I've mused in past Artistic Director's Guide entries on the concept of swing, and how it's difficult to explain - it's really more of a feeling. Or, in the case of the Count Basie Orchestra, it's everything that happens between the beginning and ending of every performance of every tune.
Since 1936, the Count Basie Orchestra has served as one of the prime examples of how a big band should sound. Legendary musicians such as Lester Young, Harry "Sweets" Edison and Freddy Green (as well as Bill Basie himself) developed their distinctive styles thanks in part to their membership in the band, and their library includes works by some of the most important big band composers in history: Sammy Nestico, Quincy Jones and Neil Hefti, among many others. For me, as a big band leader, I go back to the Count Basie Orchestra any time I need a refresher on how 17 musicians should sound when playing as a unit, how a large ensemble sounds when it's really swingin', or how a beautifully balanced band sounds, whether playing loud or soft. Here's a sample:
Were you able to sit still? I'm hoping not. And that thing that got you moving is "swing". What's so impressive to me is the fact that, forty years after that 1964 version of "Corner Pocket", the band is sounding just as good. A new generation of musicians is carrying on the tradition and, in my mind, it's a testament to the skill of the band's current membership that they are able to so authentically re-create that classic Basie sound. True, jazz has evolved since the heyday of the Swing Era, but this band - and this sound - remain a vital and oft-referenced part of the music's history. Here's the band playing "Corner Pocket" in 2004:
Still swingin'. The Count Basie Orchestra has won 17 Grammy Awards over the years and continues to record; their album Swinging, Singing, Playing: The Count Basie Orchestra Salutes the Jazz Masters, released in 2009 on Mack Avenue Records, pays homage to some of the outstanding vocalists who performed out front of the band over its history, including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Joe Williams, Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at the album:
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