The release of this album in late 1957 marked the beginning of a glorious new phase in
Count Basie's career. Signed to Roulette Records, the newly formed label owned by
Morris Levy, the New York recording entrepreneur, jukebox mogul, club owner, and quasi-underworld figure, it took
Basie's core audience and a lot of other people by surprise, as a bold, forward-looking statement within the context of a big-band recording -- if not as daring as what
Duke Ellington had done at Newport in 1956, still a reminder that there was room for fresh, even dazzling improvisation (especially courtesy of
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis's contribution) within the framework of a big-band jazz unit. The band and its key members were all "on" for these two days of sessions, and
Neal Hefti's arrangements gave all concerned a chance to show what they could do.
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, stands out from the get-go with his solo on "Flight of the Foo Birds," a rewriting of "Give Me the Simple Life" on which the tenor-man shares the stage with
Thad Jones's trumpet solo, but nearly knock
Jones off that same stage with his pyrotechnics.
Davis plunges into new territory, defining the
Basie "
Atomic" period with his solo on "Whirly-Birds" (originally less aptly titled "Roller Coaster"), which soars into the air on his break.
Joe Newman and
Thad Jones's muted trumpets are the featured instruments on "Duet." "The Kid From Red Bank" offers an unusual showcase for
Basie himself at the piano, playing the least number of notes possible to surprise and bedazzle the listener, while "Li'l Darlin'" offers the
Basie band's answer to
Ellington's "Mood Indigo." (See also:
The Complete Atomic Basie -- 1994).