Basie at Birdland
Encyclopedia
Basie at Birdland is a 1961 live album
by Count Basie
and his orchestra
, recorded at Birdland
in New York City
.
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
by Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
and his orchestra
Count Basie Orchestra
The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie. The band survived the late '40s decline in big band popularity and went on to produce notable collaborations with singers such as Frank Sinatra and Ella...
, recorded at Birdland
Birdland (jazz club)
Birdland is a jazz club started in New York City on December 15, 1949. The original Birdland, which was located at 1678 Broadway, just north of West 52nd Street in Manhattan, was closed in 1965 due to increased rents, but it re-opened for one night in 1979...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Track listing
- "Little Pony" (Neal HeftiNeal HeftiNeal Hefti was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, tune writer, and arranger. He was perhaps best known for composing the theme music for the Batman television series of the 1960s, and for scoring the 1968 film The Odd Couple and the subsequent TV series of the same name.He began arranging...
) – 2:22 - "Basie" (Ernie WilkinsErnie WilkinsErnest Brooks Wilkins Jr. was a jazz arranger and writer who also played tenor saxophone. He might be best known for his work with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie...
) – 3:23 - "Blues Backstage" (Frank FosterFrank Foster (musician)Frank Foster was an American tenor and soprano saxophonist, flautist, arranger, and composer. Foster collaborated frequently with Count Basie and worked as a bandleader from the early 1950s.-Biography:...
) – 4:58 - "Blee Blop Blues" (Ahmad Kharab Salim) – 2:17
- "Whirly-Bird" (Hefti) – 3:59
- "One O'Clock JumpOne O'Clock Jump"One O'Clock Jump" is a jazz standard, a 12-bar blues instrumental, written in 1937 by Count Basie, with arrangement from Eddie Durham and Buster Smith. The original recording of the tune by Basie and his band is noted for the saxophone work of Herschel Evans and Lester Young; trumpeting by Buck...
" (Count BasieCount BasieWilliam "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
) – 0:55 - "Good Time Blues" (Wilkins) – 6:40
- "Segue in C" (Frank WessFrank WessFrank Wess is an American jazz musician, who has played saxophone and flute.-Biography:...
) – 9:18 - "One O'Clock Jump" – 4:41
- "Easin' It" (Foster) – 5:41
- "A Little Temp, Please" (Hefti) – 3:02
- "Corner Pocket" (Freddie GreenFreddie GreenFrederick William "Freddie" Green was an American swing jazz guitarist. He was especially noted for his sophisticated rhythm guitar in big band settings, particularly for the Count Basie orchestra, where he was part of the "All-American Rhythm Section" with Basie on piano, Jo Jones on drums, and...
) – 5:07 - "I Needs to Be Bee'd With" (Quincy JonesQuincy JonesQuincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
) – 4:23 - "Discommotion" (Foster) – 4:16
- "Segue in C" (Wess) – 8:11
- "Whirly-Bird" – 3:43
- "One O'Clock Jump" – 1:02
Personnel
The Count Basie OrchestraCount Basie Orchestra
The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie. The band survived the late '40s decline in big band popularity and went on to produce notable collaborations with singers such as Frank Sinatra and Ella...
- Count BasieCount BasieWilliam "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Sonny CohnSonny CohnGeorge T. "Sonny" Cohn was an American jazz trumpeter.After working for fifteen years with Red Saunders , he went on to spend another 24 years in Count Basie's trumpet section .-Biography:...
– trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Thad JonesThad JonesThaddeus Joseph Jones was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader.-Biography:Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan to a musical family of ten . Thad Jones was a self taught musician, performing professionally by the age of sixteen...
- Lennie Johnson
- Snooky YoungSnooky YoungEugene Edward "Snooky" Young was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known for his mastery of the plunger mute, with which he was able to create a wide range of sounds.-Biography:...
- Benny PowellBenny PowellBenny Powell was an African American jazz trombonist. He played both standard trombone and bass trombone....
– tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - Quentin JacksonQuentin JacksonQuentin "Butter" Jackson was an American jazz trombonist. In the early stage of his career he worked with Cab Calloway and was in the Duke Ellington Orchestra...
- Henry CokerHenry CokerHenry Coker was an American jazz trombonist.Coker studied music at Wellesley College before making his professional debut with John White in 1935. From 1937 to 1939 he played with Nat Towles's territory band, then moved to Hawaii to play with Monk McFay...
- Marshall RoyalMarshall RoyalMarshall Royal was an American clarinettist and alto saxophonist best known for his work with Count Basie, with whose band he played for nearly twenty years....
– alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed... - Frank WessFrank WessFrank Wess is an American jazz musician, who has played saxophone and flute.-Biography:...
– alto saxophone , tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening... - Frank FosterFrank FosterFrank Rowbotham Foster was a Warwickshire and England all-rounder whose career was cut short by an accident during World War I...
– tenor saxophone - Budd JohnsonBudd JohnsonNot to be confused with Buddy Johnson.Budd Johnson was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist who worked extensively with Ben Webster, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Turner, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Earl Hines, among others.-Biography:He initially played...
- Charlie Fowlkes – baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
- Freddie GreenFreddie GreenFrederick William "Freddie" Green was an American swing jazz guitarist. He was especially noted for his sophisticated rhythm guitar in big band settings, particularly for the Count Basie orchestra, where he was part of the "All-American Rhythm Section" with Basie on piano, Jo Jones on drums, and...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Eddie Jones – double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Sonny PayneSonny PayneSonny Payne was an American jazz drummer, best known for his work with Count Basie and Harry James.His father was Wild Bill Davis's drummer Chris Columbus...
– drums
- Jon HendricksJon HendricksJon Hendricks is an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is considered one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and replaces many instruments with vocalists...
– vocal