Customer Reviews

For the First Time

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Ray Brown's bass just DOMINATES this set, and Basie never sounded better on the piano or organ then in this trio setting. Bellson is great too, swinging with brushes and cymbals. But anyone even remotely a fan of Ray Brown should snap this up right now!

Master musicians all three, and it's Basie's architecture and style that lead this wonderful session.

Basie as a leader always worked his musicians until he found the right tempo. And, this session is no exception. It's almost impossible not to tap your foot to many of these lightly swinging tunes.

Basie learned stride piano and organ technique from Fats Waller--who swung as hard as any pianist ever with a stunning left hand of enormous power and drive. Basie never forgot the appeal of a steady 4/4 beat. (Which explains why Basie employed the definitive rhythm guitarist Freddie Green from 1937 until Basie's death in 1984.)

Basie's soloists always said the reason they sounded so good was because of the Count's comping and the support from the rhythm section he lead from the keyboard. We hear in trio format the tasteful punctuation and minimalistic perfection Basie normally displayed in a big band setting. Additionally, the trio format forces Basie to play much more keyboard than we get to hear with his orchestra.

Basie at age 70 shows his singular focus on finding the right tempo. And, he displays a stunning improvisational ability to always hit the right notes at the right time. Ray Brown's playing is wonderful as always, adding the perfect blues feel and pulse. Louis Bellson adds skillfully to the proceedings, but at times I wonder how Sonny Payne or Jo Jones would have sounded on some of the same tunes.

Recommendation: A must buy for fans of Basie's keyboard work and Ray Brown's bass playing. A great reminder that sometimes tunes swing best at the lowest volume.

Tips for Basie keyboard fans: The DVD with Basie on Ralph Gleason's TV show "Jazz Casual" shows Basie's stride abilities with a dynamic display of keyboard wizardry on Waller's 'Handful of Keys.' The CD "Basie Jam: Montreaux 77" contains the song 'Trio Blues' with the Count reunited with Ray Brown. Basie's solo is so dynamic and the crowd goes so wild that you can hear saxophonist Benny Carter of the next act repeatedly exclaim, "We can't follow that!"

a fantastically nuanced album! the ear is not bombarded with clanging of instruments, the sometimes barely audible instrumentation forces one to get one's ear closer to the pieces. the brain fills in all the rest. a very smart album.

Count Basie, known mostly for his big band work, is under rated as a small combo pianist (as is Ellington btw). Basie's playing is spare and understated. He never plays a note that doesn't need to be played and the silences can be as important as the notes. This is a terrific, bluesy album featuring the great Ray Brown on bass and Louis Bellson on drums. If you like the blues and jazz trios you can't go wrong with this.

Hey, to be able to listen to Count Basie without the big band sound is a joy. This is a great CD. One that ought to be in every jazz listener's collection. Try it!!!!