Five-Star Collection... Count Basie (December 1953 on Clef Records)

In the waning days of 1953, Count Basie walked into Fine Sound Studios in New York with a renewed sense of purpose. His orchestra had been reshaped, his sound modernized, and his partnership with Norman Granz was about to yield some of the most vital recordings of his postwar career. The sessions Basie led for Clef Records that December —one with his full orchestra, another with a stripped-down sextet— captured the perfect balance between swing tradition and the modern jazz vocabulary of the 1950s.

On December 12, 1953, Basie recorded the material that would later appear on the 12-inch LP Dance Session (Clef MG C-626). The orchestra featured what would soon become known as the "New Testament Band": Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Joe Newman, and Joe Wilder on trumpets; Henderson Chambers, Henry Coker, and Benny Powell on trombones; Marshall Royal (alto sax/clarinet), Frank Wess and Frank Foster (tenor saxes), Charlie Fowlkes (baritone), Freddie Green (guitar), Eddie Jones (bass), and Gus Johnson (drums). Basie alternated between piano and organ, bringing a fresh timbre to his already unmistakable swing.

The New York session yielded titles such as "Straight Life", "Basie Goes Wess", "Softly, With Feeling", "Peace Pipe", "Bubbles", "Right On", and "The Blues Done Come Back", with arrangements by Johnny Mandel, Frank Wess, Neal Hefti, and Ernie Wilkins.

Two additional tracks associated with Dance Session —"Blues Go Away!" and "Plymouth Rock"— had actually been recorded earlier that year, on August 13, 1953, in Los Angeles. These sessions, also produced by Granz, reveal the transitional phase of Basie's band just before it fully coalesced into the streamlined ensemble that would dominate his mid-1950s recordings.

Around the same time as the New York orchestra date, Basie also convened a sextet session for Clef, a relaxed and intimate date released on the 10-inch LP Count Basie Sextet (Clef MG C-146). With Joe Newman (trumpet), Paul Quinichette (tenor sax), Freddie Green (guitar), Gene Ramey (bass), and Buddy Rich (drums), the group tackled tunes such as "Basie Beat", "K.C. Organ Blues", "Blue and Sentimental" and "Count’s Organ Blues".

Taken together, these 1953 Clef sessions document a pivotal moment in Basie's evolution. His music regained the rhythmic drive and collective swing of the 1930s while embracing the cleaner, more sophisticated textures of the modern era. Dance Session and Count Basie Sextet stand as complementary portraits of a bandleader in transition —bridging tradition and innovation, reaffirming his roots while setting the course for the Basie sound that would define the following decade.

Down Beat reviewed these records as follows:

Count Basie

Dance Session

Every so often, like a dormant volcano, there will be an eruption on the jazz scene, during which one of the protagonists will insist (usually quite pedantically) that jazz was made to listen to and not to dance to. Like the volcanic eruptions which consist primarily of hot air and other gasses, these things subside, and we get back to normalcy and the clear, sweet air of swing, and we discover that it is quite simple to dance as well as listen to good jazz, because definitively jazz claims rhythm more as an ingredient of its composition than any other kind of music. 

Today, if anyone were asked who swings more than anyone else, the chances are nine out of nine would reply Count Basie. They would mean either Basie individually, Basie with a small group of musicians, or Basie with his big band. Slice it any way you like, look at it upside down or standing on  your head — Basie is still THE man of swing. It used to be in the olden days, various titles were handed to band leaders, such as "Mr. Rhythm", "Mr. Swing" and so on. Were that doubtful practice to be revived today, Basie would probably garner more crowns than any other leader playing jazz at this time.

That was reason then, for us to produce an album by the dance master of them all; but at the same time a man who preserves the identity of the soloists within his organization by giving them full rein to play as they choose when it comes their turn to stand up.

Basie also, years ago, and he has persisted today in that practice, saw the need for giving young, free-thinking arrangers full play to write as they thought the band should play. The best of these arrangers for Basie, and composers too, for they have written these pieces, are included in this album. They are: Johnny Mandel, Neal Hefti, Ernie Wilkins and Frank Wess. Johnny Mandel’s "Straight Life" is quite possibly, at least it is my nominee, the prettiest thing Basie has done in a decade. However, pressing it closely for second place beauty honors is the Hefti "Softly, With Feeling". There are the swinging, jumping, rollicking, happy tunes by Wilkins, Wess and some more by Hefti, but all in all it is the band that plays not only the blues, but plays with feeling, to paraphrase Neal Hefti, softly and/or loudly, but always tastefully. *Norman Granz (liner notes)* 

Most of these have already been reviewed as singles and have received ratings ranging from three to five stars. Gathered together in one well-recorded 12'' LP, the cumulative impact of thgis, the greatest big band in jazz, is too much!

Here is that rare combimnation of section precision and relaxation, of functional simplicity and continuous freshness of feeling. It's also about time someone gave credit to the man largely responsible for the aforementioned prfecision — concert master Marshall Royal. At base, of course, this is a triumph belonging to everyone in this exultant band and to the swingingest bandbuilder of them all, William Basie. This is called, by the way, Count Basie Dance Session and it's a powerful reminder of what jazz began as in Storyville — music to dance and live with. This is one band you can't listen to as a detached observer; when you dig Basie, you become part of the beat. 

*Nat Hentoff (Down Beat, September 8, 1954 [5 stars])*

1 - Straight Life

(Johnny Mandel)

2 - Basie Goes Wess

(Frank Wess)

3 - Softly, With Feeling

(Neal Hefti)

4 - Peace Pipe

(Ernie Wilkins)

5 - Blues Go Away!

(Ernie Wilkins)

6 - Cherry Point

(Neal Hefti)

7 - Bubbles

(Neal Hefti)

8 - Right On

(Freddie Green)

9 - The Blues Done Come Back

(Ernie Wilkins)

10 - Plymouth Rock

(Neal Hefti)

#1, #4, #5, #10:

Reunald Jones, Paul Campbell, Wendell Culley, Joe Newman (trumpets);

Johnny Mandel (bass trumpet [#5, #10]), Henry Coker, Benny Powell (trombones);

Marshall Royal (clarinet, alto sax); Ernie Wilkins (alto sax, tenor sax);

Frank Wess, Frank Foster (tenor saxes); Charlie Fowlkes (baritone sax);

Count Basie (piano); Freddie Green (guitar); Eddie Jones (bass); Gus Johnson (drums);

Neal Hefti (arrangements).

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, August 13 (#5, #10),

and at Fine Studio, New York City, December 12 (#1, #4), 1953

#2, #3, #6, #7, #8, #9: 

Reunald Jones, Joe Wilder, Wendell Culley, Joe Newman (trumpets);

Henderson Chambers, Henry Coker, Benny Powell (trombones);

Marshall Royal (clarinet, alto sax);Ernie Wilkins (alto sax, tenor sax);

Frank Wess, Frank Foster (tenor saxes); Charlie Fowlkes (baritone sax);

Count Basie (piano, organ [#3]); Freddie Green (guitar); Eddie Jones (bass); Gus Johnson (drums);

Neal Hefti (arrangements).

Recorded at Fine Studio, New York City, December 12, 1953

✳✳✳

Count Basie

The Count Basie Sextet

I never seem to be able to make up my mind as to what musical setting I prefer Count Basie in — the big band or the small band. It seems that it is usually the last record that I hear that converts me to its cause. I think the reason, of course, is that Basie is equally adept and equally pleasing in both combinations. In the one you get the power and the drive that the big band gives you, and in the other you get all of the subtlety and relaxed swing that the small combination affords. In either case, though, Basie is always the motivation rhythmically for each group.

This latest album by Count Basie is a Sextet culled from members of his band, and a musician who happens to be Basie's closest musical friend. This "friend" is Buddy Rich. The other members of the band were: Gene Ramey, Freddie Greene, Joe Newman, and Paul Quinichette.

As with most of Basie's records, the tunes are originals penned by Basie or members of his band, and the blues predominate.

For a most swinging (or as the hipsters would probably say "swinging the most") evening, here is the Count and his Sextet. *Norman Granz (liner notes)*

If you put this on a hi-fi set at full room volume, it'll swing you through the window if you don't watch out. This is jazz at its most basic — direct, powerful, unpretentious. Paul Quinichette and Joe Newman are in the front line and ride on top of the rhythm section like it was a jet-engined carpet. With Count is the invaluable Freddie Greene together with Gene Ramey and Buddy Rich.

Basie is on organ on four sides and no one since Fats Waller comes close to Count in jazz organ touch. There's little point in selecting favorite bands — it all moves from Paul's simply expressive Blue and Sentimental to the rocking Royal Garden. One thing only — and this will probably get me read out of the Critics' Circle. There are times when Buddy Rich is somewhat too heavy, as on Count's Organ Blues. But why cavil in the face of a Basie tornado?

*Nat Hentoff (Down Beat, February 24, 1954 [5 stars])*

1 - Basie Beat

(Count Basie, Joe Newman)

2 - K.C. Organ Blues

(Count Basie, Joe Newman)

3 - She's Funny That Way

(Richard Whiting, Neil Moret)

4 - Royal Garden Blues

(Clarence Williams, Spencer Williams) 

5 - Stan Shorthair

(Count Basie, Joe Newman)

6 - Blue And Sentimental

(Count Basie, Jerry Livingston, Mack David) 

7 - Count's Organ Blues

(Count Basie, Joe Newman)

8 - As Long As I Live

 (Ted Koehler, Harold Arlen)

Count Basie (piano, organ), Joe Newman (trumpet), Paul Quinichette (tenor sax),

Freddy Green (guitar), Gene Ramey (bass), Buddy Rich (drums).  

Recorded at Fine Studio, New York City, December 15, 1953

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

Tenors Anyone?

Jazz has become more than just a spontaneous emotional outlet. It has progressed to a major music form, and much of the material from which contemporary composers draw has its origin in jazz. Certainly, jazz is the international musical bond of the 20th century. One of the dominant (if not the most important) instruments in jazz today is the tenor sax.

Perhaps it’s because the tenor so closely approximates the human tone, or possibly its importance can be traced to the instrument’s wide range of tone and expression. At any rate, it enjoys a foremost position in most modern jazz ensembles. 

Tenors Anyone? offers four great jazzmen matching skills, styles and talent. The principles are Stan Getz, the late Wardell Grey, Paul Quinichette and Zoot Sims. Their efforts produce a cross-section of modern tenor techniques, as illuminating as any we have had.

Enough words have been written and enough laudits bestowed on these four giants of the tenor to acquaint one with their respective abilities. And, since this is an invitation, let’s get on to what occurs when the blowing starts. *Howard Cook (liner notes)*

Set can have appeal. The contrasting and distinct styles included in this set by four great tenor stars cover a wide range in jazz tastes. Five groups (with personnel duplicated for the saxes. Try Zoot Sims' run on "Blues For The Month Of May" and the late Wardel Grey's "In A Pinch" as samples. Good sales potential. *Billboard, April 7, 1958*

Side 1

1 - These Foolish Things

(Link, Strachey, Marvell)

2 - Blues For The Month Of May

(Jerome Lloyd)

3 - I Should Care

(Cahn, Weston, Stordahl)

4 - Along About This Time Last Year

(Darwin, Sykes, Lewis)

Side 2

5 - Skull Buster

(Al Haig)

6 - (It's The) Talk Of The Town

(Levinson, Symes, Neiburg)

7 - Ante Room

(Jimmy Raney)

8 - Pennies From Heaven

(Burke, Johnston)

9 - In A Pinch

(Al Haig)

10 - Poop Deck

(Al Haig)

#1, #4:

Paul Quinichette (tenor sax), Gene Roland (trumpet [#4]), Nat Pierce (piano), Freddie Green (guitar), Wendell Marshall (bass), Sonny Payne (drums).

Recorded in New York City, August 12, 1956

#2, #3:

Zoot Sims (tenor sax), Jerry Lloyd (trumpet), John Williams (piano), Nabil Totah (bass [#2]), Bill Anthony (bass [#3]), Gus Johnson (drums).

Recorded in New York City, August 10 [#3], September 4 [#2] 1956. 

#5, #7,#8, #10:

Stan Getz (tenor sax), Al Haig (piano), Jimmy Raney (guitar), Gene Ramey (bass), Charlie Perry (drums), Carlos Vidal (conga)

Recorded in New York City, May 12, 1949.

#6, #9:

Wardell Grey (tenor sax), Al Haig (piano), Jimmy Raney (guitar), Tommy Potter (bass), Charlie Perry (drums).

Recorded in New York City, November 1948 (probably).