Product Description:
Personnel: William "Count" Basie (piano); Bobby Plater (alto saxophone, flute); Eric Dixon (tenor saxophone, flute); Charlie Fowlkes (baritone saxophone, flute); Marshall Royal (alto saxophone, clarinet); Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (tenor saxophone); Al Aarons, George "Sonny" Cohn, Wallace Davenport, Phil Guilbeau (trumpet); Henderson Chambers, Al Grey, Grover Mitchell (trombone); Bill Hughes (bass trombone); Freddie Green (guitar); Norman Keenan (bass); Percival "Sonny" Payne (drums).
Recorded live at the Copa Room, Sands Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada from January 26-February 1, 1966. Includes liner notes by Loren Schoenberg.
Lush swing is the defining characteristic of this release. Count Basie, in the 1950s, aimed to fashion an orchestra for venues such as "The Ed Sullivan Show." By the time these performances were recorded, opening for and playing with Frank Sinatra at the Copa Room of the Las Vegas Sands Hotel, Basie had put together just such a band.
Intoxicating as the martinis and highballs being enjoyed by the patrons, this music combined musical muscle with easy-on-the-ears entertainment. Effervescent, but certainly not champagne music, Basie's band is all the more tantalizing for its ability to control its raw power and shape exquisite softness into songs like "Hello Little Girl." The brass sensually caresses the tune, flirting with the finesse of a Vegas showgirl.
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