Count Basie -- "Complete Live At The Crescendo 1958"

[duaneiac]

A 5 CD boxed set of live Count Basie coming out now --

http://www.jazzmessengers.com/en/71694/count-basie/complete-live-at-the-crescendo-1958

So the description says this is "long unavailable material", not "previously unissued", so I am assuming that some or all of this music has been available somewhere before.  Has any one here heard it and if so, what's your take on it?  I certainly love Basie from this period, but this is a LOT of music with several numbers repeated night after night.  Could this be too much of a good thing?

[John L]

This is good well-recorded music.   Much of it has be reissued through the years, some of it as "Count on the Coast," volumes 1-3.  Other concerts were only on bootlegs, I believe.  It would be nice to have it all in one place.   

[Big Beat Steve]

Thanks for clarifying this, John L. On seeing the opening post (the Count is fine any time) I was very tempted but I have all three volumes of "Count on The Coast" so will probably pass this up after all

[duaneiac]

Thanks for that info, John L.  I saw those Count on The Coast CDs in Tower stores back when they were still new/in print, but never bought any of them because I was unsure what the audio quality would be like.  (I'd been bummed out a few times by the lo-fi quality of a few vintage "live" recordings I bought back in those pre-internet days.)  So I guess I don't have this material.  I do have the Mosaic set of Count Basie's "live" Roulette material, but that covers 1959-62, just right after these recordings.  I guess I have to decide how much "live" Basie from that era I really need . . .

[alankin]

Listed for pre-order for Amazon.com with a 3/25/16 release date for $27.99

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Live-at-Crescendo-1958/dp/B01BMPJ4BW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457636575&sr=8-1&keywords=8436539313717

[JSngry]

31 minutes ago, alankin said:

Listed for pre-order for Amazon.com with a 3/25/16 release date for $27.99

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Live-at-Crescendo-1958/dp/B01BMPJ4BW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457636575&sr=8-1&keywords=8436539313717

 

Quote

EU-only five CD set

 

This is grey-market at its most useful, if somewhat archaic.

[jazzbo]

The Count on the Coast material (I know it via LPs) is great stuff. So yes, I agree with Jim. I'm going to get this. Been listening to Roulette Basie lately and that group of recordings so full of gems!

[JSngry]

and...ooops...amazon is offline right now? Really?

[mjzee]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

and...ooops...amazon is offline right now? Really?

Online right now.

[JSngry]

33 minutes ago, mjzee said:

Online right now.

That was weird...

[jazzbo]

I'll bet someone is in trouble. Think of how many transactions didn't happen!

[mjzee]

Something did happen... http://www.cnbc.com/2016/03/10/amazoncom-homepage-intermittently-down-as-users-report-widespread-outage.html

[JSngry]

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but in a Spanish-language tweet, the Amazon Help Twitter account said it was working to resolve an issue.

 

Gracias, Amazon!

¿Tenemos una fuga de datos ?

[Peter Friedman]

I located these 5 CDs on my shelves that all either completely or in part are from the Crescendo in 1958.

Looks like I definitely do not need this new set.

[jazzbo]

This is a very cool set.

[Brad]

Currently out of stock. 

[gmonahan]

With Lon on this one.  Listening to disc 3.  Great sound, wonderful performances by one of my favorite bands.

 

 

gregmo

[Ted O'Reilly]

1 hour ago, gmonahan said:

With Lon on this one.  Listening to disc 3.  Great sound, wonderful performances by one of my favorite bands.

 

 

gregmo

...and I'm with both of you.  I've had the Swedish Phontastics on two CDs, and this would seem to be everything.  I'm really enjoying this set.

[John L]

Check out My Baby Upsets Me on Disc 3.  Nothing complicated here, just the Basie band at its most soulful backing Joe Williams in his element.  The audience falls out.  I did too.   This is why we miss big bands.  Only they could do that simple special thing that the Basie band does here and on many other tracks from this box. 

[jazzbo]

Yes, I have been enjoying this box and also a lot of Basie reissues from Warner Japan of the Roulette material. And that made me dig out Joe Williams releases. Just such wonderful music.

[duaneiac]

I got my copy in the mail the other day and am listening to Disc 2 right now.  I am pleased with how good the audio quality is for a "live" session from that era.  And of course, the band sounds great!

[king ubu]

Got mine a few days ago, and am into disc four just now ... disc three had some glitches and stuff, but nothing really bad.

The band is on fire throughout, including Joe Williams - ridiculously good music!

[medjuck]

I notice that a couple of reviews on Amazon mention that discs 4 & 5 contain material from earlier performances and are not from  The Crescendo.  I can't tell when they're from but they certainly seem to be from a larger venue. (I'm not referring here to the tv show that is also included.  Speaking of which I've been told that that Bobby Troupe tv show once featured Chet Baker playing Bix but that show is no longer extant.  Arghhh.) 

[Big Beat Steve]

6 hours ago, medjuck said:

I notice that a couple of reviews on Amazon mention that discs 4 & 5 contain material from earlier performances and are not from  The Crescendo.  I can't tell when they're from but they certainly seem to be from a larger venue. 

Which would mean that there is even less Crescendo material that goes BEYOND the contents of the three "Count On The Coast" LPs on Phontastic. Pity ...

[Ken Dryden]

I recently purchased this set and was surprised to see an excerpt of my AMG review of Count On the Coast, Vol. 1 on the back cover. Obviously I had not heard all five volumes in this particular package. Good stuff, in any case.