Count Basie - Verve Jazz Masters 2 (1994) 320 kbps

Tracklist

1 Big Red 3:45
2 April In Paris 3:46
3 Two Franks 3:11
4 Shiny Stockings 5:13
5 Royal Garden Blues 3:02
6 Stereophonic 2:22
7 Blue And Sentimental 3:01
8 Everyday 5:24
9 Paradise Squat 4:04
10 Kansas City Wrinkles 5:39
11 Midgets 3:11
12 K. C. Organ Blues 2:53
13 Every Tub 2:46
14 Polka Dots And Moonbeams 3:28
15 Sent For You Yesterday 3:58
16 One O'Clock Jump 9:47

Verve Jazz Masters 2 focuses upon the music made by Count Basie and his orchestra between January 1952 and April 1962 (with most of the material dating from the year 1956), drawn from the Mercury, Clef, and Verve albums Count Basie and His Orchestra Collates, The Band of Distinction, April in Paris, The Swinging Count!, Basie Rides Again!, Count Basie at Newport, and Lil' Ol' Groovemaker After scaling his ensembles down during a period of widespread postwar big-band dissolution, Basie put together a powerful team that essentially reinvented the big-band format at a time when Duke Ellington was accomplishing similar triumphs in his own manner. Champion participants include Joe Newman, Charlie Shavers, Thad Jones, Frank Foster, Frank Wess, Lockjaw Davis, Lester Young, Paul Quinichette, Jimmy Rushing, and Joe Williams. This is a magnificent sampler of great big-band jazz from Basie's third decade as a leader. It closes with a smokin' nine-minute jam on the "One O'Clock Jump" recorded live at the Newport Jazz Festival on July 7, 1957. A good solid dose for those who don't possess Mosaic's Complete Clef/Verve Count Basie Fifties Studio Recordings.