A
Basie tribute, but a really smoking one – thanks to some hard swinging arrangements from Manny Albam, and plenty of heavy Hammond from the great Jimmy McGriff! The tracks are mostly numbers from the
Count Basie songbook of the 50s and 60s, but they're strongly reworked here
with a swinging 60s vibe – played
with lots of strong horn work in the background, all used as a perfect foil for Jimmy's leaner organ solos over the top! The style's quite similar to other big band organ work of the time – particularly records made by Jimmy Smith in collaboration
with Oliver Nelson, or Jack McDuff
with Benny Golson – and McGriff's organ comes through nice and clean in the mix,
with that sharply fluttering sound that really made him one of the true standouts of the 60s. Titles include "Hob Nail Boogie", "Cute", "Every Day", "Blues Go Away", and "Slow But Sure".
(On demand CDr pressing.)