Search - Count Basie, Joe Williams :: Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings

"I Love The Blues Because It's So Natural. It's Life, Man."

Anthony G Pizza | FL | 09/17/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"That quote, from Joe Williams as part of the liner notes for this remarkable re-issue, emphasizes that blues is not so much a rudimentary style as an approach to music and, especially, lyrics. It's a lesson Basie, Williams, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Bobby Bland, and a generation's country, R&B, and blues performers taught the rock and roll revolution that so quickly followed and incorporated them."Basie Swings - Williams Sings" joins jazz vocal panache to Basie's rollicking big-band punch. Williams sings circles around the melodies of "The Comeback," (with its stick-and-move sax punctuation) Joe Turner's "Roll 'Em Pete," (with Williams trilling "Ohwellohwellohwell..." as if he discovered a new instrument) and the huge R&B hit, "Everyday I Have The Blues" (later a B.B. King theme song). Credit Frank Foster's inventive, galloping arrangements (brought to the fore by Phil Schaap's excellent remastering) for bringing fire and funk to what otherwise would've been a swing-era holdover. On the ballad side, "In the Evening" brings flutes and clarinets into a sleepy blues tune that recalls Bland's later, "If You Could Read My Mind."This LP and its long-running success deservedly expanded and extended Basie and Williams' careers, stretching across pop culture from Basie's three LPs with Frank Sinatra (and a band still performing Foster's arrangements today) to Williams' casting on the "Cosby Show." Most importantly, "Basie Swings - Williams Sings" redefined big band music for the post-rock and roll era, making it essential to jazz, blues, and early rock and roll fans all."

Dying for a re-issue!

Sam Donnelley | Seattle, WA USA | 02/05/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"One of the all time greatest albums. Nearly every track fills you with excitement and joy. But...this is one album that is begging for a high-resolution re-mastering and re-issue. The recording is scratchy, lacks depth, and the bass is nearly non-existent. Verve Records - Please Please PLEASE! Re-issue this classic album as a Master Edition! This should be one of the 10 most essential jazz CDs in every person's library, but it won't happen without a CD that meets the modern auditory expectation for jazz classics of this era."

Great stuff

Daniel A. Brodnitz | Alameda, CA | 06/03/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"An excellent album. Great variety and the Basie band really smokes on this one. One of the other reviews talked about the Sinatra/Basie lps, and they're unquestionably excellent--especially the first one. But this title has an explosive quality all its own. Well worth your time."