Another episode of Jazz Casual, this time with the great master of swing, Count Basie!
Highlights include:
8:14 Basie killing it on "Handful of Keys" by his great inspiration, Fats Waller. If you are used to the Count's very sparse, tinkling solos, be sure to check out him tearing through a chorus of this song.
13:30 Basie talk about the origins of his theme song, the One O'Clock Jump.
20:07 Tempo talk - it's great to hear Basie talk about liking to play a "danceable" tempo.
24:32 Hear Basie talk with great reverence about Duke Ellington (as he always did). Basie saw him as the greatest and always said so - he was always so humble in giving it up to Duke's greatness.
Another thing I love about these old shows is just how much silence they let happen. You can tell that the interviewer wanted to say as little as possible and sometimes the Count seems to have felt the same. Still though it is such a treat to spend such an intimate half hour with such a master!
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Count Basie Quartet (August 21, 1968)
Count Basie (piano); Norman Keenan (bass); Freddie Green (guitar); Sonny Payne (drums).
1. I Don't Know
2. Handful of Keys
3. Untitled Blues
4. Squeeze Me
5. Twenty Minutes After Three
6. As Long As I Live
7. If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight)
8. National Educational Television Blues