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Count Basie was one of the most important and influential personalities in the whole history of jazz, as pianist, composer and bandleader, and Acrobat has several products devoted to his music, the most recent being “The Legendary New Testament Band 1952-55” (ACTRCD9131). This collection follows on a few years after that, and addresses his early years with the Roulette label later in the decade with some fine albums with his orchestra in between hugely successful projects when he made albums accompanying noted vocalists. This 41-track 2-CD collection features all but one of the titles from his original LP releases of “The Atomic Mr. Basie”, “Basie Plays Hefti”, “Basie One More Time” and “Chairman Of The Board”. These were among his most highly regarded albums of the era, featuring the compositions and arrangements of Neal Hefti on “The Atomic Mr. Basie” and “Basie Plays Heftie” and the compositions of Quincy Jones on “Basie One More Time”, so he is performing and recording up-to-the-minute material among these selections. Any collection of Basie’s work is bound to be worth listening to, and this set captures him during what was a fascinating era of his career, as his image and positioning became more contemporary, underlining his ability always to stay abreast of where jazz was going. As always, it’s a fine showcase for one of the genre’s true legends. CD 1
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