Count Basie & His Orchestra - Vocalion 4747, 4748, 4860, 5010 (1939)

Here is my contribution to the Basiefest activity that members (thanks David, Mark & Lloyd) of the facebook companion page to this blog have been posting. As always, I'm a day late and a dollar short.

Count Basie p, dir / Buck Clayton, Ed Lewis, Sweets Edison, Shad Collins t / Dicky Wells, Benny Morton, Dan Minor tb / Earl Warren as / Jack Washington as, bar / Buddy Tate, Lester Young ts / Freddy Green g / Walter Page sb / Joe Jones d / Helen Humes, Jimmy Rushing v.

Recorded in New York on March 19, 1939.

Recorded in New York on April 5, 1939.

Recorded in Chicago on June 24, 1939.

Count Basie & His Orchestra - Decca 1728 (1938)

Count Basie p, dir / Buck Clayton, Ed Lewis, Harry Edison t / Eddie Durham tb, g / Benny Morton, Dan Minor tb / Earl Warren as / Jack Washington as, bar / Herschel Evans cl, ts / Lester Young cl, ts / Freddy Green g/ Walter Page sb / Joe Jones d / Jimmy Rushing v.

Recorded in New York on February 16, 1938.

Clarence Williams & His Orchestra - Vocalion 2838 (1934)

This completes my recently acquired Clarence Williams trifecta.

A friend just brought to my attention that Lester Young's first recording was in 1936 (Jones-Smith Inc.).

It raised the question of Young's possible inclusion in the personnel as listed in Brian Rust's Jazz & Ragtime Records.

Anyone care to opine?

Unknown c / Cecil Scott cl, ts / as / ? Lester Young ts or unknown 2nd as / ? Don Frye p / Cyrus St. Clair bb / ? Floyd Casey d.

Recorded in New York on June 28, 1934.

Ed Allen c, v / Cecil Scott cl / ? Clarence Williams p / 2nd p / ? Roy Smeck g / Richard Fullbright sb / Floyd Casey d. (Clarence Williams listed as vocalist in error on label)

Recorded in New York on August 14, 1934.

The Metronome All Stars With Vocals By Billy Eckstine - MGM 11573 (1953)

Roy Eldridge t / Kai Winding tb / John La Porta cl / Lester Young, Warne Marsh ts / Teddy Wilson p / Billy Bauer g / Eddie Safranski sb / Max Roach d / Terry Gibbs vb / Billy Eckstine v.

Recorded in 1953.

Count Basie & His Kansas City Five & Seven - 12" Mercury Album A-39 (Originally on Keynote) (1944)

Made a rare mid-week record shop stop today and was able to have first pick on a box of 12" 78 albums. Every single one was classical (not into those but I have countless sets in my garage) but there was one lone jazz album which seemed sorely out of place.

The liner notes, by John Hammond, explain how these four sides were originally released as singles on the Keynote label (1302 & 1303) but for the first time, Mercury had gathered and released them in one set. He even wrote how Mercury had pressed these using new plates. (If you look closely at the photo below of 6 Cats And A Prince you can see the Keynote label underneath the Mercury one...hmm.)

Buck Clayton t / Dickie Wells tb / Lester Young ts / Count Basie p / Freddy Green g / Rodney Richardson sb / Jo Jones d.

Recorded in New York on March 22, 1944.

Kansas City Six - Commodore 573 (1944)

Bill Coleman t / Dickie Wells tb / Lester Young ts / Joe Bushkin p / John Simmons b / Jo Jones d.

Recorded in New York on March 28, 1944.

Billie Holiday - Okeh 5377 (1939)

Lady Day...'nuff said. Oh yeah...and Prez.

Harry Edison, Buck Clayton t / Earl Warren, Jack Washington as / Lester Young ts / Joe Sullivan p / Freddy Green g / Walter Page sb / Jo Jones d.

Recorded in New York on December 13, 1939.