Basie, like Ellington was a jazz big band leader who had suffered a drop off in popularity in the face bebop, rhythm & blues, and then rock n roll.
Basie had to let his band go for a time, then he was signed to Roulette Records and hired a young arranger Neal Hefti (who went on to compose the theme tunes for "the Odd Couple" and the Adam West Batman series) to help revitalise his band.
I will say this: for me, it's not a jazz album that stands out as some amazing thing, or 'better than the rest' or anything but I always enjoy it when I listen to it. There are definitely some hot tracks here, such as "Double O" which starts with such an awesome, nimble little bassline and then the horns crowding in - wow!
No comments:
Post a Comment