Count Basie & Friends: 100th Birthday Bash is, quite simply, a stunningly remastered double-disc collection of
Basie collaborations and presentations of smaller subgroups under his umbrella during his tenure with Roulette and recorded in the late '50s, though a couple of sides ("I Want a Little Girl" and "The Late Late Show") were issued originally on Capitol -- with
Nat King Cole fronting the
Basie band and
Gerald Wiggins instead of
the Count on piano. This set improves upon the CD issue by Ember with eight additional cuts and far better sound. The tunes -- with arrangements by saxophonist
Frank Foster,
Neal Hefti,
Jimmy Mundy,
Quincy Jones,
Benny Carter, and others -- are a mix of vocal cuts with guests such as
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross,
Tony Bennett,
Irene Reid,
Sarah Vaughan, and (of course) the band's own singer,
Joe Williams. Whether it's a duet like "Teach Me Tonight" between
Vaughan and
Williams,
Billy Eckstine singing "Lonesome Lover Blues" and
Ben Webster soloing on the same tune,
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross vocalizing on "Jumping at the Woodside," or the burning version of "April in Paris" recorded live in Sweden with an arrangement by
Wild Bill Davis, this set cooks from top to bottom and is an excellent -- even stellar -- view of the
Basie orchestra during a very creative and fertile period. ~ Thom Jurek