Breakfast Dance & Barbecue? Our stomachs are growling already! The album's a great little live set from Basie – recorded at the Americana Hotel in Miami at 2 in the morning – and is one of the totally great, totally smoking live sessions that Basie recorded for Roulette – maybe some of his best work ever! The group's an all-star lineup – with Frank Foster and Frank Wess on tenor, Joe Newman and Thad Jones on trumpets, Freddie Green on guitar, and Sonny Payne on drums – plus Joe Williams vocalizing on a few of the tunes on the set. The tracks are a bit longer than usual – which is quite nice – and titles include "Let's Have A Taste", "Moten Swing", "Who Me", and "Counter Block". Includes 10 bonus tracks, not on the LP. CD

One of Joe Williams' standout classics from the 50s – just the sort of record that put him on top of his game at the time! The album's one of Joe's classic outings with Count Basie – one recorded for Roulette with a slightly looser, slightly rawer feel than their work together on Verve. Joe's rendition of "Everyday I Have The Blues" is a near-definitive one – tight, syncopated, and grooving in a style that stretches back to its roots, but which also steps out with a fresh sort of groove that points the way towards changes in soulful vocal styles during the 60s. Other titles work equally well in the mode – bluesy, but never hokey, all freshened up by the Basie approach of the time – and titles include "Baby Won't You Please Come Home", "Going To Chicago", "Joe Sings The Blues", and "What Did You Win". LP, Vinyl record album

Seven full albums on 4 CDs. Notable sidemen include Frank Foster, Thad Jones, Frank Wess, and Joe Williams. CD

An excellent album of vocals by the great Joe Williams! Joe's always been a fine singer, but with Basie, he really gets the backing he needs to do his work the best. And although this album isn't as authenico as it might be, it still comes from a time when Verve really knew how to handle singers well. Titles include "Our Love Is Here To Stay", "A Fine Romance", "This Can't Be Love", "Come Rain Or Come Shine", and "There Will Never Be Another You". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the more obscure albums by Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross – a session of Basie tunes, performed with backing by the Count, plus additional lead vocals by Joe Williams, the voice most closely associated with the Basie group at the time! The style is similar to the trio's Sing A Song Of Basie album for ABC, but handled here with a bit more of an edge, and a rougher, more freewheeling groove that's a better fit for the great Basie sound of the late 50s – a great adaptation of the groove by Jon Hendricks, Dave Lambert, and Annie Ross! The record's a nice sometimes-overlooked chapter in the excellent Count Basie run on Roulette – and titles include "Every Tub", "Rusty Dusty Blues", "The King", "Shorty George", and "Let Me See". LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Count Basie & his Orchestra, Lester Young with Count Basie & his Orchestra, Joe Williams with Count Basie & his Orchestra, Stan Getz with Count Basie & his Orchestra, and Sarah Vaughan with her trio and Count Basie & his Orchestra. CD

Billy Eckstine gets a new lease on life – working here with great backings from the Count Basie band, in a mode that's a bit like some of Billy's own large ensemble recordings of the mid 40s! The sound is a bit more Basie-inflected than before, but that also unlocks some great swinging, soulful currents in Eckstine's vocals – modes that maybe weren't coming through as strongly in some of his pop material of the time, but which are right at home in the company of the Count! The material's great, too – darker, more brooding tunes – of the sort that Joe Williams might sing with the group – and the balance of presentation often gives equal time to vocals and instrumental passages in the spotlight. Titles include "Blues The Mother Of Sin", "Lonesome Lover Blues", "Drifting", "I Want A Little Girl", and "Song Of The Wanderer". CD

Incredible material from the lean, revamped Basie band of the 50s – tracks that appeared on a variety of 7" EP and 10" LP releases – plus material from the albums Basie Jazz, Count Basie Dance Session Vols 1 & 2, Basie, Count Basie Swings & Joe Williams Sings, The Count, The Swinging Count, Basie Rides Again, The Greatest, Paradise Squat, Al Hibbler Sings Love Songs, April In Paris, One O'Clock Jump, and Hall Of Fame. CD

The 50s Basie band, loud and proud – recorded beautifully by Verve on the stage of the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957 – a great year, both for the group and the fest! The lineup here features Count Basie firmly at the helm on piano – with players who include Lester Young, Illinois Jacquet, and Frank Foster on tenor – plus Thad Jones and Joe Newman on trumpets – all tightly grooving on arrangements by Ernie Wilkins, AK Salim, and others – filled with plenty of Basie jumps, leaps, and vamps! Jimmy Rushing sings vocals on the track "Sent For You Yesterday & Here You Come Today" – and other tracks include "Lester Leaps In", "Swingin At Newport", "Polka Dots & Moonbeams", and "Evenin". CD also contains 5 more bonus tracks from another Verve album – Count Basie & Joe Williams at Newport, most with Williams on vocals – including "All Right Okay You Win", "The Comeback", "Roll 'Em Pete", "Smack Dab In The Middle", and "One O' Clock In The Morning". CD

Billy Eckstine gets a new lease on life – working here with great backings from the Count Basie band, in a mode that's a bit like some of Billy's own large ensemble recordings of the mid 40s! The sound is a bit more Basie-inflected than before, but that also unlocks some great swinging, soulful currents in Eckstine's vocals – modes that maybe weren't coming through as strongly in some of his pop material of the time, but which are right at home in the company of the Count! The material's great, too – darker, more brooding tunes – of the sort that Joe Williams might sing with the group – and the balance of presentation often gives equal time to vocals and instrumental passages in the spotlight. Titles include "Blues The Mother Of Sin", "Lonesome Lover Blues", "Drifting", "I Want A Little Girl", and "Song Of The Wanderer". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the more obscure albums by Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross – a session of Basie tunes, performed with backing by the Count, plus additional lead vocals by Joe Williams, the voice most closely associated with the Basie group at the time! The style is similar to the trio's Sing A Song Of Basie album for ABC, but handled here with a bit more of an edge, and a rougher, more freewheeling groove that's a better fit for the great Basie sound of the late 50s – a great adaptation of the groove by Jon Hendricks, Dave Lambert, and Annie Ross! The record's a nice sometimes-overlooked chapter in the excellent Count Basie run on Roulette – and titles include "Every Tub", "Rusty Dusty Blues", "The King", "Shorty George", and "Let Me See".oss! Titles include "Every Tub", "Rusty Dusty Blues", "The King", "Shorty George", and "Let Me See". CD

A great little record from this legendary pair – a late nite, bluesy sort of record that's a nice change from some of the Joe Williams/Count Basie material on Verve! Basie plays Hammond on part of the record – and the organ makes a wonderful accompaniment to Joe's vocals – played with this open tone that kind of flows up from the bottom and around the edges, while the rest of the Basie group provide slightly gentler backigns – still that syncopated swing we love from the Count, but more laidback too – in a way that fits the material and the vocals perfectly! Titles include "Sweet Sue", "Dinah", "Memories Of You", "Baby Won't You Please Come Home", and "Call Me Darling. LP, Vinyl record album

Joe Williams is away from Count Basie here, but he's still sounding great – and getting a slightly warmer approach overall – in keeping with the promise of the title! The arrangements aren't credited on the notes, but they've got a slightly lusher feel than Basie – a bit more strings on the ballads, which sound great with Williams' vocals – and a tighter, jazzier feel on some of the groovers – which still evoke a bit of the older days. Whatever the setting, Joe's got a way of putting over a tune that's simply tremendous – as you'll hear on titles that include "Just As Though You Were Here", "When Did You Leave Heaven", "Somebody", "Darn That Dream", "Stella By Starlight", "When A Woman Loves A Man", "I Only Want To Love You", and "With Every Breath I Take". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the more obscure albums by Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross – a session of Basie tunes, performed with backing by the Count, plus additional lead vocals by Joe Williams, the voice most closely associated with the Basie group at the time! The style is similar to the trio's Sing A Song Of Basie album for ABC, but handled here with a bit more of an edge, and a rougher, more freewheeling groove that's a better fit for the great Basie sound of the late 50s – a great adaptation of the groove by Jon Hendricks, Dave Lambert, and Annie Ross! The record's a nice sometimes-overlooked chapter in the excellent Count Basie run on Roulette – and titles include "Every Tub", "Rusty Dusty Blues", "The King", "Shorty George", and "Let Me See". CD