Jazz Moods: Hot is essentially a single-disc sampler for Sony/Legacy's
America's # 1 Band: The Columbia Years box set, which collects
Count Basie material from his late-'30s and early-'40s stay at the label. Of the six studio tracks that open the disc,
Lester Young's "Tickle Toe" and
Young's signature "Lester Leaps In" stick out, as does
Basie's economical piano style on "Shoe Shine Boy." The latter half of the compilation is given over to some delightful live performances from the Columbia era, including four tunes ("Boogie Woogie Blues," "Swingin' the Blues," "Roseland Shuffle," "Clap Hands! Here Comes Charlie") recorded at the Famous Door in 1939, "Moten Swing" (which spotlights
Basie's easy swinging piano) from the Panther Room that same year, a version of "Swing, Brother, Swing" from the Savoy Ballroom, and a single track each from the Southland Theatre Restaurant ("I Got Rhythm") in 1940 and the Café Society Uptown ("Jumpin' at the Woodside") in 1941. Again, everything here is included in the box set, but for listeners who don't have the time or the cash to spend on a four-disc collection, this 14-track sampler makes perfect sense. ~ Steve Leggett