--- - |- A wonderful piece on Count Basie on NPR's "Jazz Profiles." If you're at all curious about jazz, swing, the history of rhythm or the Basie band, you owe it to yourself to check this out. ~~- Count Basie
With Presidential politics in the air, let's talk about one of the greatest to ever hold the office - Lester Young. (OK, so he was President... of the Saxophone.)My favorite record label, Mosaic, has released a 4 CD set of the most influential segment of his work - his days with Count Basie. Like most Mosaic sets, these are limited editions. I ordered fairly early and got set #760 out of 5000. ...
The Count Basie Orchestra weren't at their commercial peak when they moved to Brunswick records in 1968, but they could still spot a catchy tune and make it their own. And so it came to pass that they recorded this cover of the McCoys' 1965 hit.Many of you listening will, however, scratch your heads and say "I know that tune from somewhere else - but what is it?"
The late 1950's and early 1960's saw the emergence of the space program which ran in direct competition with the Soviet Union. Every lift-off from either country became a news worthy item in the media and soon, popular and jazz music began to jump onto the band wagon. Starting off with backwards countdown, this muscular opus begins with trombones leading into an energetic tenor sax challenge fu...
