1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: 14. Count Basie and His Orchestra – The Atomic Mr. Basie (1958)

It’s quite a testament, I think, that The Count Basie Orchestra continued, under a series of new leaders, even after Basie’s death in 1984, and he was performing right up until then. I don’t know why this particular album was included, but when it’s neither the first, not the biggest selling album by an artist my guess is that it somehow represents a quintessential version of that artist’s sound, or perhaps is a key point where a particular genre emerges. 

Basie’s Orchestra is evidently big band in nature (with around 18 members give-or-take at any one time), and by a look at his career he also takes in elements of other jazz styles (and maybe a bit of non-jazz), with some be-bop evident in the solo horn work on these tracks, and some nice percussion work in the occasional break as well. 

Did I think it was a great album? Not really my thing as I’ve said before, but I didn’t hate it. By turns kicking up a great groove or sliding into mellow chill, very much what I’d expect from jazz. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dr Simon Reads... Appendix N. Part One: Poul Anderson

Image
Dr. Simon Reads Appendix N: Introduction This is a new series that will feature sporadically, in which I explore classic fantasy and science fiction works. You will either know what I mean by “Appendix N”, or you will have no clue. In the original Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Masters Guide, Gary Gygax provided a large number of appendices, from random smells to reputed magical properties of herbs and gemstones. Appendix N was a bibliography of works that inspired him. Back in 1982 when I first got hold of this book, there were only a couple of items on there that I’d read, and only a few other authors that I’d even heard of. Many years later, after, much reading, I returned to Appendix N expecting to have added greatly to the works on there that I’d read; but actually, there were still very few. Many of the authors were obscure or out of print authors of, for want of a better expression, golden age pulp; the kind that feature in Amazing Stories and the like. Now, ...
Read more

An Atheist Explores the Bible Part 233: Too Many Metaphors Spoil The Clarity (Hebrews 1-5)

Hebrews 1-5 Too Many Metaphors Spoil The Clarity. Welcome to another instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Bible version). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the King James Bible, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology. For more detail, see the introductory post http://bit.ly/2F8f9JT For the online KJV I use, see here http://bit.ly/2m0zVUP And now: Hebrews 1 “For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?” I don’t think this is Paul’s work, it’s a lot more poetic than his previous writings (also, in Philemon, he referred to himself as “ aged ” which suggested to me we might not see much more from him). This is quite a nice bit of fiery writing concerning how the Son (no mention of either Christ or Jesus as yet) has been raised up to equal with God – “ whom he hath appointed hei...
Read more

Dr Simon Reads... BBC 500 Words (2013 Winners) - Children's Writing Contest

Dr Simon Reads… 500 Words - 2013 And so we reach 2013, the first year where I really started taking notice of the 500 Words competition. For more information on the 500 Words competition see my post on the 2017 awards; but in brief it’s a creative writing competition run by the BBC for children aged 5-13, who can any kind of story they like, as long as it is within 500 words. Three winners from each of the two age categories (5-9 and 10-13) get their stories read out by a famous actor in a live final, plus win a big stack of books. Since its inception in 2011 it’s grown massively with tens of thousands of entries each year. In each of these ruminations I look at the winning stories, and the celebrity reading, but I encourage you to also check out the other 44 finalists for each year; the writing on display is often breath-takingly good. Stone Age Steve and the Dragon by Christian Morton Bronze Winner Age 5-9 “ A long time ago in medieval times there was a boy called Steve, h...
Read more