''Basie at Birdland'' is a 1961 live album by the

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 195 ...

that was recorded at Birdland in New York City.

Reception

The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

review by Michael G. Nastos gave the album four stars, stating, "This has always been one of the more enjoyable live recordings from Basie and company, and still can be easily recommended for novices as well as aficionados of his unflappable ability to swing a band like nobody else."

Track listing

# "Little Pony" (

Neal Hefti Neal Paul Hefti (October 29, 1922 – October 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. He wrote music for '' The Odd Couple'' movie and TV series and for the ''Batman'' TV series. He began arranging professionally in his ...

) – 2:22 # "Basie" (

Ernie Wilkins Ernest Brooks Wilkins Jr. (July 20, 1922 – June 5, 1999) was an American jazz saxophonist, conductor and arranger who spent several years with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie. He was musical direc ...

) – 3:23 # "Blues Backstage" ( Frank Foster) – 4:58 # "Blee Blop Blues" (

A. K. Salim Ahmad Khatab Salim or Ahmad Kharab Salim (born Albert Atkinson on July 28, 1922) was an American jazz composer, and arranger. Biography Salim attended DuSable High School with Bennie Green, Dorothy Donegan and Gene Ammons and played alto saxop ...

) – 2:17 # "Whirly-Bird" (Hefti) – 3:59 # "

One O'Clock Jump "One O'Clock Jump" is a jazz standard, a 12-bar blues instrumental, written by Count Basie in 1937. Background The melody derived from band members' riffs—Basie rarely wrote down musical ideas, so Eddie Durham and Buster Smith helped him cry ...

" (

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

) – 0:55 # "Good Time Blues" (Wilkins) – 6:40 # "Segue in C" ( Frank Wess) – 9:18 # "One O'Clock Jump" – 4:41 # "Easin' It" (Foster) – 5:41 # "A Little Tempo, Please" (Hefti) – 3:02 # "Corner Pocket" (

Freddie Green Frederick William Green (March 31, 1911 – March 1, 1987) was an American swing jazz guitarist who played rhythm guitar with the Count Basie Orchestra for almost fifty years. Early life and education Green was born in Charleston, South Car ...

) – 5:07 # "I Needs to Be Bee'd With" (

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

) – 4:23 # "Discommotion" (Foster) – 4:16 # "Segue in C" (Wess) – 8:11 # "Whirly-Bird" – 3:43 # "One O'Clock Jump" – 1:02

Personnel

– piano *

Sonny Cohn George Thomas Cohn (March 14, 1925 – November 7, 2006), known professionally as Sonny Cohn, was an American jazz trumpeter whose career spanned over six decades. After working for fifteen years with Red Saunders (1945–1960), Cohn went on ...

– trumpet *

Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Biography Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, U ...

– trumpet * Leonard Johnson – trumpet *

Snooky Young Eugene Edward "Snooky" Young (February 3, 1919 – May 11, 2011) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known for his mastery of the plunger mute, with which he was able to create a wide range of sounds. Biography Young was lead trumpeter of t ...

– trumpet * Benny Powell – trombone *

Quentin Jackson Quentin "Butter" Jackson

– trombone *

Henry Coker Henry Coker (December 24, 1919 – November 23, 1979) was an American jazz trombonist. Biography Coker was born in Dallas, Texas, United States. He made his professional debut with John White in 1935. From 1937 to 1939 he played with Nat Towles' ...

– trombone * Marshal Royal – alto saxophone, clarinet * Frank Wess – alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, flute * Frank Foster – tenor saxophone *

Budd Johnson Albert J. "Budd" Johnson III (December 14, 1910 – October 20, 1984) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist who worked extensively with, among others, Ben Webster, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Turner, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke ...

– tenor saxophone * Charlie Fowlkes – baritone saxophone *

– guitar * Eddie Jones – double bass * Sonny Payne – drums *

Jon Hendricks John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and re ...

– vocal

References

{{Reflist 1961 live albums Count Basie Orchestra live albums Roulette Records live albums Albums recorded at Birdland