Count Basie The Atomic Mr. Basie DMM 180g Import LP (Mono) (Orange Vinyl)

"By 1957, the halcyon days of Bill Basie's seminal 1930s group were two decades behind; indeed, changing fashions had forced him to drop his big band for a spell in the early 1950s. Happily, it was the last time he would be without one. All Basie needed, it turned out, was a little fresh blood, which he found in the veins of young arranger Neal Hefti. Just five years after his first job with the band, Hefti was asked to score the whole of Basie's first record for Roulette.

"'I have never bragged on anything,' the ever-modest Basie wrote in his autobiography, 'but [the Atomic Basie] band...was one I could have bragged on.' He's not wrong, Powered by saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and an all-star trumpet section led by Thad Jones, the 12-strong brass section alternate fire ('Whirley-Bird') and ice (the slinky 'After Supper') to effervescent effect on Hefti's 11 compositions. But, as always with Basie, the rhythm section is the key: bassist Eddie Jones, drummer Sonny Payne, guitarist Freddie Green, and Basie himself, playing piano with typical economy, bring a swing even to the tender 'Li'l Darlin'.'

"It was Basie's last great record. By the mid-1960s, he had slipped comfortably into his position as one of jazz's most likeable elder statesmen, a role he would hold until his death in 1984. Hefti, meanwhile, largely ditched the serious jazz in favor of Hollywood, finding fame for his themes to Batman and The Odd Couple." -Will Fulford-Jones, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die