Count Basie & Lester Young - Classic 1936-1947 Studio Sessions (2016)
Artist: Count Basie & Lester Young
Title: Classic 1936-1947 Studio Sessions
Year Of Release: 2016
Label: Mosaic Records MD8-263
Genre: Jazz, Swing
Quality: FLAC (tracks+.cue,log,scans)
Total Time: 09:11:03
Total Size: 1.85 GB
WebSite: Album Preview
Title: Classic 1936-1947 Studio Sessions
Year Of Release: 2016
Label: Mosaic Records MD8-263
Genre: Jazz, Swing
Quality: FLAC (tracks+.cue,log,scans)
Total Time: 09:11:03
Total Size: 1.85 GB
WebSite: Album Preview
It’s a universally acknowledged truth that great music never sounds out-of-date, and Count Basie is remarkably evergreen. His “Old Testament” band epitomizes the big-band swing era-the rhythmic, harmonic and melodic devices that made 1930s America dance. But in practice that band epitomizes swing itself. “Count Basie took the Kansas City blues and made it happy,” Tony Bennett once remarked, perhaps summing up the enduring appeal that makes a collection like the eight-CD Classic 1936-1947 Count Basie and Lester Young Studio Sessions the Lord’s work.
And that’s without even mentioning Lester Young, Basie’s tenor saxophonist during his glory years. He’s not just timeless-he’s still downright progressive, still pointing the way forward for the tenor tradition. Sleek, lyrical and at once muscular and lightweight, Young’s sound was revolutionary when it first appeared on the 1936 session by Jones-Smith Incorporated (a Basie/Young small group) that begins this Mosaic box. On the 1947 bebop-ified quintet date that closes it, Prez still seems to know something his bandmates don’t: His laidback slyness on “Tea for Two” says to his juiced-up bandmates, as pointedly as words, “Relax, fellas. We got this.”
Whereas Mosaic Records’ boxes tend toward very specific archival presentations-other recent releases include Gerry Mulligan’s The Emarcy Sextet Recordings and The Complete Dial Modern Jazz Sessions-Classic Studio Sessions is an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink affair. It does take as its centerpiece the Basie Orchestra’s 1936-39 Decca recordings, the leader’s first and still largely his most famous, and includes the alternate takes plus a previously unissued one of the classic “Honeysuckle Rose.” But these constitute only 68 of the mammoth set’s 173 tracks. The rest of the box comprises the Jones-Smith session; the famous Kansas City Six and Seven (more small-group Basie/Young) dates of 1938 and 1944; the Basie trio records issued as “Basie at the Piano”; several scattered Young freelance dates, including work with Benny Goodman, Una Mae Carlisle, Sam Price and Dicky Wells; and more than 50 tracks under Young’s own name, leading various ensembles between 1942 and 1947. The music is canonical, and the remastering is as bright and clean as 80-year-old recordings can be.
These, too, include the alternate takes, and again there are a handful of unheard ones-namely, three of the four tunes from the Jones-Smith date. The previously released “Lady Be Good” from that day is one of Young’s most heralded solos, an example of how much brawn he could flex within that nonchalance. The alternate is equally revelatory, not as lean in its phrasing but every bit as steeped in lyricism and rhythmic horsepower, even as each note still floats away.
As always, Mosaic’s production is superlative. The music-parsing liner notes by Loren Schoenberg are sharp-eared and insightful. The sequencing, though, is a mess. Why start with Jones-Smith, fill the first disc with freelance odds and ends from years later, then go back to the beginning of the Basie Orchestra sides and continue chronologically from there? It doesn’t leave the Basie or the solo Young sides uninterrupted; both have Kansas City Six cuts, among others, coming in the middle. But this is the iTunes era: Buy Classic Studio Sessions, import it and reorder the tracks as you will.
And that’s without even mentioning Lester Young, Basie’s tenor saxophonist during his glory years. He’s not just timeless-he’s still downright progressive, still pointing the way forward for the tenor tradition. Sleek, lyrical and at once muscular and lightweight, Young’s sound was revolutionary when it first appeared on the 1936 session by Jones-Smith Incorporated (a Basie/Young small group) that begins this Mosaic box. On the 1947 bebop-ified quintet date that closes it, Prez still seems to know something his bandmates don’t: His laidback slyness on “Tea for Two” says to his juiced-up bandmates, as pointedly as words, “Relax, fellas. We got this.”
Whereas Mosaic Records’ boxes tend toward very specific archival presentations-other recent releases include Gerry Mulligan’s The Emarcy Sextet Recordings and The Complete Dial Modern Jazz Sessions-Classic Studio Sessions is an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink affair. It does take as its centerpiece the Basie Orchestra’s 1936-39 Decca recordings, the leader’s first and still largely his most famous, and includes the alternate takes plus a previously unissued one of the classic “Honeysuckle Rose.” But these constitute only 68 of the mammoth set’s 173 tracks. The rest of the box comprises the Jones-Smith session; the famous Kansas City Six and Seven (more small-group Basie/Young) dates of 1938 and 1944; the Basie trio records issued as “Basie at the Piano”; several scattered Young freelance dates, including work with Benny Goodman, Una Mae Carlisle, Sam Price and Dicky Wells; and more than 50 tracks under Young’s own name, leading various ensembles between 1942 and 1947. The music is canonical, and the remastering is as bright and clean as 80-year-old recordings can be.
These, too, include the alternate takes, and again there are a handful of unheard ones-namely, three of the four tunes from the Jones-Smith date. The previously released “Lady Be Good” from that day is one of Young’s most heralded solos, an example of how much brawn he could flex within that nonchalance. The alternate is equally revelatory, not as lean in its phrasing but every bit as steeped in lyricism and rhythmic horsepower, even as each note still floats away.
As always, Mosaic’s production is superlative. The music-parsing liner notes by Loren Schoenberg are sharp-eared and insightful. The sequencing, though, is a mess. Why start with Jones-Smith, fill the first disc with freelance odds and ends from years later, then go back to the beginning of the Basie Orchestra sides and continue chronologically from there? It doesn’t leave the Basie or the solo Young sides uninterrupted; both have Kansas City Six cuts, among others, coming in the middle. But this is the iTunes era: Buy Classic Studio Sessions, import it and reorder the tracks as you will.
Tracklist:
CD1 {01:07:15}
01. Shoe Shine Boy (3:01)
02. Evenin' (2:58)
03. Boogie Woogie (3:16)
04. Lady, Be Good (3:08)
05. I've Found a New Baby (2:41)
06. Ti-Pi-Tin (2:36)
07. Blitzkrieg Baby (You Can't Bomb Me) (3:22)
08. Beautiful Eyes (3:04)
09. There'll Be Some Changes Made (2:45)
10. It's Sad But True (3:31)
11. I Got Rhythm (4:12)
12. I'm Fer It Too (4:11)
13. Hello Babe (3:07)
14. Linger Awhile (3:06)
15. Shoe Shine Boy (alternate take) (2:52)
16. Evenin' (alternate take) (3:07)
17. Boogie Woogie (alternate take) (3:15)
18. Lady, Be Good (alternate take) (3:05)
19. I've Found a New Baby (alternate take) (2:41)
20. I'm Fer It Too (alternate take) (4:09)
21. Hello Babe (alternate take) (3:08)
CD2 {01:09:26}
01. Honeysuckle Rose (2:58)
02. Pennies from Heaven (3:02)
03. Swinging at the Daisy Chain (2:50)
04. Roseland Shuffle (2:34)
05. Exactly Like You (2:44)
06. Boo-Hoo (2:28)
07. The Glory of Love (2:32)
08. Boogie Woogie (I May Be Wrong) (2:52)
09. (You Know it All) Smarty (2:44)
10. One O'Clock Jump (3:00)
11. Listen My Children and You Shall Hear (3:07)
12. John's Idea (2:58)
13. Good Morning Blues (3:03)
14. Our Love Was Meant to Be (2:45)
15. Time Out (2:58)
16. Topsy (3:11)
17. I Keep Remembering (Someone I Should Forget) (2:45)
18. Out the Window (2:51)
19. Don't You Miss Your Baby? (3:12)
20. Let Me Dream (3:09)
21. Georgianna (2:36)
22. Blues in the Dark (3:04)
23. Honeysuckle Rose (alternate take) (2:53)
24. Good Morning Blues (alternate take) (3:10)
CD3 {01:05:45}
01. Sent for You Yesterday and Here You Come Today (2:57)
02. Every Tub (3:17)
03. Now Will You Be Good (2:50)
04. Swinging the Blues (2:46)
05. Mama Don't Want No Peas an' Rice an' Cocoanut Oil (2:52)
06. Blue and Sentimental (3:12)
07. Doggin' Around (2:58)
08. Stop Beatin' 'Round the Mulberry Bush (2:59)
09. London Bridge is Falling Down (2:55)
10. Texas Shuffle (3:09)
11. Jumpin' at the Woodside (3:09)
12. Way Down Yonder in New Orleans (2:58)
13. Countless Blues (3:01)
14. Them There Eyes (2:59)
15. I Want a Little Girl (2:54)
16. Pagin' the Devil (2:57)
17. Stop Beatin' 'Round the Mulberry Bush (alternate take) (3:05)
18. Way Down Yonder in New Orleans (alternate take) (3:00)
19. Countless Blues (alternate take) (2:59)
20. Them There Eyes (alternate take) (2:58)
21. I Want a Little Girl (alternate take) (2:56)
22. Pagin' the Devil (alternate take) (2:54)
CD4 {01:10:07}
01. How Long How Long Blues (2:56)
02. The Dirty Dozens (3:03)
03. Hey Lawdy Mama (2:46)
04. The Fives (2:48)
05. Boogie Woogie (3:03)
06. Dark Rapture (2:41)
07. Shorty George (2:47)
08. The Blues I Like to Hear (3:10)
09. Do You Wanna Jump, Children? (2:41)
10. Panassie Stomp (2:48)
11. My Heart Belongs to Daddy (2:57)
12. Sing for Your Supper (2:45)
13. Oh! Red (2:54)
14. Fare Thee Honey, Fare Thee Well (3:07)
15. Dupree Blues (3:05)
16. When the Sun Goes Down (2:57)
17. Red Wagon (2:55)
18. You Can Depend on Me (3:11)
19. Cherokee (Pt. 1) (3:09)
20. Cherokee (Pt. 2) (3:03)
21. Blame It on My Last Affair (2:46)
22. Fare Thee Honey, Fare Thee Well (alternate take) (3:04)
23. When the Sun Goes Down (alternate take) (2:47)
24. Blame It on My Last Affair (alternate take) (2:44)
CD5 {01:07:12}
01. Jive at Five (2:51)
02. Thursday (3:07)
03. Evil Blues (3:15)
04. Oh Lady Be Good (3:11)
05. The Goon Drag (Gone Wid de Goon) (3:15)
06. Things 'Bout Coming My Way (2:58)
07. Just Jivin' Around (2:56)
08. Indiana (4:51)
09. I Can't Get Started (4:54)
10. Tea for Two (4:47)
11. Body and Soul (5:10)
12. Just You, Just Me (3:14)
13. I Never Knew (3:12)
14. Afternoon of a Basie-ite (3:11)
15. Sometimes I'm Happy (3:09)
16. Just You, Just Me (alternate take) (3:08)
17. I Never Knew (alternate take) (3:08)
18. Afternoon of a Basie-ite (alternate take) (3:11)
19. Sometimes I'm Happy (breakdown) (3:44)
CD6 {01:18:06}
01. After Theatre Jump (4:47)
02. Six Cats and a Prince (4:13)
03. Lester Leaps Again (4:29)
04. Destination K.C. (3:54)
05. Three Little Words (2:54)
06. Jo Jo (3:20)
07. I Got Rhythm (3:18)
08. Four O'Clock Drag (2:51)
09. After Theatre Jump (alternate take) (4:52)
10. Six Cats and a Prince (alternate take) (5:21)
11. Six Cats and a Prince (incomplete alternate take) (4:13)
12. Destination K.C. (alternate take) (4:54)
13. Three Little Words (#2) (alternate take) (3:22)
14. Three Little Words (#3) (alternate take) (3:26)
15. Three Little Words (#4) (alternate take) (2:56)
16. Jo Jo (#2) (alternate take) (3:16)
17. Jo Jo (#3) (alternate take) (3:15)
18. Jo Jo (#4) (alternate take) (3:23)
19. I Got Rhythm (#3) (alternate take) (3:16)
20. I Got Rhythm (#2) (alternate take) (3:16)
21. Four O'Clock Drag (#3) (alternate take) (2:50)
CD7 {01:09:07}
01. D.B. Blues (3:00)
02. Lester Blows Again (2:32)
03. These Foolish Things (3:11)
04. Jumpin' at Mesners' (2:45)
05. He Don't Love Me Anymore (2:52)
06. Pleasing Man Blues (3:05)
07. Riffin' Without Helen (3:13)
08. It's Only a Paper Moon (3:06)
09. After You've Gone (2:42)
10. Lover Come Back to Me (2:38)
11. Jammin' with Lester (3:03)
12. Back to the Land (3:57)
13. I Cover the Waterfront (4:05)
14. Somebody Loves Me (3:54)
15. I've Found a New Baby (4:07)
16. The Man I Love (4:52)
17. Peg O' My Heart (4:05)
18. I Want to Be Happy (3:57)
19. Mean to Me (4:13)
20. I Cover the Waterfront (alternate take) (3:50)
CD8 {01:04:05}
01. You're Driving Me Crazy (3:06)
02. New Lester Leaps In (2:57)
03. Lester's Be-Bop Boogie (3:14)
04. She's Funny That Way (3:21)
05. Sunday (2:25)
06. S.M. Blues (3:04)
07. Jumping with Symphony Sid (3:13)
08. No Eyes Blues (3:02)
09. Sax-O-Be-Bop (2:53)
10. On the Sunny Side of the Street (3:00)
11. Easy Does It (2:33)
12. Movin' with Lester (3:10)
13. One O'Clock Jump (2:39)
14. Jumping at the Woodside (3:00)
15. I'm Confessin' (That I Love You) (2:31)
16. Lester Smooths It Out (2:53)
17. Just Cooling (2:59)
18. Tea for Two (3:09)
19. East of the Sun - West of the Moon (3:10)
20. Sheik of Araby (2:32)
21. Something to Remember You By (2:45)
22. Easy Does It (alternate take) (2:29)
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