Count Basie - Complete Basie-Hefti Studio Sessions 1951-1962 - 2 CD set

2013 release

For years arrangers tried to capture the unique, free-wheeling spirit of the early Count Basie band. Eventually, the old spontaneity of the bristling heads surrendered to the creativity of young arrangers like Neal Hefti, who scored the entire performances included in this set. Hefti, who achieved success in commercial popular music and in jazz, was in jazz terms indelibly associated with the new Count Basie Orchestra of the 50s.

From 1951 to 1956, when Basie recorded mainly for the Clef and Verve labels, Heftis subtle compositions eased Basies band evolution into a new, rather stylized ensemble sound, with a solid, forceful rhythmic pulse. The Basie-Hefti collaboration reached its peak in the 1957-58 Roulette albums, "The Atomic Mr. Basie" and "Basie Plays Hefti," with the band a precise yet vigorously expressive unit operating impressively on Heftis originals, replete with soloists who could speak with more authority than many of their big band counterparts. Never before had Basies band been better recorded, the thrill and full potential of its sound caught on tape. And when Basie returned to Verve in 1962, Hefti again provided him with a new set of typically varied arrangements for "On My Way & Shoutin' Again," the last album in a long-lived, memorable and thoroughly craftsmanlike collaboration.