Posted 4 Mar 2004 We have a Lester Young thread (thanks, ubu!) but, after some research, I didn´t find any "general" thread on this jazz giant, COUNT BASIE... and I couldn´t stand it! Just to start, I´ll resume my feelings on this matter: -the OLD TESTAMENT BAND IS THE SWINGIN´EST BAND EVER -the NEW TESTAMENT BAND IS ONE OF THE SWINGIN´EST BAND EVER His organizations (the big band and the small combos) were a "who is who" in jazz. I´m amazed the incredible ammount of wonderful musicians that went in and out his band through the years. And I really dig his work as a pianist, his skeleton and swingin´ style. A true giant. God bless him! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 4 Mar 2004 (edited) Count Basie, Aquarium, New York, N.Y., between 1946 and 1948 (from Gottlieb´s website) Edited 4 Mar 2004 by EKE BBB Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 4 Mar 2004 Count Basie, Ray Bauduc, Herschel Evans, and Bob Haggart, Howard Theater, Washington, D.C., ca. 1941 (from Gottlieb´s website) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 4 Mar 2004 (edited) Old Jimmie Rushing in the frontline... Edited 4 Mar 2004 by EKE BBB Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 4 Mar 2004 Thanks for starting this, EKE! The swingingest indeed! My exploring of Pres (thanks to Milan, my dear friend, and thanks to Lon for being so generous!) has led me to explore early Basie (first testament). Before that, all I had was some Verve albums and the Live Mosaic box. Now I had the pleasure of hearing for the very first time the Decca set, and I also bought that 4CD Columbia set (I sure wish they'd give us all in such great sound, though!). And this is really a revelatory trip for me! No rhythm section was that tight and swinging in such an easy, floating way in the thirties, I guess. Then there's all the great soloists: Prez, Herschel Evans, Clayton, Sweets, Washington (wish he'd have more solo space), Warren (as long as he stick to alto he's fine with me), and all the great trombone men, Trummy Young, Dickie Wells, Vic Dickenson... later Byas, Jacquet, etc. I'd love to beam me back to the Savoy, 1937, and catch them in full flight, accompanying the Pres (which is what they were there for, no? ) ubu Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 4 Mar 2004 Ubu, welcome to Basieland! Small correction, Trummy Young was with Jimmy Lunceford, not Basie. Benny Morton was another great Basie trombone player... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 4 Mar 2004 I never met a Basie record I didn't like..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 4 Mar 2004 Cuscuna should put all the Roulettes out, one by one. That would be a great jazz service. I grabbed the lp with strings last year and was glad to! Oh I'm a Basie nut. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 4 Mar 2004 Ubu, welcome to Basieland! Small correction, Trummy Young was with Jimmy Lunceford, not Basie. Benny Morton was another great Basie trombone player... Thanks brownie! I should know that, as I have an LP set of Lunceford with lots of fine Trummy Young. I did indeed mix Young and Morton up - strange thing to happen (at least I know I never was good with names...) ubu Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 4 Mar 2004 Basie is my favorite of the big bands right after Ellington. I simply love the sound they put out, it's amazing how tight the band always seemed to be. I'm a big fan of his latter years small group dates as well. One more time!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 4 Mar 2004 I was lucky enough to find a copy of "Live at the Royal Roost" at the ol' Borders Outlet a few months ago ... highly recommended. According to AMG, Dinah Washington and Anita O'Day, both of whom sing on the disc, hadn't otherwise recorded w/Basie. It's a recording of live radio performances from 1948, but the sound is really pretty good and the band just, well, rocks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 4 Mar 2004 Up ... ... with one of my fave Basie pics by Lee Friedlander. That's Pee Wee Marquette, "half a motherf*cker", with Basie in New York City, 1957. Cheers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 4 Mar 2004 That "America's #1 Band" boxset has made me a huge fan of that wonderful band! It's absolutely my favorite release of the last year or so, and I can't wait to hear more. Long live the Count! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 4 Mar 2004 Basie 1937-1940 is my absolute favorite big band, full stop. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 4 Mar 2004 I know it's probably sacrilege but I put Basie before Duke. Old testament, New Testament; they can just play the hell out of it. Wish I had the Studio Mosaic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 5 Mar 2004 UP! Count Basie was my first jazz concert experience. I was very young and my dad thought I should see some good jazz. I loved it and decided right there and then that I wanted to be a musician. Before I went to see just about everyone that was still alive and big at the end of the seventies, beginning eighties, my dad took me to see Basie again, Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson and many of the other larger-than-life jazz greats, but also, for example, Pierre Dørge & New Jungle Orchestra. If it hadn't been for my dad's collection and these concerts, I don't think I would have been such a jazz buff today. I'm paying him back today by supplying him with a steady stream of CDs, many of which he wouldn't buy himself anymore today. Just sent him the Teddy Wilson Mosaic which he loves, Mulligan (Village Vanguard), Basie (Chairman ...), and Oscar Peterson (Exclusively ...) and after many years of actually having been to lazy to simply put on a CD, I think I got him hooked again. Like crack, the stuff. Cheers! P.S.: I think I'll start another thread on jazz and your parents' influence, if any. CU there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 5 Mar 2004 (edited) Since Columbia messed up their Basie reissue for a second time, should us fans send them a petition to do it properly (i.e complete chronological reissue) or allow a dedicated party (e.g. Mosaic) do the job or is this going to be an exercise in futility? Edited 5 Mar 2004 by LAL Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 5 Mar 2004 Speaking of Coumbia, what's the difference between Decca Basie and Columbia Basie? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 5 Mar 2004 (edited) The Deccas had better sound! The complete Decca's were issued, the complete Columbia's probably never will be! LAL, can I sign your's petition first? And, I am with John also on this one (as for much other cases): although they have no perfect intonation at times, although so much riff based material and head arrangements can be repetitios at times, although Lester left band and Hershel died, yes... that OT was greatest band of all times! Edited 6 Mar 2004 by mmilovan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 6 Mar 2004 MMilovan- sure, but we still need a few hundred (or at least dozens) more names and signatures. The grand total of 3 we had on the other BB probably wouldn't get past Columbia's mailroom clerk. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 6 Mar 2004 Yes, we have 3 people to sign petition! Surely, that is something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 21 Aug 2007 No posts in the "Count Basie Zone" since March 2004. I should talk, after pretty much ignoring his music for years; I have become a real convert to both the Old and New Testaments. I really love this photo of the man himself; if anyone has a better quality version of it, please post it. I found this kinda interesting page on the one and only Freddie Green. Freddie Green. I am constantly amazed by the way he makes himself heard in both the Old and New Testament bands, (without an amplifier???). It really does add to the overall sound of the band and I can't believe he got lucky with ALL the sound engineers that recorded the various groups, it had to be his own work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 21 Aug 2007 OK, I'll contribute... I'm a fan. I have some of the Old Testament, but tend to gravitate to stuff from the late '50s. I really like "Chairman of the Board" with some of those Thad Jones charts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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