Personnel:
Joe Newman, Thad Jones (tp), Al Grey (tb), Frank Wess (ts,
fl), Billy Mitchell, Frank Foster (ts), Barry Harris, Jimmy Jones (p), Freddie
Green (g), Eddie Jones (b), Sonny Payne, Jo Jones (d), Beverly Kenney (vcl)
Reference: FSRCD 947
The hallmark of The Basie Band, one of the greatest of all
big jazz bands since the latter Thirties, was a propulsive rhythm section and
soloists of stature and individuality.
How High the Moon, a mid-western session recorded in 1959
for the Jubilee label, when all The Basie-ites were still sitting in with the
Big Band, piles on further proof that the rating is deserved.
Here is the famed rhythm section with Barry Harris, a fine
pianist, in for the Count. Freddie Green on guitar, Eddie Jones on bass and
Sonny Payne, drums, fill another chapter in the torrid tale that spells out the
magic of their swinging beat.
The rest of Basie-ites, the saxophones of Billy Mitchell and
Frank Foster, Frank Wess flute, Joe Newman and Thad Jones on trumpet and Al Grey,
trombone, find full freedom to blow. Each is spotlighted.
On the other tracks of this collection, a smaller group of
Basie-ites, but with Jimmy Jones on piano and Jo Jones on drums, accompanied
Beverly Kenney on a 1956 recording for the Roost label. Beverly was a jazz
singer, with all the particular qualities, all the necessary touches of
huskiness and heart, beat and originality of phrase that identify a singer of
jazz. With Joe Newman and Frank Wess on tenor and flute to develop
counter-melodies and set down obbligatos, to fill out the ensemble and to
strike out for themselves in fresh, free-wheeling solos, the rhythm section—and
Beverly—can always depend upon plenty of help.
Tracklisting:
01. How High the Moon (Lewis-Hamilton) 6:18
02. A Fine Romance (Fields-Kern) 2:52
03. Poor Butterfly (Hubbell-Golden) 3:15
04. Nobody Else But Me (Kern-Hammerstein) 3:17
05. When I Think About Lovin' You (Grey-Dix) 2:55
06. Isn't This a Lovely Day (Berlin) 3:04
07. My Old Flame (Johnston-Coslow) 3:46
08. Makin' Whoopee (Kahn-Donaldson) 2:03
09. Can't Get Out of This Mood (Loesser-McHugh) 2:45
10. September Song (Weill-Anderson) 3:46
11. Old Buttermilk Sky (Brooks-Carmichael) 2:43
12. The More I See You (Gordon-Warren) 3:03
13. Blue Moon (Rodgers-Hart) 3:21
14. I Never Has Seen Snow (Arlen-Capot) 3:50
15. Stairway to the Stars (Malneck-Parish-Signorelli) 3:00
16. Who Cares What People Say (Scholl-Kern) 2:33
17. The Charm of You (Cahn-Styne) 2:30
18. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child (P.D.) 3:35
19. My Kind of Love (Sherman-Holdeman-Trace) 2:25
20. Mairzy Doats (Drake-Hoffman-Livingston) 2:45
Total time: 64:31
min.
Sources:
Tracks
#1,3,5,7,10,13,15,18 from the album “The Basie-ites ‘How High the Moon’”
(Jubilee JGM 5004)
Tracks
#2,4,6,8,9,11,12,14,16,17,19,20 from the album “Beverly Kenney Sings with
Jimmy Jones and ‘The Basie-ites’” (Roost LP 2218)
Barry Harris and The
Basie-ites
Tracks
#1,3,5,7,10,13,15 & 18: Joe Newman, Thad Jones, trumpets; Al Grey,
trombone; Frank Wess, flute; Billy Mitchell, Frank Foster, tenor saxes; Freddie
Green, guitar; Barry Harris, piano; Eddie Jones, bass; Sonny Payne, drums.
Recorded in Detroit,
1959
Beverly Kenney with
Jimmy Jones and The Basie-ites
Tracks
#2,4,6,8,9,11,12,14,16,17,19 & 20: Beverly Kenney, vocals; Joe Newman,
trumpet; Frank Wess, flute & tenor sax; Freddie Green, guitar; Jimmy Jones,
piano; Eddie Jones, bass; Jo Jones, drums.
Recorded in New York
City, 1956
Original cover
designs: Stephen P. Haas Studio (Jubilee), Chuck Stewart (Roost)
Liner notes: Mort
Goode & Barry Ulanov
Compiled for CD
release by Jordi Pujol
Hi-Fi / Stereo · 24-Bit Digitally Remastered