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Deborah Silver: Deborah Silver with the Count Basie Orchestra: Basie Rocks!

By Jack Bowers
June 19, 2025
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Deborah Silver: Deborah Silver with the Count Basie Orchestra: Basie Rocks!

Basie Rocks! A great idea? One best left on the cutting-room floor? Or perhaps a little of both? There are reasonable arguments to be made on all sides of the equation. On the one hand, this is the one and only

Count Basie

piano
1904 - 1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Count Basie Orchestra, swinging in its own exceptional way. On the other, the orchestra has joined forces on every number with Mississippi-bred pop-rock singer Deborah Silver, the latest in a series of acclaimed guest vocalists that includes

Ella Fitzgerald

vocals
1917 - 1996

" data-original-title="" title="">Ella Fitzgerald,

Frank Sinatra

vocals
1915 - 1998

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Sinatra,

Sarah Vaughan

vocals
1924 - 1990

" data-original-title="" title="">Sarah Vaughan,

Tony Bennett

vocals
1926 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Tony Bennett,

Marlena Shaw

vocals
1942 - 2024

" data-original-title="" title="">Marlena Shaw and

Diane Schuur

vocals
b.1953

" data-original-title="" title="">Diane Schuur, among others—not to mention such resident vocalists as

Jimmy Rushing

vocals
1903 - 1972

" data-original-title="" title="">Jimmy Rushing,

Joe Williams

vocals
1918 - 1999

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Williams,

Carmen Bradford

vocals
b.1960

" data-original-title="" title="">Carmen Bradford and

Dennis Rowland

vocals
b.1948

" data-original-title="" title="">Dennis Rowland.

With that in mind, any appraisal of Basie Rocks! must begin with Silver, who interprets every song well enough and abides by the Basie doctrine. But she is no Fitzgerald, Sinatra, Vaughan or Bennett. Not even close. Decent voice, good range, excellent timing, sings on- key—Silver seems to check all the boxes. And yet something vital is missing: the sort of unique persona and charm that set Fitzgerald, Sinatra and others apart from the herd. Subtract Basie and she sounds like too many other wannabe headliners in today's nebulous and watered-down version of what it means to be a jazz singer. That is to say, long on technique, short on singularity.

That is not meant to imply that Silver is not good; she definitely is that. She simply suffers by comparison to the others named here— which may be an unfair yardstick by which to measure a performance, but one that any potential listener should find proper and useful. On Basie Rocks!, Silver has an impressive arsenal at her disposal: aside from the celebrated orchestra and its leader-trumpet soloist

Scotty Barnhart

trumpet
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Scotty Barnhart, there are guest appearances by trumpeter

Arturo Sandoval

trumpet
b.1949

" data-original-title="" title="">Arturo Sandoval, guitarists

Peter Frampton

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Frampton and

Bill Frisell

guitar, electric
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Frisell, drummer

Steve Jordan

drums
b.1957

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Jordan, bassist

John Clayton

bass
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">John Clayton, tenor saxophonist

George Coleman

saxophone, tenor
b.1935

" data-original-title="" title="">George Coleman, and vocal duets with

Kurt Elling

vocals
b.1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Kurt Elling,

Wycliffe Gordon

trombone
b.1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Wycliffe Gordon and

Trombone Shorty

trombone
b.1986

" data-original-title="" title="">Trombone Shorty.

While the album's playlist embraces classic songs, they are pop/rock emblems, not jazz, by the likes of

John Lennon

guitar and vocals
1940 - 1980

" data-original-title="" title="">John Lennon and

Paul McCartney

bass, electric
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul McCartney,

The Rolling Stones

band / ensemble / orchestra
b.1962

" data-original-title="" title="">The Rolling Stones,

Elton John

piano
b.1946

" data-original-title="" title="">Elton John,

The Beatles

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">The Beatles, Three Dog Night,

Steve Miller Band

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Miller Band,

Sting

bass, electric
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Sting and Joe Walsh, among others. Silver should be right at home here, as indeed she is, giving each of them a smooth and pleasant ride. The opinion here is that although Basie Rocks! may not have been a great idea, it was no less than a good one, and Silver, the orchestra and invited guests give it their very best shot.

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Track Listing

Paint It, Black �C feat. Arturo Sandoval & Pedrito Martinez; Bennie and the Jets; Baby, I Love Your Way �C feat. Peter Frampton; Tainted Love �C feat. Kurt Elling (duet), Steve Jordan, John Clayton; Band On The Run; A Hard Day��s Night �C feat. Monte Croft; Joy To The World �C feat. Trombone Shorty (duet); Fly Like An Eagle �C feat. Bill Frisell; Every Breath You Take �C feat. George Coleman; Old Time Rock & Roll �C feat. Wycliffe Gordon (duet) & Herlin Riley; Life��s Been Good �C feat. Scotty Barnhart of The Count Basie Orchestra.

Personnel

Deborah Silver

vocals

George Coleman

saxophone, tenor

Arturo Sandoval

trumpet

Bill Frisell

guitar, electric

Trombone Shorty

trombone

Kurt Elling

vocals

Pedrito Martinez

percussion

Wycliffe Gordon

trombone

Herlin Riley

drums

Count Basie Orchestra

band / ensemble / orchestra

Album information

Title: Deborah Silver with the Count Basie Orchestra: Basie Rocks! | Year Released: 2025 | Record Label: Green Hill Records

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