Jazz / Big Band, Swing, Jazz-Pop
Recorded: May 3-5, 1966, T. T. G. Sunset Recorders, Hollywood
Count Basie - Piano, Organ
Al Aarons - Trumpet
Sonny Cohn - Trumpet
Wallace Davenport - Trumpet
Phil Guilbeau - Trumpet
Henderson Chambers - Trombone
Al Grey - Trombone
Grover Mitchell - Trombone
Bill Hughes - Bass Trombone
Marshall Royal - Alto Saxophone, Clarinet
Bobby Plater - Alto Saxophone, Flute
Eric Dixon - Tenor Saxophone, Flute
Eddy Davis - Tenor Saxophone
Charlie Fowlkes - Flute, Baritone Saxophone
Freddie Greene - Guitar
Norman Keenan - Bass
Sonny Payne - Drums
Chico O'Farrill - Arranger
Bill Henderson - (8) Vocal
If this title were merely alliterative, it would not have sustained its appeal for more than thirty years. Basie's was the swingingest band in the land; here they're in roaring, mid-Sixties form. And the Beatle Bag does contain eleven early Lennon-McCartney classics.
But the man who makes this record vital is no B-player. He's arranger Chico O'Farrill, who takes the Beatles' cozy lyricism and gives it the broad swagger required of all Basie bands. Which make s a potential period piece into a timeless lesson in swing - now with brilliant Basie brass sound. |
