The Count Basie Orchestra - The Legend, The Legacy (1989/2018)

Three years after Frank Foster had become leader of the Count Basie Orchestra, the group continued to place very well in jazz polls; few big bands were in its class. This fine CD finds Foster extending the tradition of Count Basie with new arrangements and features for both veterans (including trumpeter Sonny Cohn, altoist Danny Turner, and the tenors of Kenny Hing and Eric Dixon) and the newer members (such as trumpeter Byron Stripling and pianist Ace Carter). With Carmen Bradford proving to be the band's best vocalist since Joe Williams, Frank Foster had succeeded at not only reviving the Count Basie Orchestra but restoring it to its prime. The lengthy "Count Basie Remembrance Suite," "Booze Brothers" and a new version of Neal Hefti's "Whirly Bird" are among this enjoyable CD's highlights.