Five-Star Collection... Paul Quinichette

Paul Quinichette

For Basie

When I was a young lad, first learning about jazz at the record collection of my older brother, some of the first records to make an impression on me were those of the Count Basie band. At the time, my brother, who also weaned me on Benny Goodman, Jimmy Lunceford and Al Cooper's Savoy Sultans, was a member of a social organization which did charity work for an affiliated orphan's home. One Christmas Eve, I believe it was 1938, they ran a dance at the Manhattan Center which featured Count Basie's orchestra at the roaring height of its powers. Of course, I was too young to attend but listened attentively on Christmas Day when my brother told me of the fabulous music he had heard for an entire evening. The names of Lester Young, Herschel Evans, Jo Jones, Jimmy Rushing and Basie himself were said in exuberant affirmation.

In the days, months and years that followed, I paid special attention to the Basie band as they moved from Decca to the Columbia-Okeh-Vocalion stable. Soon I knew the difference between Lester Young and Herschel Evans, Harry Edison and Buck Clayton and I discovered Dickie Wells. I realized that it had been the rhythm section of Freddie Greene, Walter Page, Jo Jones and Basie that had captured my unsuspecting ears from the beginning. "Taxi War Dance", "Louisiana" and "Easy Does It" were added to the record cabinet alongside "Every Tub", "Jumpin’ At The Woodside" and "Swingin' The Blues".

As I, a listener, listened and learned, so did countless young musicians; some just starting to play, others in amateur combos in their own localities, still others already active in professional bands. The Basie tradition, quintessence of Kansas City jazz, had begun. 

(...)

In the Forties, the influence of the Basie band was evident everywhere. Lester Young's startling improvisations had led to a whole school of tenor playing. The harmonic and phrasing advancements that he (and Charlie Christian) made were precursors to the new jazz ushered in by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Jo Jones' drumming style was a direct antecedent of Kenny Clarke's. All the musicians of the Bop movement had learned from Lester Young and eyen when their style was almost all Parker-Gillespie, Lester was constantly implied.

Alongside, existing independently and also interwoven with Bop were the direct descendants of the Basie-Young tradition. The general spirit of this revered tradition was responsible for shaping much of the jazz of the Fifties. Its importance has been established in many tangible ways. The resurgence of the Basie brand of swing was a factor in the earliest Fifties even before Count re-organized his band and furthered the feeling.

(...)

This album is not a reflection by the young moderns but a harking back by men who either were actively helpful in the creation of the Basie tradition or were in complete sympathy with the undiluted idiom and later became associated with Count. It is because of this, that For Basie is a warm, Kansas City, tributepaying excursion. 

(...)

This one’s for Basie... Basie, the pianist, with his astute "comping", clever use of both ends of the keyboard and all-around rhythmic power; Basie, the leader, with his organizational powers of magnitude and the rich, musical legacy he has already handed down to jazz; Basie, the man!

*Ira Gitler (liner notes)*

Here's a set that isn't just a tribute to Basie... there is Basie. Every member of the group is a Basie alumnus, including Pierce, whose service covers writing for the band as well as spelling Count at the helm for a couple of weeks recently when Basie was ill.

The key factor, I think, is the rhythm section. Gunther Schuller once pointed out that the rhythm phenomenon of the Basie band stems from the fact that it is not only a section working together to propel the band, but also four men who seemed to beat with the same pulse. Here, of course, Prestige has grouped three-quarters of the original section and added Pierce, who is a bigger-than-life representation of Basie.

Quinichette gives his solo work a continuity that smacks of the old, loose Basie band. On "Rock-A-Bye", for instance, he builds a series of choruses apparently carelessly but at the same time in an ascending pattern of tension. His final statements are climatic. On this track, too, Collins contributes a tasty bit of muted work, the last phrase of which Nat grabs, repeats, and balloons into this solo.

Collins' singing open horn on "Jive at Five" is a joy to hear.

Next to having a turntable full of those old blue Deccas, this set will stand for a good, long time. *Dom Cerulli (Down Beat, June 12, 1958 [5 stars])*

Side 1

1 - Rock-A-Bye Basie

(Shad Collins, Count Basie)

2 - Texas Shuffle

(Herschel Evans)

3 - Out The Window

(Eddie Durham, Count Basie)

Side 2

4 - Jive At Five

(Harry Edison, Count Basie)

5 - Diggin' For Dex

(Eddie Durham, Count Basie)

Paul Quinichette (tenor sax), Shad Collins (trumpet), Nat Pierce (piano),

Freddie Green (guitar), Walter Page (bass), Jo Jones (drums).

Recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey, October 18, 1957