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". CD also features 4 bonus tracks recorded a few years before – including "Confessin The Blues", "How Can You Lose", and "Five O'Clock In The Morning". CD

Featuring Joe Turner on vocals and Eddie Cleanhead Vinson on alto, with Cleveland Eaton on bass, Freddie Green on guitar, Duffy Jackson on drums, Pete Minger, Sonny Cohn, Dale Carley, and David Stahl on trumpets, Michell Wood, Bill Hughes, Dennis Wilson, Grover Mitchell, and Dennis Rowland on trombones, and Eric Dixon, Bobby Plater, Danny Turner, Kenny Hing, and Johnny Williams on saxophones. LP, Vinyl record album

Count Basie's always had plenty of blues roots in his music – but this sweet vocal session with Joe Williams pushes that quality even further – by featuring a selection of tunes from Big Bill Broonzy, Leroy Carr, Ivory Joe Hunter, and other legendary blues talents! The sound is maybe a bit more laidback than usual for Basie on Roulette – often with the Count's piano kind of slinking into a tune before the bigger ensemble joins in – and Williams taking this bluesy approach to the vocals that's plenty darn nice. An overlooked gem from the pair – with titles that include "Mean Mistreater", "Tomorrow Night", "Keep Your Hand On Your Heart", "Night Time Is The Right Time", "Key To The Highway", and "Lyin Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

Features Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Williams on vocal performances of "April In Paris", "Party Blues", and "Every Day I Have The Blues" – with Count Basie backing. Also features a jam session version of "Billie's Bounce" – with Art Blakey, Charles Mingus, Tal Farlow, Zoot Sims, and others – and a solo piano take on "Lady Fair" by George Wallington. LP, Vinyl record album

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

A gem of a record from this pair of Basie-ites – one that allows Joe Williams to hit some different modes than on his fuller records with the Count – set up here in a nicely relaxed groove with trumpeter Harry Sweets Edison! Arrangements are by Ernie Wilkins, but are more laidback than some of his fuller charts – and we love hearing Joe at a level when he doesn't have to punch it out of the park, and can just fall back in a sweet groove alongside Harry's trumpet, which then often gets a spot to solo on the tune. Charles Thompson plays piano – again with a style that's more easygoing than Basie – and titles include "Out Of Nowhere", "Together", "Winter Weather", "By The River Saint Marie", "Alone Together", "Deep Purple", and "Lover Come Back To Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Joe Williams is away from Count Basie here, and 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

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

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

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". CD

A great full album of rare work from Kansas City jazz legends – with cuts by Joe Turner, Mary Lou Williams, Hot Lips Page, Count Basie, and Pete Johnson! LP, Vinyl record album

A bunch of older rootsier players, taken inside a more prestigious showcase, supposedly giving the performance of their careers. John Hammond virtually invented the format back in 1938 with the first Spirituals To Swing set – and he's brought it back for this 1967 show, which features a number of performers who were on the stage in the 30s. Includes 2 nice ones by George Benson's quartet – "The Cooker" and "Shadow Of Your Smile" – plus more rootsy stuff, like "Hound Dog" by Big Mama Thornton, "How I Got Over" by Marion Williams, "Swingin The Blues" by The Cafe Society Band, "Roll 'Em Pete" by Big Joe Turner, and "Squeeze Me" by Count Basie. LP, Vinyl record album