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Red Saunders and his Orchestra : Oran ``Hot Lips'' Page, Sonny Cohn (tp) Harlan ``Booby'' Floyd, John Avant (tb) Porter Kilbert (as) Leon Washington (ts) McKinley Easton (bar) Earl Washington (p) Jimmy Richardson (b) Red Saunders (d,ldr) Joe Williams (vcl) Sun Ra (arr)

Red Saunders & his Orchestra : Fip Ricard, Sonny Cohn (tp) Harlan ``Booby'' Floyd, John Avant (tb) Porter Kilbert (as) Leon Washington (ts) McKinley Easton (bar) Earl Washington (p) Jimmy Richardson (b) Red Saunders (d,ldr) Joe Williams (vcl) Sun Ra (arr)

Red Saunders & his Orchestra : Sonny Cohn (tp) Harlan ``Booby'' Floyd, John Avant (tb) Porter Kilbert (as) Leon Washington (ts) McKinley Easton (bar) Earl Washington (p) Jimmy Richardson (b) Red Saunders (d,ldr) Joe Williams (vcl) Sun Ra(arr)

Joe Williams (vcl) King Kolax (tp,ldr) Dick Davis (ts) Benny Green (tb) Ike Perkins (g) Prentice McCarey (p) Cowboy Martin (b) Kansas Fields (d)

vocal choir added

Red Saunders & his Orchestra : Fip Ricard, Sonny Cohn (tp) Harlan ``Booby'' Floyd, John Avant (tb) Riley Hampton (as) Leon Washington (ts) McKinley Easton (bar,as) Earl Washington (p) Jimmy Richardson (b) Red Saunders (d,ldr) Joe Williams (vcl) Sun Ra (arr)

Joe Williams acc by Red Saunders Band : Joe Williams (vcl) Sonny Cohn (tp) Riley Hampton (as) Leon Washington (ts) McKinley Easton (bar) Earl Washington (p) Ike Perkins (el-g) Walt Champion (b) Red Saunders (d,dir) Sun Ra (arr)

(Sheridan) During the Basie band's four days in Chicago in 1954, Basie had been reintroduced to a young singer who first sat in with him when he had the Combo at the Brass Rail in 1950 - Joe Williams. Joe's biographer, Leslie Gourse, wrote that Joe sang ROLL 'EM PETE with the 1954 band at Chicago's Trianon Ballroom and that, later, Basie suggested Joe joined his band.

The call duly came and Joe travelled from the Windy City to join Basie on Chrismas Day, 1954, as they set out in their Greyhound Buss on the first leg of a southern tour, picking up Sonny Payne in Washington DC on the way. One-nighters in Florida and Tennessee followed and, while little of detail is known of the band's engagements at this stage, they did return to Birdland for several weeks in mid-January.

Several broadcasts show the new showmanship Payne could bring to the band as well as the tremendous receptions Joe Williams' singing was attracting.

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp) Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Ernie Wilkins (as,ts) Frank Wess (fl,ts) Frank Foster (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

Collins out

Fred Collins (mc) added

Colins out

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp) Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Bill Graham (as) Frank Wess (fl,ts) Frank Foster (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl) Ernie Wilkins (arr-1)

(Sheridan) Basie band went into Birdland, probably for two weeks. Twe broadcasts from their New Youk ``home'' sandwich Joe Williams' first record session with the band - one that produced a few of the hits Basie needed to project the band back into complete financial security. Every day I have the blues, and its companions, the comeback and All right, okay, you win were already pulling big audiences to see Williams and, of course the band; after the records were released, the audiences became huge - and exciteable.

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp) Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Bill Graham (as) Frank Wess (fl,ts) Frank Foster (ts,arr-1) Charlie Fowlkes (bar,b-cl) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl) Ernie Wilkins (arr-2)

(Sheridan) The first two issues, split over two sides of a 78, were a sensation. In his biography, Joe Williams noted that the sheer length of the performances - almost double the norm for singles - attracted disc jockeys, not just for the novelty value, but because it gave them a chance to go to the men's room. EVERY DAY was written out by Ernie Wilkins from riffs and figures supplied by Thad Jones and Frank Wess. ALL RIGHT, OKAY, YOU WIN had been featured by the Buddy Johnson band, playing opposite Basie at Boston's Storyville Club earlier in the year. Williams had not liked it, but Basie saw some value in it and goaded the singer into trying it. Frank Foster supplied a new arrangement that gave it more guts than it had up to then. It was not to be long before every radio station was playing them.

Next day, THE COMEBACK was a feature in the band's next live broadcast from Birdland:

(Sheridan) Another six weeks' touring followed before Basie returned to Birdland, this time for a month, with closer scrutiny from the radio stations than for some time - reflection, no double, of the surge in popularity the band was beginning to experience.

Fred Collins (mc) added

Al 'Jazzbo' Collins (mc) replaces Fred Collins

Collins out

(Sheridan) This next date literally provides an extra ``view'' of the band, in that NBC not only activated its radio wire to Birdland, it also sent in the teravision cameras, capturing ``live'' the jazz hit of the day, Joe Williams' EVERY DAY.
The radio broadcast provides the ``tie up'' for dating the last session as we have, because the baseball match with Birdland's waiters is again mentioned for ``this coming Monday''.

Fred Collins (mc) added

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp) Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Bill Graham (as) Frank Wess (fl,ts) Frank Foster (ts,arr-1) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl) Ernie Wilkins (arr-2)

(Sheridan) Basie went back into the Midwest, opening a two-week engagement at the Blue Note in Chicago, from where they were able to hook into the NBC network’s “Monitor” radio program.

Count Basie (p,org) Joe Williams (vcl) acc by studio band directed by Stan Kenton (cond) Jackie Gleason (mc) Frank Foster (arr)

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp) Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Bill Graham (as) Frank Wess (fl,ts) Frank Foster (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

Steve Allen (mc) added, Collins out

Fred Collins (mc) added, Allen out

Al 'Jazzbo' Collins (mc) added

Lee Castle, John Frosk, Dick Perry, Charlie Shavers, Art Tancredi (tp) Tommy Dorsey, Vince Forrest, Sonny Russo, Tak Takvorian (tb) Jimmy Dorsey (cl,as) Skip Colluccio, Red Press (as) Buzzy Brauner, Gale Curtis (ts) Teddy Lea (bar) Count Basie (p) Sam Herman (g) Billy Cronk (b) Louis Bellson (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp) Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Bill Graham (as) Frank Wess (fl,ts) Frank Foster (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl) Fred Collins (mc)

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp) Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Bill Graham (as) Frank Wess (fl,ts) Frank Foster (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

Fred Collins (mc) added

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp) Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Bill Graham (as) Frank Wess (fl,ts) Frank Foster (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Jose Mangual, Ubaldo Nieto (pc) Joe Williams (vcl)

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp) Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Bill Graham (as) Frank Wess (fl,ts) Frank Foster (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl) Steve Allen (mc)

Allen out

(Sheridan) Back on more certain territory, the day following the Apollo closure was earmarked only for recording some transcriptions.

(Sheridan) Next day, the band headed west via the aforesaid Detroit for a two-week engagement at Chicago's Blue Note, which provided two broadcasts on either side on another Clef recording data.

Fred Collins (mc) added

(Sheridan) Such appearances, e.g. ``Judy Garland Show'', were a sign of a popularity that transcended musical boundaries. It would now be permanent and, with ``Rock & Roll'' now a craze sweeping the western world, it would take on an odd form. Throughout the spring, the ``daddy'' of rock impresarios, the late Alan Freed, emceed a series of shows for CBS spotlighting the latest pop stars to make it big and , as a permanent fixture throughout the series, the Basie band - billed as a Rock & Roll band no doubt partly through Joe Williams' performances. The orchestra was completely miscast and its performances were often perfunctory, but the series as a whole is a fascinating slice of the then music scene.

One major problem attends an accurate listing of the program. It is that, for most of the period concerned, Basie was on the road or on the west coast. This latter gegraphical positioning fits some of the dates available, but by no means all, and Sheridan is inclued to believe that some, if not all, were recorded, probably in two (or possibly three) blocks. For eas in differentiating between the programs, transmission dates are quoted, but in brackets. Consultation of the band itinerary at the back of Cheridan's book will indicate where the band acturally was on any specific date.

Alan Freed (mc) added, Collins out

Fred Collins (mc) added, Freed out

Alan Freed (mc) added, Collins out

(Sheridan) These three shows, like the next one, were all produced in New York, but a glance at the band's movements shows it to be in Texas and California on the dates in question. Most likely recording date was the beginning of March when the band was in or near enough to New York to have done so. The next session we can list, however, can be accurately dated and placed. It is a location recording, properly recorded by a professional sound engineer, and the master tape has been lodged at the Library of Congress.

Freed out

NOTES:The recordist failed to identfy Joe Williams' performance, but they can safely be assumed to be from the usual repertoire.

(Sheridan) With Basie clearly on the West Coast, the next CBS show is clearly out of order and belongs with the previous four, all recorded before the band left New York weeks earlier. It is reproduced here out of deference ot the transimission date:

Alan Freed (mc) added

(Sheridan) The next six shows were all produced in Hollywood, which means that the first two could have been from the dates given, through no the rest. As before, we shall assume they were all recorded together, some time arround the dates of the first two listed, but list them according to the dates given for the sake of separation.

There was some tension between Freed, the ``king of rock and roll'' as he was announced on the air, and Basie over the arrangements the band was using and the Count's refusal to play ``suitable'' scores, by which is presumably meant the more vapid backings required by the popsters.

The rock shows were not the only things going on out on the West Coast; while there, they visited the studios to record another album featuring Joe Williams, this time with a repertoire of ballads, all arranged by Buddy Bregman.

-- The Greatest -- : Freed out

Alan Freed (mc) added

(Sheridan) One event that may help to date this broadcast more precisely in the long run was that it also featured a presentation to Basie from Cash Box magazine for being the best Rock \& Roll band...
\vspace{0.5cm}

Three days later, they were back in the studio to complete the album of Joe Williams ballads:

-- The Greatest -- : Freed out

Alan Freed (mc) added

Joe Adams (mc) added, Freed out

Alan Freed (mc) added, Adams out

Sarah Vaughan (vcl), Joe Adams (mc) added, Freed out

(Sheridan) With the band's return to the east coast just before the end of May, we at last enter the realms of certainty regarding the rest of the Camel programs. The remainig four were all produced in New York and, with the band itenerary indicating radio recording on June 2, the given date of the first of the quartet, there is every reason to believe all four were taped that day.

Benny Powell remembers the session taking place in the Ritz Disco, an old theatre on 14th Street. ``It was really old and seemed like it hadn't had much use recently. When Al Sears performed, he liked to stomp his foot along with the sax playing, bu it raised huge clouds of dust. With the dressing rooms underneath, it was quite uncomfortable - but Al wasn't the only one. Joe Williams had very big feet you know - about size 13 - and he had to take his pumps off to walk on the boards above those rooms''.

Alan Freed (mc) added, Vaughan and Adams out

(Sheridan) The manic atmosphere of these Camel shows was redolent particularly of the AFRS ``Jubilee'' shows of a decade or so earlier though, unlike the latter, the rock \& roll programs allowed few of the subtleties of Basie's music to shine. In most cases, fever pitch was preferred and, while there are no outright bad performances, too much is taken too quickly, too loudly or both.

Basie quit the series and, a few days later, opened a two-week spell at Birdland. The first broadcast we encounter has been dated as May 30, when the band was in Trenton, New Jersey, which is clearly wrong, so the following details need further research:

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp) Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Bill Graham (as) Frank Wess (fl,ts) Frank Foster (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl) Fred Collins (mc)

Dick Noel (mc) replaced Collins

The Birdland engagement ended on June 20, followed by two weeks mainly of one-nighters, with three days set aside for recording. The band had topped the Metronome Pall and the first of the three days was spent on material for the traditional Pollwinners' album; the other two produced music to complete the ``Band of Distinction'' LP.

-- Metronome All-Stars 1956 -- : -- One O'clock Jump -- : Freed out
Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp) Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Bill Graham (as) Frank Wess (fl,ts) Frank Foster (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Ralph Burns (p-1,arr) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams, Ella Fitzgerald (vcl)

Count Basie Octet : Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp) Henry Coker (tb) Frank Wess (ts) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams, Ella Fitzgerald (vcl)

Fred Collins (mc) added, Noel out

Collins out

(Sheridan) There was some of Basie's most interesting music of the period, if not necessarily the most ``popular'', and, in FROM COAST TO COAST, he had been provided with a ``concerto for band'' tailor made for this particular aggregation. It had been commissioned from Ernie Wilkins at the beginning of 1955, just as the band set out on its coast to coast Birdland Tour (Feb., 1955) and is one of the more ambitious pieces in Basie's repertoire.
The next week was spent touring in New England and upstate New York, winding up at the third Newport Jazz Festival, part of which was broadcast, though researches have so far failed to establish by which originating station:

Guy Wallace (mc) added

Fred Collins (mc) added, Wallace out

Collins out

(Sheridan) The last day of the Birdland engagement was July 25, but several further broadcasts, usually dated later, when the band was in Nevada or even further afield, must also date from this three-week period.

(Sheridan) The first half of August was spent in Las Vegas and , during this period, NBC had the band on its ``Tonight'' televition program. The band left Las Vegas on August 16 and, instead of a planned vacation, took a week at Chicago's Blue Note:

(Sheridan) On August 24, Basie helped to inaugurate the First New York Jazz Festival at Randall's Island before taking a few days off, packing for the band's second European Tour. The crammed six-week schedule took Basie through most west European contries, eight in all but excluding Great Britain, where a continuing disagreement between the AFM and the British Musicians' Union prevented tours b American artists. The band opened in Sweden on September 1 and spent a week in Scandinavia, ending with a memorable evening in Gothenburg, one recorded variously by Norman Granz for his Verve label and by Swedish radio. The record was issued, ironically, as ``Basie In London'', the one European capital he was unable to visit:

-- Basie in London -- : Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp) Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Bill Graham (as) Frank Wess (fl,as,ts) Frank Foster (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar,b-cl) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

(Sheridan) From Sweden, the band went on to Copenhagen and a series of concerts in West Germany. One of the latter was recorded, though details remain vague - it is believed the concert was at Cologne, so it is listed as follows with the caveat that it could have been from elsewhere, in which case see the Band Itinerary at the rear of Sheridan's book. Five coutries were visited in three weeks.

-- A night at Count Basie's -- : Emmett Berry (tp) Vic Dickenson (tb) Count Basie (p,org) Aaron Bell (b) Bobby Donaldson (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

Bobby Henderson (p) replaces Basie

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp) Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Bill Graham (as) Frank Wess (fl,as,ts) Frank Foster (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar,b-cl) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

Guy Wallace (mc) added

Wallace out

Guy Wallace (mc) added

Wallace out

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp) Henry Coker, Benny Powell, Bill Hughes (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Bill Graham (as) Frank Wess (ts,fl) Frank Foster (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green(g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

(Sheridan) Basie closed at Birdland the following day and took a few days off after a punishing holiday schedule. Four days in Miami were followd by a swift return to New York to appear in another ``personality'' television show:

NOTES: This was the only Basie performance in the show.
Video available from the Film Collectors Society of America doesn't include the song... Just only appearance of Basie and Joe in the closing of the show.

(Sheridan) Basie went out on a few one-nighters prior to returning to Birdland for ten days in mid-February. The next broadcast is not certainly from this period, but probable:

Guy Wallace (mc) added

Wallace out

(Sheridan) The band was then out of town on a month of one-nighters which included a brief stopover at their mid-western HQ, the Blud Note in Chicago, from which the next broadcast almost certainly was made:

(Sheridan) The band returned to Birdland for a week later in the month, a week that included one particularly busy day with the nation's broadcasters:

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp) Bobby Hackett (cor-1) Henry Coker, Benny Powell, Bill Hughes (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Bill Graham (as) Frank Wess (ts,fl) Frank Foster (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green(g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl) Kathryn Grayson, Sarah Vaughan (vcl-1) Jackie Gleason (mc)

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp) Henry Coker, Benny Powell, Bill Hughes (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Bill Graham (as) Frank Wess (ts,fl) Frank Foster (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green(g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl) Guy Wallace (mc)

Jay Jackson (mc) replaced Wallace

Jackson out

The band arrived in Britain on April 1 to play 18 cities in 21 days.
At the end of April, the band flew back to the USA having won many friends, despite the critical reservations. They headed straight out to the West Coast where they took in a short recording session for Verve:

At the same time, the band also recorded two performances on file for the otherwise vapid motion picture, ``Jamboree'', directed by Roy Lockwood:

(Sheridan) The band remained on tour, travelling through the north-western states and across Canada, for most of May, returning to New York via Chicago's Blue Note. Back east, they made a major breakthrough with a six-week booking at the prestigious Waldorf Astoria Hotel, the first Negro aggregation to do so. There appear to be no commemorative broadcasts, but the band did appear in another ``personality'' TV show, this time in the somewhat unusual company of an operatic singer:

Julius LaRosa (mc) added

(Sheridan) The Waldorf engagement took them through to mid-July and was a tremendous success, leading to an early rebooking, as we shall see. The band had one day ``off'' - to climax the fourth Newpart Jazz Festival. It was virturally Norman Granz's swansong as a record producer - at least for some fifteen years - and he recorded almost the entire festival. Basie's set was undoubtedly one of the high lights, emotionally charged by the nostalgic reunions with former Basieites conjured up by John Hammond and roared on by 8,000 fans packed into Freebody Park.

-- At Newport -- : Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (tp) Henry Coker, Benny Powell, Bill Hughes (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Bill Graham (as) Frank Wess (ts,fl) Frank Foster (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green(g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl) Sarah Vaughan (vcl-1)

(Sheridan) Basie's original contract with Norman Granz, signed at the end of 1951, had been for three years. Another had followd, but, when the time came for renuwal, Granz was bent on retirement from the record scene and already negotiating the sale of his labels to MGM. The huge issue of recordings from the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival would be the last great throw by the Clef label, so Basie was forced to look elsewhere.
In the event, he signed with the new label being started by Morris Levy, owner of Birdland, the club that had become the Basie band's New York headquaters. It ushered in another new phase, one of Basie's best-known and best-loved, linked by many to the eponymous first album to emerge from the new contract with the newly-born Roulette label.

The opening session apparently took place during the band's vacation - not entirely unusual and, indeed, Sheridan has found nothing to contradict it. On the personnel front, trumpeter Reunald Jones and alto saxophonist Bill Graham were released at the start of the holiday; when they reassembled for the first recording session, Snooky Young had returned after a decade's absence, Frank Wess had taken Graham's chair (though he would continue to play tenor when required), and Lockjaw Davis was back after four years away.

This is the line-up that would fulfil the potential seen by Thad Jones when he first joined three years earlier, with one exception.

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Joe Newman, Snooky Young, Thad Jones (tp) Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal, Frank Wess (as) Frank Foster, Eddie ``Lockjaw'' Davis (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams(vcl)

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Joe Newman, Snooky Young, Thad Jones (tp) Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal, Frank Wess (as) Frank Foster, Eddie ``Lockjaw'' Davis (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams(vcl)

-- A man ain't supposed to cry -- : Joe Williams (vcl) acc by Jimmy Mundy Orchestra : Jimmy Mundy (cond) strings, vib, p, g, b and d

(Sheridan) A solitary master is not much to show for bringing the band back early from its vacation, and Sheridan believes the band may also have recorded - and rejected - one or two titles intended for the ``Atomic'' session itself. Trombonist Bill Hughes certainly insists that he played on some of those titles, but he, too, had left before those issued were recorded.

His replacemetn, when the band came off vacation to open a week at the Quaker City's Pepe's Show Bar, was Tom McIntosh, but he fell ill and, on October 17, Basie's best trombonist since Dicky Wells sat in with the band. Two days later, Albert Thornton Grey had become part of the Basie furniture.

Grey had previously been with the Dizzy Gillespie aggregation that had played opposites Basie three month earlier at Newpart. He told Sheridan that the most striking change brought by his move had not been musical but social.

``After my first solo, I leaned back in my chair to chat to the guys behind - just as we all used to do in Dizzy's band - only to be firmly reminded by Marshal Royal that this wasn't the donw thing here!'' Discipline, said Al, was tight but cool, and it was definitely a band of gentlemen.

Two days after he officially joined the Basieites came the two sessions that produced Basie's most significant album since the ``Dance Sessions'' of 1953 and 1954: ``The Atomic Mr. Basie''.

Count Basie and his orchestra : Wendell Culley, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young (tp) Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (as) Frank Wess (ts,fl) Eddie ``Lockjaw'' Davis, Frank Foster (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

-- Autumn in Paris -- :

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young (tp) Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal, Frank Wess (as) Eddie ``Lockjaw'' Davis, Frank Foster (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl) Guy Wallace (mc)

Fred Collins (mc) replaced Wallace

Bob Pfeiffer (mc) replaced Collins

(Sheridan) That was Jaws' last appearance with the Basie band for several years. Later that day, the great Detroit tenor saxophonist, Billy Mitchell, arrived to take his place. Billy had quit Dizzy Gillespie's big band to join Basie and was, in that orchestra and earlier, a former colleague of trombonist Al Grey. Basie's personnel would now remain settled for nearly two years and, in Mitchell's opinion, rapidly gelled into ``the best band Basie ever had'' - a controversial view but not without validity given the impossibility of comparing oranges and lemons, despite their common ingredients.

Billy's first preserved contributions came in a broadcast from Birdland, apparently the night he joined:

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young, (tp) Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Frank Wess (fl,as) Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

(Sheridan) The band returned to New York for a week at the Apollo before heading west for Chicago and a long Midwestern tour. The next Roulette session is normally dated March 4 (New York), when the band was in the middle of a week at Chicago's Holiday Ballroom and not to return to New York until March 20. Pending further information, I remain the date.

(Sheridan) Basie returned to New York to open at Birdland for two weeks on March 20. There are two ``Bandstand USA'' broadcats which so far remain positively unidentified.

On March 29, Basie and his men appeared on the Perry Como television show, another of those curious coagulations of jazz and showbiz that the band would encounter increasingly often.

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young, (tp) Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Frank Wess (fl,as) Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams, Perry Como, Frankie Laine (vcl)

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young, (tp) Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Frank Wess (fl,as) Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

-- Basie plays Hefti -- : Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young, (tp) Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Frank Wess (fl,as) Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Nat Pierce (p-2) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

-- Sing along with Basie -- : Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Joe Newman, Thad Jones, Snooky Young (tp) Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Frank Wess (as,fl,ts) Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Sonny Payne (d) Eddie Jones (b) Joe Williams, Dave Lambert, John Hendricks, Anne Ross (vcl)

Steve Allen (mc) added

NOTES: This date has been given as June 24, but the band booking indicate the above date to be correct. The program was broadcast on the East Coast a week later.

(Sheridan) The Crescendo Club engagement was recorded at great length, and in stereo, by sound engineer Wally Heider, then active in the area. The master tapes have since been lodged at the Library of Congress but copies have been used to produce two LPs at presstime, with more in the pipeline. Recording continued for the week beginning Tuesday June 24 and did not continue into July as stated on the LPs so far issued. Unfortunately, the original recording order is not known; but, although the music has been placed in a ``preferential'' order for issue on record, recent conversations with the sound engineer suggest dating as follows:

-- Count on the Coast Volume III -- : Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young (tp) Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Frank Wess (as,ts,fl) Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

(Sheridan) The Crescendo recordings provide an excellent picture of the repertoire Basie was using at the time, including a large number of tunes that were never to be recorded commercially. Tow years earlier, the then editor of Down Beat magazine, Bill Coss, had noted that the band ``book'' comprised up to 180 arrangements, but the vast majority were barely touched from one year's end to the next. Pressure from his sidemen occasioned Basie to use the less simple, more interesting charts from time to time, and this is reflected in the rarity of some of the band's attractive recordings in on-the-road airchecks etc.
The recordings also demonstrate what Stanley Dance had noted when he spoke of the band's sharply-improved morale by the end of 1957. The banter and fun of playing are clear throughout those recordings so far issued, notably on DUET, SLATS, CUTE and MOTEN SWING and it spills over into Basie's own work, which is among his best of the era.
The band itself closed at the Crescendo on July 3, but remained in California for another three weeks before heading east, through Basie's old stamping ground, to a fortnight's residency at their ``Chicago headquarters'', the Blue Note club. During their stay, they were picked up on a ``Jazz In The Round'' program:

-- Sing along with Basie -- : Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young (tp) Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Frank Wess (as,ts,fl) Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams, Dave Lambert, John Hendricks, Anne Ross (vcl)

(Sheridan) Once again, the challenge of the material - putting words to the original solos and pitting them against Frack Foster's updated arrangements - made for slow progress and the album remained incomplete. It would take one more session towards the end of the band's vacation before Basie and Teddy Reig were satisfied.

In the meantime, the band was booked into Birdland for two weeks and two broadcasts, so far undated, would seem to come from this engagement. A third will also be listed here, as much for the sake of convenience as because of any hard evidence that it came from this particular fortnight.

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young (tp) Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Frank Wess (as,ts,fl) Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

(Sheridan) The next broadcasts might weel have been made at this time - or any other. These really are placed here as a matter of convenience, while further details hat might illuminate their sketchy details further will be most welcome.
It seems to be a ``variety'' show, with Basie not the only artist featured - though possibly the only jazz musician/band. It is thought to be a ``female personality's'' program - possibly the Kate Smith Show, which featured Basie more than once in this period.

(Sheridan) After closing at Birdland on September 17, the band took its annual vacation, reasembling in Roulette's studios a month later to complete the ``Sing Along With Basie'' album with Lambert, Hendricks \& Ross and also to record some Joe Williams features.

-- Sing along with Basie -- : Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young (tp) Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Frank Wess (as,ts,fl) Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams, Dave Lambert, John Hendricks, Anne Ross (vcl)

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young (tp) Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Frank Wess (as,ts,fl) Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar)
Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams, (vcl)

The next session was a Joe Williams showcase:

-- Memories Ad-Lib -- : Count Basie (p,org) Freddie Green(g) George Duvivier (b) Jimmy Crawford (b) Joe Williams (vcl)

Joe Newman (tp-1) added

(Sheridan) The band returned to the east coast in early November, playing a few engagements around New York and New England. On November 16, the appeared again on Steve Allen's television show - in a somewhat cameo role:

(Sheridan) The Birdland engagement continued, marked by a Boxing Day broadcast:

Count Basie's All Stars : Harry ``Sweets'' Edison (tp) Count Basie (p,org) Freddie Green(g) George Duvivier (b) Jimmy Crawford (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

(Sheridan) The band flew to Europe to begin a six-week tour, one of its most successful, particularly musically, as witnessed by a number of broadcasts that have survived the 25 years or so since then. ``Basie Perfekt'', was the reflaction of the Swedish magazine, Orkester Journalen, somehow summing up the general view.

Among the first countries visited was Switzerland and two concerts were preserved on radio and television:

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young (tp) Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Frank Wess (as,ts,fl) Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

-- The Count in England -- :

(Sheridan) The last souvenir of the 1959 tour comes from Berlin, almost at the end of the month:

(Sheridan) They returned to the USA on March 8 and went straight to California for two weeks, followed by a month in Las Vegas. An NBC-Tv show from mid-March does not seem to have survived but, just before they returned east, they were recorded on location in Fresco and San Francisco. The master tapes are lodged at the Library of Congress:

(Sheridan) The band continued its Birdland engagement and it is thought the follwing broadcast stems from this period:

(Sheridan) Towards the end of the Birdland engagement, the band was flown to Miami for a disc jockeys' convention - Basie playing for 3,000 guests at an all-night dance at the Florida city's Americana Hotel. According to information available, the set lasted some five hours, until dawn on the morning of May 31, so the material issued is clearly the tip of the iceberg of what must have been recorded. Efforts to locate unissued material have so far been to no avail.

It is worth noting that Basie Elder harry Edison was on hand to sit in on this session:

-- Breakfast dance and barbecue -- : Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Harry ``Sweets'' Edison, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young (tp) Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Frank Wess (as,ts,fl) Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

(Sheridan) The hotel's Grand Ballroom remained packed and swinging until seven in the morning, when the band had to pack up to fly back to complete the Birdland engagement in New York. On July 1, they went into the Starlight Roof at the Waldorf Astoria, the first negro band to play the prestigious New York hotel, and they stayed there for most of the month, postponing a booking at Chicago's Chaz Paree with Tony Bennett until September.

From the Astoria, the band went out on a week of one-nighters, mostly in New England. They included an appearance at the sixth Newport Jazz Festival:

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young (tp) Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Frank Wess (as,ts,fl) Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

-- Sings about you -- : Joe Williams (vcl) acc by Jimmy Jones Orchestra : Jimmy Jones (cond) Harry ``Sweets'' Edison (tp) Ben Webster (ts) Hank Jones (p) Freddie Green (g) Milt Hinton (b) and unknown strings and woodwinds

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young (tp) Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Frank Wess (as,ts,fl) Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

(Sheridan) A week of one-nighters in the Midwest culminated in an apperance at the Playboy Jazz Festival on August 8 - a concert preserved by the Armed Forces Network. The festival was not without its own tiny controversy - plans to set it alongside the Pan-American Games were squashed following a prurient campaign by religious newspapaers which were unhappy with Playboy Magazine per se and concern by Games officials that jazz audiences might damage the athletic track. In the event, the festival went to the air-conditioned Chicago Stadium, and that, in August, must have been a boon.

Count Basie and his Orchestra : Wendell Culley, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young (tp) Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Frank Wess (as,ts,fl) Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

Dave Lambert, John Hendricks, Anne Ross (vcl-1) added

(Sheridan) The following day, the band travelled on to Las Vegas, where it remained until early September. Four days in San Francisco were followed by the delayed engagement at Chicago's Chez Paree club with Tony Bennett and it is during this period that the next Roulette recordings were made. Again, there is a slight problem, in that the location usually given in New York, but, given that it is extremely unlikely the band would travel there during an engagement, nor is there record of such a move in the band itinerary, we shall assume the recordings were made in the Windy City.
Despite the presence in the band book of a number of interesting new arrangements, the purpose of Roulette's latest session was purely commercial - blues by Joe Williams, including remakes of the best-known recordings.
There had been on personnel change - Wendel Culley departed, presumably while the band was in San Francisco, and John Anderson who had been on the Nat King Cole sessions (580630 etc) came in.

-- Everyday I have the blues -- : Count Basie and his Orchestra : John Anderson, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young (tp) Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb) Marshall Royal (cl,as) Frank Wess (as,ts,fl) Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Count Basie(p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Sonny Payne (d) Joe Williams (vcl)

(Sheridan) The band did not return to the east until late October, running a hectic schedule betwwn the Midwest, California and the south until then. At some stage during this tour, they took part in a televesion show that purported, in an occasionally patronising way, to use Basie's music to sandwich a ``history'' of jazz trombone. It has to be said that the Basie Orchestra's contribution is a litle perfunctory.

(Sheridan) A week at the Paramount Theatre in New York towards the end of October was one break in a punishing schedule that saw them criss cross the country twice in a matter of weeks. During another week's break, at Chicago's Regal Theatre, John Anderson fell ill, and Sonny Cohn again came in temporariliy during his days off from Red Sanders' band. It must have been clear that Anderson was not going to stay with the band much longer for, shortly afterwards, Sonny was asked to join, which he did, early in the New Year.
After closing the Regal, Basie was due to head for California yet again, but just before leaving the Midwest, he was caught at the Windy City's Aragon Ballroom. The stereo tapes of this session are lodged at the Library of Congress:

(Sheridan) The following day, the band headed for Hollywood, where they were booked to appear in a rather silly Jerry Lewis film for Paramount called ``Cinderfella''. It probably provides sufficient perspective to record that it involves a male Cinderella and much schmaltz, with Basie and the boys providing much-needed salt & pepper:

(Sheridan) The band's next major engagement was at their New York HQ, starting December 10 for four weeks. During this period, they recorded over three sessions another Roulette album, this time one with an eye to the one-nighter audience, as witnessed by the title, ``Dance Along With Basie''.

(Sheridan) Not many broadcasts from this period seem to have survived, but New Year was predictably busy:

-- That kind of woman -- : Joe Williams (vcl) acc by Jimmy Jones Orchestra : Jimmy Jones (cond) large studio band incl. strings