Thursday 10 February 2011

Jazz Basie Style - Vanguard Label ID. VRS 8527


Jazz Basie Style - Vanguard Label ID. VRS 8527
 

Vinyl Condition VG (Special Clear Green Vinyl Edition) 

Description from the Sleeve
 

SIDE ONE: Joe Newman and His Band: Joe Newman (trumpet}; Matthew Gee (trombone)-, Frank Wess (tenor saxophone, flute); Frank Foster (tenor saxophone); Johnny Acea (piano); Eddie Jones (stringbass); Osie Johnson (drums). Recorded New York City, March 9th, 1954.

SIDE TWO: Sir Charles Thompson Quartet: Sir Charles Thompson (piano); Freddie Green (guitar); Walter Page (stringbass); Jo Jones (drums). Recorded New York City, January 22,1954.

EARLY in 1952 Count Basic once more returned to leading a big band. In January 1950 the recession in the band business had finally forced him to break up his current orchestra, and from April of that year until late in 1951 he fronted smaller groups. The new Basie band of the early 19505 was an immediate success; and its soloists were in great demand for innumerable recording sessions. This was a period of intense recording activity in the jazz field and almost any sideman from one of the few remaining major big bands found it simple to supplement his income by taking part in recording sessions,-though obviously those who had established a reputation as prominent soloists were best placed to take advantage of the situation. Of all the contemporary Basie soloists Joe Newman was most in demand, and from 1954 to 1957 there was an average of three LPs a year issued under his name. The titles heard on side one of the present album were originally released as a ten inch LP, the first on which Newman was leader.

Newman, along with Frank Foster and Frank Wess, was the most highly acclaimed of the soloists featured in the new Basie band. Its style had undergone quite considerable changes since the halcyon days of the 19305 and early 19405 when its strength lay in the presence of a formidable roster of major soloists that-included Buck Clayton, Harry Edison, Herschel Evans, Dickie Wells and Lester Young, for now the basic pattern of the band's music was set by its arrangers and much stress was laid upon its distinctive ensemble sound. Ultimately this format led to the band becoming predictable and rather stereotyped, but initially it created a great deal of excitement amongst the public and critics alike, and for a few years it did include a number of soloists with individual voices, even if at the time their reputations were somewhat inflated.

 

ID. 100021 - Jazz Basie Style - Vanguard Label ID. VRS 8527

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