THE BARGAIN BUY: The Real Count Basie; The Ultimate Collection (Sony)

 |   |  1 min read

Count Basie Orchestra: Feedin' the 'Bean' (1941)
THE BARGAIN BUY: The Real Count Basie; The Ultimate Collection (Sony)

The Count Basie Orchestra -- which plays a short New Zealand tour in a fortnight -- must be one of the longest running jazz outfits anywhere. In the current line-up they have players appointed by Basie himself, who died 31 years ago.

Most musicians don't get into the band on their way to somewhere else, they get into the Basie band because that's where they want to be. And they stay, often for decades.

The singer with the current orchestra is Carmen Bradford who first joined in '83, a full decade before the present leader Scotty Barnhart joined.

And with the vast body of work which Basie wrote and arranged (and as well as having numerous other arrangers such as Quincy Jones) you can see the reward for the players. New charts enter the repertoire regularly so there is a freshness about being in a band which constantly regenerates itself.

This expansive three CD set -- in the Sony reissue series under the Real banner -- pulls together 48 loosely chronological tunes which of course include Basie classics (Super Chief, but not some of his real classics such as One O'Cock Jump, Autumn Leaves, Li'l Darlin') and most come from the late Thirties/early Forties when he was briefly on Columbia.

JB_logoSo while this is not an overview -- that would require at least a 20 CD box set -- it is certainly a finely focused snapshot of a band that could really swing, and (although the economy of space means no line-ups are printed) at just $10 at JB Hi-Fi stores here, this is a real Bargain Buy-cum-pleasurable homework assignment if you are going to one of the shows soon.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   The Bargain Buy articles index

THE BARGAIN BUY: Radiohead; OK Computer (EMI)

THE BARGAIN BUY: Radiohead; OK Computer (EMI)

Just as Achtung Baby and Zooropa represented a watershed period for U2, so The Bends of '95 and especially OK Computer of two years later marked a turning point in Radiohead's still-young career.... > Read more

THE BARGAIN BUY: Led Zeppelin, Celebration Day 2CD+DVD)

THE BARGAIN BUY: Led Zeppelin, Celebration Day 2CD+DVD)

Here's a very timely Bargain Buy for you . . . because later this week we shall see the release of the next two Jimmy Page remastered Led Zeppelin albums. We've had the first three, now here... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO, a doco by RAOUL PECK

I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO, a doco by RAOUL PECK

Some years ago in New York I went up to Harlem and by chance there was an exhibition of photos and memorabilia about James Baldwin. It was interesting to note that among the many people... > Read more

RAY CHARLES 1954-1960: A soul brother movin' on

RAY CHARLES 1954-1960: A soul brother movin' on

The word "genius" was used so often about Ray Charles that people probably ceased to believe it in this age where a minor sports figure is referred to as "an icon" and... > Read more