Count Basie - E=MC² (aka "The Atomic Mr. Basie)

Classic Records 200g / Roulette 52003Q

Mastered by Bernie Grundman @ Grundman Mastering, Hollywood

Vinyl rip in 24-bit/96kHz | FLAC (mono) | cue, m3u, Log | Artwork

~410 mb incl. recovery | RS & Enterupload | 1957 | Jazz

Allmusic.com rating: 5 out 5 Stars Review!!

“

This is Basie's first recording for Roulette from 1958 and Classic's first ALL MONO 12" LP. Cut on the Classic Mono Cutting System from the original Mono master tape using a Mono tape head for playback and cutting, this legendary record will swing you till you're limp. There is a stereo tape of for this title but it is no where near as good as the Mono master. Wait until you hear this one - it smokes the original! This is what they call Big Mama Mono!

”

The release of this album in late 1957 marked the beginning of a glorious new phase in Count Basie's career. Signed to Roulette Records, the newly formed label owned by Morris Levy, the New York recording entrepreneur, jukebox mogul, club owner, and quasi-underworld figure, it took Basie's core audience and a lot of other people by surprise, as a bold, forward-looking statement within the context of a big-band recording -- if not as daring as what Duke Ellington had done at Newport in 1956, still a reminder that there was room for fresh, even dazzling improvisation (especially courtesy of Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis's contribution) within the framework of a big-band jazz unit.

The band and its key members were all "on" for these two days of sessions, and Neal Hefti's arrangements gave all concerned a chance to show what they could do. Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, stands out from the get-go with his solo on "Flight of the Foo Birds," a rewriting of "Give Me the Simple Life" on which the tenor-man shares the stage with Thad Jones's trumpet solo, but nearly knock Jones off that same stage with his pyrotechnics. Davis plunges into new territory, defining the Basie "Atomic" period with his solo on "Whirly-Birds" (originally less aptly titled "Roller Coaster"), which soars into the air on his break. Joe Newman and Thad Jones's muted trumpets are the featured instruments on "Duet." "The Kid From Red Bank" offers an unusual showcase for Basie himself at the piano, playing the least number of notes possible to surprise and bedazzle the listener, while "Li'l Darlin'" offers the Basie band's answer to Ellington's "Mood Indigo."

Track listing.

Side A:

• "Kid from Red Bank" (Basie, Hefti) –2:42

• "Duet" (Hefti) –4:12

• "After Supper" (Hefti) –3:26

• "Flight of the Foo Birds" (Hefti) –3:24

• "Double-O" (Hefti) –2:47

• "Teddy the Toad" (Hefti) –3:19

Side B:

• "Whirlybird" (Hefti) –3:51

• "Midnite Blue" (Hefti) –4:28

• "Splanky" (Hefti) –3:36

• "Fantail" (Hefti) –2:56

• "Lil' Darlin'" (Hefti) –4:51

Personnel:

• Wendell Culley — trumpet

• Snooky Young — trumpet

• Thad Jones — trumpet

• Joe Newman — trumpet

• Henry Coker — trombone

• Al Grey — trombone

• Benny Powell — trombone

• Marshall Royal — reeds

• Frank Wess — reeds

• Eddie Lockjaw Davis — reeds

• Frank Foster — reeds

• Charles Fowlkes — reeds

• Count Basie — piano

• Eddie Jones — bass

• Freddie Green — guitar

• Sonny Payne — drums

• Joe Williams — vocals

• Neal Hefti — arrangements (tracks 1–11)

• Producer: Teddy Reig

• Recorded on 21 October and 22 October 1957 at Capitol Studios, New York City.