get home today, especially as I am getting my ears checked out first!

At the time these recordings were made, Basie's band was equal to Ellington's, sharing the position of the top jazz big band; in later decades Basie led some excellent big bands, but guys like Frank Wess, Joe Newman, Thad Jones or Frank Foster could hardly replace Lester Young, Buck Clayton, Harry Edison, Dickie Wells or Buddy Tate...
All of these classical swing artists are well showcased on this essential CD (Young also plays clarinet); many of their solos you'll find here are often cited as their best work - for example Young's work on Lady be Good (actually recorded on a famous "Jones-Smith Inc." quintet date in 1936) or Taxy War Dance; I'm personally very much thrilled by work on Miss Thing as well...
Collaboration between Jimmy Rushing and Wells is also essential, Harry Edison is a master but, while studying this CD I was particularly amazed by the subtlety of Buck Clayton's playing.
As for the leader, his piano and organ work leaves me at loss for words.

so many wonderful cuts on this -- TAxi War Dance, Jump for Me, Pound Cake, Miss Thing. Young is astounding, and the ensemble band wonderful.