It could be argued that no two pianists could be more unalike than Count Basie, the master of understatement, and Oscar Peterson, the avatar of speed, power, and embellishment. The contrast in their... more

Count Basie occasionally cautioned young sidemen who were feeling their oats not to play bebop in his band, which was rooted in the rhythmic and harmonic soil of the swing era. How, then, could Basie... more

Basie Jam is two sides of some of the best swing ever recorded. This record was produced by Norman Granz and Pablo Records. Granz, responsible for one of the greatest jazz labels ever - Verve - knew... more

From his earliest days in territory bands in the Southwest, Count Basie had a secret: How to make a collection of instrumentalists generate rhythmic thrust so irresistible that no listener's foot... more

One of the pieces on this album is called 'The Blues Machine,' which could stand as a description of the big band Count Basie operated for half a century. In the 1983 edition, Basie molded the... more