''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 19 ...

, recorded at Birdland in New York City.

Reception

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

review by Michael G. Nastos stated, "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) – 2:22 # "Basie" ( Ernie Wilkins) – 3:23 # "Blues Backstage" ( Frank Foster) – 4:58 # "Blee Blop Blues" ( A. K. Salim) – 2:17 # "Whirly-Bird" (Hefti) – 3:59 # " One O'Clock Jump" (

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 Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. He was renowned for his extensive solo work; however, he was also remembered for his time playing with Count Basie, Count Basie's band duri ...

) – 9:18 # "One O'Clock Jump" – 4:41 # "Easin' It" (Foster) – 5:41 # "A Little Tempo, Please" (Hefti) – 3:02 # "Corner Pocket" ( Freddie Green) – 5:07 # "I Needs to Be Bee'd With" (

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

) – 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 – 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". Early life, family and education Thad Jones was born i ...

– 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 Benjamin Gordon Powell Jr. (March 1, 1930 – June 26, 2010) was an American jazz trombonist. He played both standard (tenor) trombone and bass trombone. Biography Born Benjamin Gordon Powell Jr. in New Orleans, Louisiana, he first played pr ...

– trombone *

Quentin Jackson Quentin "Butter" JacksonFe ...

– trombone * Henry Coker – trombone *

Marshal Royal Marshal Walton Royal Jr. (December 5, 1912 – May 8, 1995) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and clarinetist best known for his work with Count Basie, with whose band he played for nearly twenty years. Early life and education Marshal Royal ...

– alto saxophone, clarinet *

– 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 Charles Baker Fowlkes (February 16, 1916 – February 9, 1980) was an American baritone saxophonist who was a member of the Count Basie Orchestra for over twenty-five years. Early life Fowlkes was born in New York City on February 16, 1916. He st ...

– baritone saxophone * Freddie Green – guitar * Eddie Jones – double bass *

Sonny Payne Sonny Payne (May 4, 1926 – January 29, 1979) was an American jazz drummer, best known for his work with Count Basie and Harry James. Biography Payne's father was Wild Bill Davis's drummer Chris Columbus. After early study with Vic Berton, ...

– drums * Jon Hendricks – vocal

References

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