Customer Reviews

One O'Clock Jump - The Very Best Of Count Basie

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Despite that the fact that the Verve Music Group holds most of his best known recordings (Decca: mid-late 1930s, & Clef/Verve: most of the 1950s), Basie recorded some interesting stuff for Columbia in the late 1930s. It's also great to hear Lester Young & Sweets Edison solo & Jimmy Rushing sing on the two tunes which he's features. Only problem? This disc is too short! At just under 45 minutes, you'll be wanting more so get this & if you want more, get his box set, "America's #1 Band! The Columbia Years".

This is a superb introduction to early Basie - with sonics that astound given the age of the source material.

This CD features 14 strong tunes from 1936 -1942. Basie did many things right: Attracted star soloists, backed them with a stunning rhythm section (Basie, piano; Walter Page, bass; Freddy Green, guitar; Jo Jones, drums), and always found the perfect tempo. Timing was everything for this band.

If you have only heard later Basie, you owe yourself the pleasure of discovering the energy and youthfulness of early Basie. These Basie organizations had a freewheeling energy that was never duplicated. Later incarnations would swing with greater tightness and precision, but Basie bands during the early years were uniquely fresh and featured soloists of the first order: Foremost, Lester 'Pres' Young on tenor, but other major voices included Harry 'Sweets' Edison and Buck Clayton on trumpet as well as Dickie Wells on trombone.

Singer Jimmy Rushing roars on "Goin' to Chicago Blues" and "Boogie Woogie," turning in classic performances that helped define the standard for big-band singers.

The sound quality of this CD is great. Sony/Columbia invested the resources to get it right. Since some of the earlier Columbia CDs were terrible, I must say they nailed the audio engineering - the horns sound more present and realistic than ever before. The final two tracks come from radio transcriptions and offer fun insights into how Basie sounded in front of a live audience, although the sonics are not as good as the studio cuts.

This energetic 'roots' music helped create the swing area, with an influential prowess in both the solos and arrangements. Highly recommended, with the only compliant that the CD had room for 6+ additional tunes.

Basically I dig them all. Your prices make it afforable to gather more music by various artists. Can't hear jazz on radio anymore like we used to. I used to work in radio and would spin the discs everyday. Thanks to you again. Bill Bigham Great pricing ......