COUNT BASIE ZONE....

[king ubu]

Hm, actually I very much enjoy some of the Verve - like the first album with Joe Williams (the "Greatest" I always found rather a letdown, though), and also the early sessions with Quinichette.

But in general, I do find the Clef/Verve sessions an enjoyable bunch - I realized that all the more when I listened to the whole 8CD set in one go!

[sidewinder]

I too prefer the later Roulette material to theVerve stuff but must re-aquaint myself with the Verve Mosaic set.

The Count was on TV the other week in a program playing duets with Oscar Peterson in London, back around 1994/95. Amazing how modest Basie was in his chats with Oscar but with a very impish sense of humour. A very likeable character !

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Whenever I see someone with a new avatar, I feel like waving. HI Sidewinder! It looks like a Lansdowne LP.

MG

[king ubu]

It's the great "Hum Dono" by Joe Harriott/Amancio d'Silva - hell, bring on a reissue of that, you effoffs at UMG, or otherwise let someone like Dutton do it!!!

As for Basie on TV in the 90s... he died in 1984, so maybe it was 1984, rather than 1994?

I'm not sure how long he kept peforming, but I think until a few months before his death.

I have never felt an urge to check out his Pablo session, or much at all after 1961/62 (the second LaserLight Paris date is the last thing, then only a few stray items in my collection so far, though I repeat again how much I like "Basie Meets Bond"!)

Anyway, I have the "Golden Years" Pablo 4CD compilation (a disc of small groups, a disc with singers, a disc with big band studio and one live, I think), it's nice, has appearances by lots of greats (in the jams - Vinson, Griffin, Davis etc) and is probably just about as much as I need from the last two decades (though I would salute some reissues from the later Verve period, which started just after the Roulette ended, I think, around 62/63, I have a few CDRs and there are a few more excellent Hefti sides and some other goodies to be found there...)

Oyy, look at all these parenthes(what's the ending there? that's greek, I am only an able or disabled latinist, greek beats me, and aglifizied greek is even worse!) - and are parents supposed to be some sort of parenthesis, then?

[sidewinder]

I feel like waving. HI Sidewinder! It looks like a Lansdowne LP.

MG

Yes - 'Hum Dono' it is. Part of my publicity campaign to get it reissued !

[sidewinder]

I repeat again how much I like "Basie Meets Bond"!)

That one is beyond cool. I picked up a great original vinyl of that one for about £8 last year on UA. Worth it for the cover alone. The music is also much better than one would probably expect at frst glance.

[John L]

I repeat again how much I like "Basie Meets Bond"!)

That one is beyond cool. I picked up a great original vinyl of that one for about £8 last year on UA. Worth it for the cover alone. The music is also much better than one would probably expect at frst glance.

Hmmm. That is one that I have always avoided. But now I will give it a listen. After all, I like the Bond music, and I LOVE Basie.

[thomastreichler]

I have never felt an urge to check out his Pablo session, or much at all after 1961/62 (the second LaserLight Paris date is the last thing, then only a few stray items in my collection so far, though I repeat again how much I like "Basie Meets Bond"!)

Anyway, I have the "Golden Years" Pablo 4CD compilation (a disc of small groups, a disc with singers, a disc with big band studio and one live, I think), it's nice, has appearances by lots of greats (in the jams - Vinson, Griffin, Davis etc) and is probably just about as much as I need from the last two decades (though I would salute some reissues from the later Verve period, which started just after the Roulette ended, I think, around 62/63, I have a few CDRs and there are a few more excellent Hefti sides and some other goodies to be found there...)

I have these two albums from the second Verve period: "Basie Land" and "Lil' Ol' Groovemaker", the first being a Japanese reissue of a fine 1963 album featuring Billy Byers arrangements, the latter also from 1963 with charts by Quincy Jones. From this same period stems "Ella & Basie", a superb collaboration between the First Lady of Song and the Count which also benefits from great arrangements by Quincy Jones.

Then there is "At the Sands", a live Reprise album from 1966, "Basie Straight Ahead", recorded 1968 and reissued on GRP Chessmates, and "Standing Ovation" (Dot), recorded 1969 live at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, presenting the Basie Band in top form featuring Harry Edison, Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis and Harold Jones.

All these albums are worthwhile.

[Swinging Swede]

As for Basie on TV in the 90s... he died in 1984, so maybe it was 1984, rather than 1994?

I'm not sure how long he kept peforming, but I think until a few months before his death.

The last released Basie session was recorded in December 1983. BUT according to Chris Sheridan's Basie discography, Basie and his orchestra recorded enough titles for four LPs in March 1984, the month before he died. Titles are unknown.

That raised my eyebrows when I first saw it. Was it recorded for Pablo or something else? Four albums and nothing of it released. What's up with that?

[king ubu]

I repeat again how much I like "Basie Meets Bond"!)

That one is beyond cool. I picked up a great original vinyl of that one for about £8 last year on UA. Worth it for the cover alone. The music is also much better than one would probably expect at frst glance.

[drool] I'd love a vinyl sleeve of this one! [drool]

[king ubu]

I have never felt an urge to check out his Pablo session, or much at all after 1961/62 (the second LaserLight Paris date is the last thing, then only a few stray items in my collection so far, though I repeat again how much I like "Basie Meets Bond"!)

Anyway, I have the "Golden Years" Pablo 4CD compilation (a disc of small groups, a disc with singers, a disc with big band studio and one live, I think), it's nice, has appearances by lots of greats (in the jams - Vinson, Griffin, Davis etc) and is probably just about as much as I need from the last two decades (though I would salute some reissues from the later Verve period, which started just after the Roulette ended, I think, around 62/63, I have a few CDRs and there are a few more excellent Hefti sides and some other goodies to be found there...)

I have these two albums from the second Verve period: "Basie Land" and "Lil' Ol' Groovemaker", the first being a Japanese reissue of a fine 1963 album featuring Billy Byers arrangements, the latter also from 1963 with charts by Quincy Jones. From this same period stems "Ella & Basie", a superb collaboration between the First Lady of Song and the Count which also benefits from great arrangements by Quincy Jones.

Then there is "At the Sands", a live Reprise album from 1966, "Basie Straight Ahead", recorded 1968 and reissued on GRP Chessmates, and "Standing Ovation" (Dot), recorded 1969 live at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, presenting the Basie Band in top form featuring Harry Edison, Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis and Harold Jones.

All these albums are worthwhile.

Yes, I have about half of what you mention, plus the Beatles one (the Verve by Request, it seems the one reissued on CD by Ocium is better?). Some of it is indeed very good. The Chessmates I never came around buying. The "Sands" one without Sinatra neither... the one with Sinatra has some good songs, but too many fillers (I like some Sinatra, just in case, and this is not one of my favourites), and I actually like the studio album "Sinatra/Basie" a bit better, I think.

I guess that after 55 or 56, Basie just kept going, without changing much or adding a lot to what made the NT band what it was. That may lead to many fine performances in their own right (the Roulette years are full of them, and in later years there certainly were many of them, too), but still it's a bit of a pity. On the other hand, he just had his formula and kept going on that, which is fine with me - if he'd been looking for change, he might have lost what made him so special. (Still in that respect I think there's more discover in the late work of Ellington... but then I guess that's like apples and oranges after all.)

[thomastreichler]

Arguably the best of the sixties Verve albums is "On My Way And Shoutin' Again" (nice cover by the way) from 1962 with great fresh charts by Neal Hefti. I have that one on vinyl, but somehow missed the 2004 Japanese cd reissue and now it is oop.

[Swinging Swede]

I have never felt an urge to check out his Pablo session, or much at all after 1961/62 (the second LaserLight Paris date is the last thing, then only a few stray items in my collection so far, though I repeat again how much I like "Basie Meets Bond"!)

Anyway, I have the "Golden Years" Pablo 4CD compilation (a disc of small groups, a disc with singers, a disc with big band studio and one live, I think), it's nice, has appearances by lots of greats (in the jams - Vinson, Griffin, Davis etc) and is probably just about as much as I need from the last two decades

Well, if you like "Lockjaw", he was quite a bit with Basie in the 60s and early 70s.

The Pablos signalled a return to straight ahead jazz after the pop excursions of the 60s. In a way they can be seen as more of the same, I suppose, but if one likes New Testament Basie, that is more of a good thing. And the sound is excellent on the Pablos too, superior to anything Basie had recorded before. The emphasis was on new charts by Sammy Nestico and others, and you get to hear Jimmy Forrest with the band in 1975-77, for example.

By all means, get the earlier classic New Testament albums first, but if you after that want more, the Pablos should not be dismissed. (I'm talking about the big band albums here, the small groups were a different animal of course.)

[thomastreichler]

I have never felt an urge to check out his Pablo session, or much at all after 1961/62 (the second LaserLight Paris date is the last thing, then only a few stray items in my collection so far, though I repeat again how much I like "Basie Meets Bond"!)

Anyway, I have the "Golden Years" Pablo 4CD compilation (a disc of small groups, a disc with singers, a disc with big band studio and one live, I think), it's nice, has appearances by lots of greats (in the jams - Vinson, Griffin, Davis etc) and is probably just about as much as I need from the last two decades

Well, if you like "Lockjaw", he was quite a bit with Basie in the 60s and early 70s.

The Pablos signalled a return to straight ahead jazz after the pop excursions of the 60s. In a way they can be seen as more of the same, I suppose, but if one likes New Testament Basie, that is more of a good thing. And the sound is excellent on the Pablos too, superior to anything Basie had recorded before. The emphasis was on new charts by Sammy Nestico and others, and you get to hear Jimmy Forrest with the band in 1975-77, for example.

By all means, get the earlier classic New Testament albums first, but if you after that want more, the Pablos should not be dismissed. (I'm talking about the big band albums here, the small groups were a different animal of course.)

I agree, there is some great Basie on the 70's Pablo Big Band recordings (the 80's band I like less): Superb arrangements by Sammy Nestico and, on one album, by Bill Holman, great playing by Jimmy Forrest (as mentioned), Al Grey, Eric Dixon, Kenny Hing and Butch Miles, who was a perfect choice for the drum chair (a flashy and powerful drummer much in the vein of Sonny Payne).

[Swinging Swede]

(though I would salute some reissues from the later Verve period, which started just after the Roulette ended, I think, around 62/63, I have a few CDRs and there are a few more excellent Hefti sides and some other goodies to be found there...)

Fortunately those have all come out on CD, after the Japanese came out with a nice batch of Verve albums a few years. The Japanese may have gone OOP (I'm not sure), but perhaps they are not impossible to track down if so. They included

On My Way & Shoutin' Again! (1962)

Basie Land (1963)

Basie Picks The Winners (1965)

Basie's Beat (1965/67)

One disappointment here was that Winners only was in mono. Oh well, better than nothing.

Prior to that there had been "domestic" reissues of the other 60s Verve albums:

More Hits Of The 50’s And 60’s [a.k.a Frankly Basie] (1963)

Li’l Ol’ Groovemaker (1963)

Basie’s Beatle Bag (1966)

Of course, today Universal also owns some of the other labels Basie recorded for, including the Dot albums Tommy mentioned, Straight Ahead (which was just that in an era when Basie usually had to record pop material) and the live Standing Ovation. The former was on a domestic reissue and the latter was fairly recently on a Japanese CD.

[zen archer]

I have never felt an urge to check out his Pablo session, or much at all after 1961/62 (the second LaserLight Paris date is the last thing, then only a few stray items in my collection so far, though I repeat again how much I like "Basie Meets Bond"!)

Anyway, I have the "Golden Years" Pablo 4CD compilation (a disc of small groups, a disc with singers, a disc with big band studio and one live, I think), it's nice, has appearances by lots of greats (in the jams - Vinson, Griffin, Davis etc) and is probably just about as much as I need from the last two decades

Well, if you like "Lockjaw", he was quite a bit with Basie in the 60s and early 70s.

The Pablos signalled a return to straight ahead jazz after the pop excursions of the 60s. In a way they can be seen as more of the same, I suppose, but if one likes New Testament Basie, that is more of a good thing. And the sound is excellent on the Pablos too, superior to anything Basie had recorded before. The emphasis was on new charts by Sammy Nestico and others, and you get to hear Jimmy Forrest with the band in 1975-77, for example.

By all means, get the earlier classic New Testament albums first, but if you after that want more, the Pablos should not be dismissed. (I'm talking about the big band albums here, the small groups were a different animal of course.)

I agree, there is some great Basie on the 70's Pablo Big Band recordings (the 80's band I like less): Superb arrangements by Sammy Nestico and, on one album, by Bill Holman, great playing by Jimmy Forrest (as mentioned), Al Grey, Eric Dixon, Kenny Hing and Butch Miles, who was a perfect choice for the drum chair (a flashy and powerful drummer much in the vein of Sonny Payne).

Which Pablo cds are recommended ?

[BruceH]

I love Basie, but he gets a whole ZONE while Ellington only gets a "corner"? What's up with that?

[thomastreichler]

Which Pablo cds are recommended ?

I would recommend the following:

Fun Time, 1975

Basie Big Band (arr. Sammy Nestico), 1975

I Told You So (arr. Bill Holman), 1976

Prime Time (arr. Sammy Nestico), 1977

Live In Japan ‘78

On The Road, 1979

[king ubu]

Got "I Told You So" in the current Universal sales... I think "On the Road" is in the bins, too, but I opted for some jams and the "First Time" trio date only, so far... the jams I got are "Basie Jam #2", "Kansas City 7", "Mostly Blues... and some Others", as well as "Loose Walk", an album co-led with Roy Eldridge.

I have "Get Together" (with the great Budd Johnson!) and recently also found "The Bosses" (with Joe Turner) on vinyl.

Also finally picked up "Chairman of the Board" before it vanishes, as well as the Joe Williams/Basie Roulette album that re-appeared as part of that great Capitol Vocalists reissue series (is Williams' own - ballad - album in that series any good ("A Man Ain't Supposed to Cry")?

[bichos]

here´s a funny basie fake:

enjoy the unique swing of the basie band....

keep boppin´

marcel

[DukeCity]

here´s a funny basie fake:

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=mbssxMmpMPQ

enjoy the unique swing of the basie band....

keep boppin´

marcel

[flat5]

An interesting test case for the song title :-)

[brownie]

This rare footage of Count Basie at Birdland in 1959 surfaced a few days ago on Youtube, from Steve Allen's show.

Don't miss PeeWee Marquette at the bottom of the club's entrance stair...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5XLyD3rAu8

[Free For All]

Thanks for posting that, brownie! Great footage of the city, club, band and PeeWee!

Steve Allen was such a dork, but he did promote jazz. I just cringe when he attempts to talk to the musicians (or any people, really).

[flat5]

I could not disagree more. I love Steve Allen.