CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Sinatra at the Sands

by: Frank Sinatra with Count Basie & the Orchestra

Release Date May 26, 1998
It is an amazing document of Sinatra in his environment. The sound quality is superior. It is a hall of fame arrangement and performance by Quincy Jones and the Count Basie Orchestra. Even the stage patter is classic. If you can't get the Vegas Box set, get this. If you have the Vegas Box set, get this.

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

The Notebook

by: Various Artists

Release Date June 08, 2004
There isn't much I can say about this beautiful movie, except that it was so touching!
It say's go for the "true love", settle for nothing else no matter what may be in store, because love that is "true" and as beautiful as their's was, is a rare thing!
I absolutely loved the ending.
I also loved that a movie CAN be truly wonderful, beautiful and touching WITHOUT grafic "sex scenes!" Also sadly a rare thing in movies today.

Ever seen "Hanover Street?" Equally beautiful. No SEX scenes either!

Angelfish

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

It Might as Well Be Swing

by: Frank Sinatra, Count Basie and His Orchestra

Release Date September 08, 1998
THIS PARTICULAR CD CONTAINS RARE SONGS THAT COUNT BASIE AND SINATRA DID TOGETHER. MY FAVORITE ONE IS "MORE" FROM THE MOVIE MONDO CANE....LOVE IT!!!

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

The Complete Atomic Basie

by: Count Basie

Release Date May 31, 1994
I've been on a big time big band kick of late, so after I got done pulling out (and putting back) a bunch of my Duke Ellington stuff, I bought some things new to my collection, including Thad Jones' Consummation and this highly recommended (by The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings: Eighth Edition (Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings)) work. After a couple of days with Consummation, and loving it to death, I realized that I hadn't yet given my Atomic Basie a listen and that Thad was with Count at the time of the Atomic recording, so I was curious to see if I would find the roots of Jones on this CD. I'm not exactly sure I found the roots of Jones. I think I might have found the whole tree. In big band annals, this recording has to be in the top three. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Ray Sings, Basie Swings

by: Ray Charles, Count Basie Orchestra

Release Date October 03, 2006
Despite what the producers of this album want you to believe...the vocal tracks on these tracks are not "superior". It sounds like Ray Charles is singing in the shower, and the shower is on the other side of the house....meanwhile, the basie orchestra and the backing vocal singers are blasting away on the couch right next to you.

This is a great technology achievement???? This is horrible, on many levels, and not because they merged two sets of tracks cut 30 years apart. On some tracks, Ray's vocals are basically inaudible...and Ray is just an annoying buzz in the background. Most modern bootleg recordings are way better than this. There's a reason these tapes were buried away somewhere, as good as Ray's performance may have been if you saw ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

First Time! The Count Meets the Duke

by: Duke Ellington with Count Basie's Orchestra

Release Date February 01, 2008
This is not the cacophonous circus that two big bands playing together (for the first time, without rehearsal, and in one 12-hour session) might have become. Think of it as one large ensemble (like Kenton's 40+ piece mellophone orchestra) commanded by a first captain (Ellington) and two assistant directors (Basie and Strayhorn). Basie, the spokesperson for understatement, and Ellington, the supreme creator of small ensembles within larger ensembles: the result is sensible, swinging, and frequently exhilarating music--with enough spontaneity to satisfy even a Charles Mingus.

In fact, Mingus was the only musician the ultra permissive Ellington ever fired from his band--at the insistence of Juan Tizol, after the volatile bassman had come at the trombonist ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Chairman of the Board

by: Count Basie

Release Date June 30, 2003
"Chairman of the Board" is one of the most delightful and enjoyable recordings made by the irrepressibly upbeat Count Basie. The notes for the CD argue that this is the finest album of big band jazz made during the LP era. Although one reviewer is less than absolute about this CD, I think most listeners will certainly agree there can be few albums from the era of any marked superiority.

As mentioned in the many fine reviews here, the selections are based on arrangements made by band members Thad Jones; the two Franks, saxophonists Frank Foster and Frank Wess; and ex-member Ernie Wilkins. The ten cuts on the original album have been augmented by two additional numbers, including 'Molten Swing', an updated version of an early Basie classic.

All the recordings ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

The Complete Decca Recordings

by: Count Basie

Release Date March 17, 1992
I didn't think I would like this set very much, but I couldn't find anything written anywhere that said anything bad about these classic Decca recordings. In fact, most sources consider this a "cornerstone" of a jazz music collection and The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings: Eighth Edition (Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings) makes this part of their "core collection". Rightly so. The sound is terrific, the music is wonderful, and Basie and his players sound like they were having fun when they were ripping through these classic tunes. I went in with high expectations and low hopes, but my expectations were more than met and my lack of faith unjustified. This is another "must have" compilation for any jazz enthusiast.

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

The Basie Big Band (20 Bit Mastering)

by: Count Basie

Release Date May 01, 2001
although most of these are lessor known (I'm guessing) to the average fan.
Nonetheless, after listening to it several times before writing this, I have to upgrade it to a "5" from a "4" because of the really cool colorations (which still sound good after all these years)of the instrument blendings on "Freckle Face" and "Orange Sherbet", four trombones,bari and flute on the former and the same with the addition of trumpet on the latter. This was recorded in 1975 when the Basie orchestra started a big comeback by strengthening the band with the addition of drummer Butch Miles, in the school of Buddy Rich, the additions of Frank Szabo on trumpet, Danny turner, alto sax and the return of Charlie Fowlkes on bari. This was also the time the relationship between Basie and Nestico began.
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CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Count Basie's Finest Hour

by: Count Basie

Release Date May 07, 2002
Count Bassie's stylistic refinement was perhaps his ace of Aces. His astonishing ability to ornament determined piece of the repertoire whether jazz classic or not was always his distinctive trademark.

He embodied together with his partner and close friend Duke Ellington a friendly rivalry and both of them impressed the great bands of this flavoured and coloured jazz rhythms with that unequalled taste.

This is one of these emblematic album that you may not do without.