Count Basie 100th Birthday Bash CD

Personnel: Count Basie (piano); Count Basie; Irene Reid, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, Tony Bennett (vocals); Frank Wess (flute, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Eric Dixon (flute, tenor saxophone); Andy Fitzgerald, Herbie Mann (flute); Marshall Royal (clarinet, alto saxophone); Billy Mitchell (clarinet, tenor saxophone); Illinois Jacquet (tenor saxophone); John Anderson , Flip Ricard, Joe Newman Quartet , Joe Newman , Snooky Young, Al Aarons, Sonny Cohn, Wendell Culley (trumpet); Henry Coker, Al Grey, Quentin Jackson, Benny Powell (trombone); Gerald Wiggins, Kirk Stuart, Ralph Sharon (piano); Shirley Scott (organ); Butch Ballard, Jimmy Crawford , Sonny Payne (drums); Joe Williams , Nat King Cole, Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughan (vocals); Freddie Green (guitar); Charlie Fowlkes (flute, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone); Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis , Frank Foster, Ben Webster (tenor saxophone); Thad Jones (trumpet); Eddie Jones .
Liner Note Author: Billy Vera.
Recording information: Miami, FL (10/21/1957-08/10/1962); Stockholm, Sweden (10/21/1957-08/10/1962).
All tracks have been digitally mastered using 24-bit technology.
Photographer: Chuck Stewart.
Unknown Contributor Role: George Duvivier.
Arrangers: Dave Cavanaugh ; Thad Jones; Frank Foster; Ernie Wilkins; George Williams ; Jimmy Mundy; Jon Hendricks; Neal Hefti; Quincy Jones; Ralph Sharon; Wild Bill Davis; Benny Carter ; Bobby Tucker.
Count Basie & Friends: 100th Birthday Bash is, quite simply, a stunningly remastered double-disc collection of Basie collaborations and presentations of smaller subgroups under his umbrella during his tenure with Roulette and recorded in the late '50s, though a couple of sides ("I Want a Little Girl" and "The Late Late Show") were issued originally on Capitol -- with Nat King Cole fronting the Basie band and Gerald Wiggins instead of the Count on piano. This set improves upon the CD issue by Ember with eight additional cuts and far better sound. The tunes -- with arrangements by saxophonist Frank Foster, Neal Hefti, Jimmy Mundy, Quincy Jones, Benny Carter, and others -- are a mix of vocal cuts with guests such as Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, Tony Bennett, Irene Reid, Sarah Vaughan, and (of course) the band's own singer, Joe Williams. Whether it's a duet like "Teach Me Tonight" between Vaughan and Williams, Billy Eckstine singing "Lonesome Lover Blues" and Ben Webster soloing on the same tune, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross vocalizing on "Jumping at the Woodside," or the burning version of "April in Paris" recorded live in Sweden with an arrangement by Wild Bill Davis, this set cooks from top to bottom and is an excellent -- even stellar -- view of the Basie orchestra during a very creative and fertile period. ~ Thom Jurek
Though Count Basie is connected to the Swing Era proper (the 1930s and '40s), the master pianist and his band enjoyed a remarkable burst of creativity in the '50s and early '60s. 100TH BIRTHDAY BASH is a two-disc set that features Basie's most notable work from this period, with superbly remastered sound. A host of different groups are presented, ranging from small ensembles to large orchestras with strings, and the sound, in general, is more streamlined and lush than earlier Basie outings. But the bandleader has lost none of his impeccable sense of swing, and his minimal, note-perfect piano playing can still steal the show.
The roster of guests makes 100TH BIRTHDAY BASH indispensable. With instrumental solo spots by Illinois Jacquet, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, and Ben Webster, arrangements by the likes of Benny Carter and Quincy Jones, and vocal turns by Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughn, Nat "King" Cole, and Tony Bennett, this party is so star-studded it creates its own cosmos. Whether tackling standards ("I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face") or revisiting Basie classics ("One O'Clock Jump"), the bands, arrangements, and guests all cook and simmer beautifully on up-tempo numbers and ballads, respectively. This bash finds