Search - Count Basie :: Jam Session at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1

Hard swingin

Iris M. Harlan | Pittsburgh, PA United States | 01/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Everyone is taking long, energetic solos in front of a lively crowd. Johnny Griffin wails on his tenor sax. Roy Eldridge creates some amazing sounds on his trumpet. Bassist Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen swings as hard ever and takes amzing solos. Milt Jackson plays long creative riffs. Louis Bellson takes an awesome solo on "Lester Leaps In" after trading fours. And then, ofcourse, the Count: his performance is too amazing, and on "Lester Leaps In" he begins the song with 4 choruses of own special 'stride' piano which was popular in jazz' early days.The songs performed are the
1. quick paced blues- "Billies Bounce" (Charlie Parker)
13'35"
2. the more relaxed "Festival Blues" (Basie, et al)
11'54"
3. "Lester Leaps In" (Lester Young) based off of Ive Got Rhythm 16'06""

A perfect jam

Nikica Gilic | Zagreb, Croatia | 11/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Brilliant music from multitalented cross-generation group of jazz giants:

Granz style sessions of this sort (particularly at festivals) sometimes went overboard with honkin, screeching and squeeking, but this is rhythmically extremelly potent and yet tasteful affair.

Roy Eldridge gives a great performance for this late a stage of his career, with lot of growling fire and incinerating high tones, Johnny Griffin, one of the fastests guns in modern jazz tenor sax field lets loose with one eye on the glorious jazz tradition. Then there is Milt Jackson who gave blues and energy to the Modern Jazz Quartet, explosive Louis Bellson and the greatest Danish invention since Dreyer and Douglas Sirk: Niels Henning Oersted Pedersen on bass.

Basie sets the tone, playing some more than fine piano, but the whole group is jumping, connecting the present with the past in glorious performances of Parker's "Bilie's Bounce", collective impro effort "Festival Blues" and the brilliant "Lester Leaps In", a heritage of Basie's greatest tenor collaborator...

The shortest song clocks at 11.58, so there is plenty of magnificent mainstream jazz on this heated CD."