''Prime Time'' is an album by the American musician

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 ...

, released in 1977. It won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band in 1978.

Track listing

All music composed by

Sammy Nestico Samuel Louis Nistico (February 6, 1924 – January 17, 2021), better known as Sammy Nestico, was an American composer and arranger. Nestico is best known for his arrangements for the Count Basie orchestra. Early life and education Samuel Luigi ...

, except where noted. #"Prime Time" – 7:33 #"Bundle O'Funk" – 5:16 #" Sweet Georgia Brown" (

Ben Bernie Benjamin Anzelevitz, known professionally as Ben Bernie (May 30, 1891 – October 20, 1943),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P ...

, Kenneth Casey,

Maceo Pinkard Maceo Pinkard (June 27, 1897 – July 21, 1962) was an American composer, lyricist, and music publisher. Among his compositions is " Sweet Georgia Brown", a popular standard for decades after its composition and famous as the theme of the Harlem ...

) – 3:34 #"Featherweight" – 4:52 #"Reachin' Out" – 6:36 #"

Ja-Da "Ja-Da (Ja Da, Ja Da, Jing, Jing, Jing!)" is a hit song written in 1918 by Bob Carleton. The title is sometimes rendered simply as "Jada." The song has flourished through the decades as a jazz standard. In his definitive ''American Popular So ...

" (Bob Carleton) – 5:45 #"The Great Debate" – 4:48 #"Ya Gotta Try" – 4:00

Personnel

– piano *

Lin Biviano Franklin "Lin" Biviano is an American jazz trumpeter best known for his powerful lead trumpet playing with Buddy Rich, Count Basie, and Maynard Ferguson. He has also played and recorded with Hoagy Carmichael, Jo Ann Castle, Bill Chase, Buddy DeFr ...

– trumpet *

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 *

Pete Minger Pete Minger (January 22, 1943 in Orangeburg, South Carolina – April 13, 2000 in Pompano Beach, Florida), born George Allen Minger, was an American bebop-based trumpeter. He also played flugelhorn. He came from a musical family with his moth ...

– trumpet * Bobby Mitchell – trumpet *

Curtis Fuller Curtis DuBois Fuller (December 15, 1932May 8, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist. He was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributed to many classic jazz recordings. Early life Fuller was born in Detroit on December 15, 193 ...

– trombone *

Al Grey Al Grey (June 6, 1925 – March 24, 2000) was an American jazz trombonist who was a member of the Count Basie orchestra. He was known for his plunger mute technique and wrote an instructional book in 1987 called ''Plunger Techniques''. Car ...

– trombone * Bill Hughes – trombone *

Mel Wanzo Melvin "Mel" Wanzo, also known as Melvin Wahid Muhammad (November 22, 1930, Cleveland - September 9, 2005, Detroit) was an American jazz trombonist. He is best known for his longtime association with the Count Basie Orchestra. Wanzo received fo ...

– trombone *

Bobby Plater Robert C. Plater (May 13, 1914, Newark, New Jersey - November 20, 1982, Lake Tahoe) was an American jazz alto saxophonist. Plater began playing alto sax at age 12, and played locally in Newark with Donald Lambert and the Savoy Dictators in the ...

– alto saxophone * Eric Dixon – tenor saxophone * Jimmy Forrest – saxophone * Danny Turner – saxophone *

Charles 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 stu ...

– baritone saxophone *

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 ...

– guitar * John Duke – double bass * Reinie Press – bass guitar *

Nat Pierce Nathaniel Pierce Blish Jr., known professionally as Nat Pierce (July 16, 1925 – June 10, 1992) was an American jazz pianist and prolific composer and arranger, perhaps best known for being pianist and arranger for the Woody Herman band from 195 ...

– piano * Butch Miles – drums *

– arranger, conductor

References

{{Authority control 1977 albums Count Basie Orchestra albums Pablo Records albums Albums produced by Norman Granz Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album