So on the Occasion of Count Bill Basie’s Birthday, here’s a few videos of the great Count Basie Band.
One O’Clock Jump
April in Paris
I’ve Got You Under My Skin, with Frank Sinatra
And my personal favorite, Corner Pocket, written by the infamous Basie band guitarist Freddy Green, a guy who never played a chord the same way twice. Listen to the execution, the perfect swinging groove these cats laid down back in 1962. The cool and swingin’ solos. The way the sections play together perfectly as to sound like a single, swingin’ horn. This one is also my favorite because I was lucky enough to have played lead tenor and tenor sax solo on this same arrangement in my college big band, 20 years ago. We, of course, were no where near as good as Basie’s band. But it felt good playing his music anyway.
-Chris “Zoot” Pinto swingin’ from the music studio at Tiki Lounge Talk