The Roulette half of the two
Bennett/
Basie sessions is a band singer's paradise, with the
Basie band caught at a robust and swinging peak and
Bennett never sounding happier or looser in front of a microphone. The
Count himself, alas, appears on piano only on two numbers ("Life Is a Song" and "Jeepers Creepers"), while Bennett's perennial pianist
Ralph Sharon takes over on the remaining ten tracks and does all the charts. Yet Sharon writes idiomatically for the Count's style, whether on frantic rave-ups like "With Plenty of Money and You" and "Strike Up the Band" or relaxed swingers like "Chicago." Though not a jazz singer per se, the flavor of jazz is everywhere in Bennett's voice, which in those days soared like a trumpet. The 1990 CD included an atmospheric unissued
Neal Hefti ballad "After Supper," but even this bonus track does little to extend the skimpy playing time (about 31 minutes) of what is still a great, desirable snapshot from American showbiz of the late 1950s. ~ Richard S. Ginell