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Basie All Stars: Live At Fabrik Vol. 1

By Chris May
March 13, 2023
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Such are the glories of his band's recorded legacy from the 1930s through the 1950s, that the mere mention of

Count Basie

piano
1904 - 1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Count Basie's name will trigger a Pavlovian response from his fan base. Like no other, the Count Basie Orchestra epitomised big-band swing at its most sublime; reefer fuelled, riff based, loose and louche Kansas City jazz that is irresistible even in 2023, a life-affirming antidote to the barbarity of DL-only albums, generative music and social media.

Seasoned veterans among Basie devotees will find plenty to enjoy in Live At Fabrik Vol. 1, which was recorded at the Hamburg club on May 5, 1981. The nine-piece ghost band is peopled by such giants and near-giants as trumpeters

Harry "Sweets" Edison

trumpet
1915 - 1999

" data-original-title="" title="">Harry "Sweets" Edison and

Joe Newman

trumpet
1922 - 1992

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Newman, trombonist

Benny Powell

trombone
1930 - 2010

" data-original-title="" title="">Benny Powell, alto saxophonist and leader

Marshall Royal

saxophone, alto

" data-original-title="" title="">Marshall Royal, and tenor saxophonists

Buddy Tate

saxophone, tenor
b.1913

" data-original-title="" title="">Buddy Tate and

Billy Mitchell

synthesizer
1926 - 2001

" data-original-title="" title="">Billy Mitchell. Edison, Newman and Powell solo effusively and more than once, Royal not as often as one would have liked. They are supported by pianist

Nat Pierce

piano
1925 - 1992

" data-original-title="" title="">Nat Pierce, bassist

John Heard

bass, acoustic
1938 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">John Heard and drummer

Gus Johnson

drums
1913 - 2000

" data-original-title="" title="">Gus Johnson. No-one goes anywhere we have not been many times before, but that is kind of the point. Welcome to Nostalgia City.

The set list is a collection of upbeat Basie warhorses including such late-period classics as

Frank Foster

saxophone
1928 - 2011

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Foster's "Shiny Stockings,"

Neal Hefti

trumpet
1922 - 2008

" data-original-title="" title="">Neal Hefti's "Little Pony" and Hefti and Basie's "Bluesbird Blues." A second volume of ballad material from the same evening is promised (on which, perhaps, there might be more Marshall Royal).

As noted, this is an album for Basie aficionados. Newbies are directed first to Basie's 1930s' Decca oeuvre—Definitive Decca Best Recordings (Definitive, 1999) is a good one—and classic albums such as April In Paris (Verve, 1956) and The Atomic Mr. Basie (Roulette, 1958). These have Basie on piano and at the helm and, among the lineups, such gods and near-gods as

Lester Young

saxophone
1909 - 1959

" data-original-title="" title="">Lester Young,

Chu Berry

saxophone, tenor
1908 - 1941

" data-original-title="" title="">Chu Berry,

Buck Clayton

trumpet
1911 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Buck Clayton,

Frank Foster

saxophone
1928 - 2011

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

Snooky Young

trumpet
1919 - 2011

" data-original-title="" title="">Snooky Young and Eddie Lockjaw Davis, along with the aforementioned Sweets Edison, Joe Newman, Benny Powell and Marshall Royal.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Bluesbird Blues; Please Send Me Someone To Love; Shiny Stockings; Everything Happens To Me; This Is All I Ask; I��m Confessin�� That I Love You; Little Pony.

Personnel

Marshall Royal

saxophone, alto

Buddy Tate

saxophone, tenor

Billy Mitchell

synthesizer

Harry "Sweets" Edison

trumpet

Joe Newman

trumpet

Benny Powell

trombone

Nat Pierce

piano

John Heard

bass, acoustic

Gus Johnson

drums

Album information

Title: Live At Fabrik Vol. 1 | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Jazzline Classics

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