Various Artists - Count Basie & Friends 100th Birthday Bash (2004)

The double-disc remastered compilation Count Basie & Friends: 100th Birthday Bash gathers late-1950s recordings by the Count Basie orchestra made for Roulette, along with performances by smaller groups from his circle. Two tracks — “I Want a Little Girl” and “The Late Late Show” — were originally released on Capitol, where the orchestra backs Nat King Cole, with Gerald Wiggins on piano in place of Basie himself. This edition surpasses the earlier Ember CD: it adds eight tracks and offers much better sound. The arrangements are by Frank Foster, Neal Hefti, Jimmy Mundy, Quincy Jones, Benny Carter, and others. The program is built around vocal numbers with guest stars — Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, Tony Bennett, Irene Reid, Sarah Vaughan — and the band’s own singer, Joe Williams. Highlights include the Vaughan–Williams duet on “Teach Me Tonight”; Billy Eckstine singing “Lonesome Lover Blues” with a Ben Webster solo; Lambert, Hendricks & Ross vocalizing on “Jumping at the Woodside”; and a blazing live “April in Paris,” recorded in Sweden in an arrangement by Wild Bill Davis. The set sustains the highest level from start to finish and presents the Basie orchestra in one of its most creative and fertile periods.

Tracklist:
01-01 The Count Basie Orchestra, Count Basie and his Orchestra - Whirly Bird [3:52]
01-02 The Count Basie Orchestra, Count Basie and his Orchestra - Goin' To Chicago Blues (2004 Digital Remaster) [4:13]
01-03 The Count Basie Orchestra, Count Basie and his Orchestra - Cute (2004 Digital Remaster) [3:14]
01-04 Nat King Cole, Count Basie and his Orchestra - I Want A Little Girl (2004 Digital Remaster; Remastered by Ron Mcmaster) [2:51]
01-05 Count Basie, Joe Williams, Sarah Vaughan - Teach Me Tonight (Remix) [2:53]
01-06 The Count Basie Orchestra, Count Basie and his Orchestra - The Late Late Show (Remix; 2004 Digital Remaster) [2:53]
01-07 Billy Eckstine, Count Basie - Lonesome Lover Blues (2004 Digital Remaster) [3:11]
01-08 The Count Basie Orchestra, Count Basie and his Orchestra - Blue And Sentimental (2004 Digital Remaster) [3:36]
01-09 The Count Basie Orchestra, Count Basie and his Orchestra - Trav'lin' Light (2004 Digital Remaster) [3:55]
01-10 Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Count Basie and his Orchestra - Farouk (2004 Digital Remaster) [5:25]
01-11 The Count Basie Orchestra, Count Basie and his Orchestra - For Lena And Lennie (2004 Digital Remaster) [3:51]
01-12 The Count Basie Orchestra, Count Basie and his Orchestra - Untouchable (2004 Digital Remaster) [3:18]
01-13 The Count Basie Orchestra, Count Basie and his Orchestra, Joe Williams - Every Day I Have The Blues (2004 Digital Remaster) [4:45]
01-14 Tony Bennett, The Count Basie Orchestra - I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face [3:03]
02-01 The Count Basie Orchestra, Count Basie and his Orchestra - Jumpin' At The Woodside (Remastered 2004) [3:22]
02-02 The Count Basie Orchestra, Count Basie and his Orchestra - Li'l Darlin' (2004 Digital Remaster) [4:51]
02-03 Count Basie, Joe Williams, Sarah Vaughan - If I Were A Bell (Remix; 2004 Digital Remaster) [2:45]
02-04 Count Basie - Splanky (Remix; 2004 Digital Remaster) [3:38]
02-05 The Count Basie Orchestra, Count Basie and his Orchestra - Ain't No Use (Remix; 2004 Digital Remaster) [2:58]
02-06 Count Basie & Sarah Vaughan - Until I Met You (Remix; 2004 Digital Remaster; 2004 Remix) [2:53]
02-07 The Count Basie Orchestra, Count Basie and his Orchestra - She's Funny That Way (2004 Digital Remaster) [3:17]
02-08 Nat King Cole - The Late, Late Show (Remastered) [2:35]
02-09 Tony Bennett - Jeepers Creepers [2:09]
02-10 Billy Eckstine, Count Basie - Jelly Jelly (2004 Digital Remaster) [3:05]
02-11 The Count Basie Orchestra, Count Basie and his Orchestra - Katy Do (2004 Digital Remaster) [4:24]
02-12 Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - Save Your Love For Me (2004 Digital Remaster) [4:00]
02-13 The Count Basie Orchestra, Count Basie and his Orchestra - April In Paris (Live; 2004 Digital Remaster) [3:38]
02-14 The Count Basie Orchestra, Count Basie and his Orchestra - One O'clock Jump (Live/Remix/2004 Remastered) [3:48]