The Greatest!! Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards
Encyclopedia
The Greatest!! Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards is a 1956 studio album
by Count Basie
and his orchestra, and Joe Williams
.
:
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
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, and Joe Williams
Joe Williams (jazz singer)
Joe Williams was a well-known jazz vocalist, a baritone singing a mixture of blues, ballads, popular songs, and jazz standards.-Early life:...
.
Track listing
- "Thou SwellThou Swell"Thou Swell" is a show tune, a popular song and a jazz standard.The music was written by Richard Rodgers, with words by Lorenz Hart, for the 1927 musical A Connecticut Yankee. There are jazz vocal renditions by Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, Blossom Dearie, Ella Fitzgerald and Joe...
" (Lorenz HartLorenz HartLorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
, Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
) – 2:19 - "There Will Never Be Another YouThere Will Never Be Another You"There Will Never Be Another You" is a popular song with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Mack Gordon for the Twentieth Century Fox musical Iceland starring Sonja Henie...
" (Mack GordonMack GordonMack Gordon was an American composer and lyricist of songs for the stage and film. He was nominated for the best original song Oscar nine times, including six consecutive years between 1940 and 1945, and won the award once, for "You'll Never Know"...
, Harry WarrenHarry WarrenHarry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
) – 2:48 - "Love Is Here to Stay" (George GershwinGeorge GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, Ira GershwinIra GershwinIra Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
) – 3:38 - "'S Wonderful'S WonderfulS Wonderful" is a popular song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics written by Ira Gershwin. It was introduced in the Broadway musical Funny Face by Adele Astaire and Allen Kearns....
" (Gershwin, Gershwin) – 2:35 - "My Baby Just Cares for MeMy Baby Just Cares for Me"My Baby Just Cares for Me" is a jazz standard written by Walter Donaldson with lyrics by Gus Kahn. It was written for the 1930 film version of the 1928 Ziegfeld musical comedy Whoopee!, starring Eddie Cantor. It is known as the signature tune of singer and pianist Nina Simone.-Nina Simone...
" (Walter DonaldsonWalter DonaldsonWalter Donaldson was a prolific United States popular songwriter, composing many hit songs of the 1910s and 1920s.-History:...
, Gus KahnGus KahnGustav Gerson Kahn was a musician, songwriter and lyricist.-Biography:Kahn was born in Koblenz, Germany in 1886. The family emigrated from there to the United States and moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1890...
) – 2:24 - "Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)"Nevertheless I'm in Love with You" is a popular song written by Harry Ruby with lyrics by Bert Kalmar, first published in 1931...
" (Bert KalmarBert KalmarBert Kalmar was a Jewish American lyricist.He was born in New York, New York. He ran away from home at the age of 10 to become a magician at a tent show, and retained an interest in magic all his life. He never got much of an education, but decided to make a career in show business...
, Harry RubyHarry RubyHarry Ruby was a Jewish American songwriter and screenwriter.After failing in his early ambition to become a professional baseball player,...
) – 3:54 - "Singin' in the RainSingin' in the Rain (song)"Singin' In the Rain" is a song with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown, published in 1929. However, it is unclear exactly when the song was written with some claiming that the song was written and performed as early as 1927. The song was listed as Number 3 on AFI's 100 Years.....
" (Nacio Herb BrownNacio Herb BrownNacio Herb Brown was an American writer of popular songs, movie scores, and Broadway theatre music in the 1920s through the early 1950s.-Biography:...
, Arthur FreedArthur FreedArthur Freed was born Arthur Grossman in Charleston, South Carolina. He was a Jewish American lyricist and a Hollywood film producer.- Biography :Freed began his career as a song-plugger and pianist in Chicago...
) – 2:25 - "I'm Beginning to See the LightI'm Beginning to See the Light"I'm Beginning to See the Light" is a popular song and jazz standard, written by Duke Ellington, Don George, Johnny Hodges, and Harry James, and published in 1944. Ella Fitzgerald and the Ink Spots recorded a version in 1945 that was on the pop song hits list for six weeks in 1945, reaching #5...
" (Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Don George, Johnny HodgesJohnny HodgesJohn Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges was an American alto saxophonist, best known for his solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years, except the period between 1932–1946 when Otto Hardwick generally played first chair...
) – 3:04 - "A Fine RomanceA Fine Romance (song)"A Fine Romance" is a popular song composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Dorothy Fields, published in 1936.The song was written for the musical film, Swing Time, where it was co-introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers...
" (Dorothy FieldsDorothy FieldsDorothy Fields was an American librettist and lyricist.She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films...
, Jerome KernJerome KernJerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
) – 2:28 - "Come Rain or Come Shine" (Harold ArlenHarold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
, Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
) – 3:58 - "I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me" (Clarence Gaskill, Jimmy McHughJimmy McHughJames Francis McHugh was a U.S. composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he composed over 270 songs...
) – 2:38 - "This Can't Be LoveThis Can't Be Love (song)"This Can't Be Love" is a show tune and a popular song from the 1938 Rodgers and Hart musical The Boys from Syracuse. It was also included in the 1962 musical film, Billy Rose's Jumbo, though most of the songs in that film came from the 1935 Rodgers & Hart musical Jumbo. The lyrics poke fun of the...
" (Hart, Rodgers) – 2:32
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...
:
- Joe WilliamsJoe Williams (jazz singer)Joe Williams was a well-known jazz vocalist, a baritone singing a mixture of blues, ballads, popular songs, and jazz standards.-Early life:...
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - 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... - 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:...
- reedsWoodwind instrumentA woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator to vibrate... - Charlie Fowlkes
- Bill GrahamBill GrahamWilliam Carvel "Bill" Graham, PC QC is a former Canadian politician, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of National Defence, and Leader of the Opposition and interim Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.-Personal life:...
- 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....
- Frank WessFrank WessFrank Wess is an American jazz musician, who has played saxophone and flute.-Biography:...
- 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...
- 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... - Matthew GeeMatthew GeeMatthew Gee was an American bebop trombonist and part time actor.Gee played trumpet and baritone as a child, and took up the trombone at age 11. After studying at Alabama State University, he played with Coleman Hawkins before doing a stint in the Army...
- Benny PowellBenny PowellBenny Powell was an African American jazz trombonist. He played both standard trombone and bass trombone....
- Wendell CulleyWendell CulleyWendell Philips Culley was an American jazz trumpeter.Culley played locally in Boston, then moved to New York City in 1931, where he found early work playing with Horace Henderson and Cab Calloway. He then spent 11 years in the employ of Noble Sissle, recording with him extensively...
- 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... - Reunald JonesReunald JonesReunald Jones Sr. , was a jazz trumpeter who worked both in big bands and as a studio musician.Jones was born in Indianapolis. He studied at the Michigan Conservatory, and then played with territory bands such as that of Speed Webb...
- 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...
- Joe NewmanJoe Newman (trumpeter)Joseph Dwight Newman was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and educator, best known for his time with Count Basie....
- 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 JonesEddie Jones (jazz musician)Eddie Jones was an American jazz double bassist.Jones grew up in Red Bank, New Jersey, and played early in the 1950s with Sarah Vaughan and Lester Young. Jones taught music in South Carolina from 1951 to 1952, and became a member of Count Basie's orchestra in 1953, remaining there until 1962...
- 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...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....