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Music > Albums > Count Basie Orchestra - The Complete Atomic Basie (1994) Retail CD
added on March 15, 2008, at 21:31 by franalan

Bristling with excitement and electricity, The Complete Atomic Basie represents the finest accomplishment of Count Basie's "New Testament" big band. His "Old Testament" band of the late 1930s, featuring stars Lester Young, Herschel Evans, Dickie Wells and Buck Clayton, perfected the blues-drenched, straight 4/4 rhythm of Kansas City swing. Building on the blues foundation; this 1950s band features more ambitious compositions and a more dynamic sound and incorporates more modern developments. One constant, however, is the anchoring rhythm guitar of Freddie Green. As always, Basie can dig deeply into robust stride statements or choose each note as if he had to pay for them separately. Neal Hefti, the primary composer and arranger here, marvellously captures the strengths of each individual musician. His arrangements sparkle exuberantly on the up tunes and create vivid and exotic moods on the slower ones; clever and innovative without ever being overblown. Beefy tenor Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, who was only in the band for a relatively short period, offers the most valuable and vital solo contributions, recalling Ben Webster's tenderness at times, squeaking and honking like an R&B man at others. --Marc Greilsamer

front 2000 x 1989 px

back 3504 x 2728 px

cd 2856 x 2856 px

inside 2784 x 2792 px