Count Basie & His Orchestra: Live in Berlin & Stockholm 1968 (DVD)

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For the first time ever on DVD!

A highly distinctive pianist from the Kansas City jazz school and leader of one of the most celebrated swing bands in history, Count Basie (1904-1984) needs no further introduction. His band was so popular that, except for a few occasional periods in the early '40s, it survived the steep decline in popularity of the jazz big bands. The two performances presented here, filmed during Basie's 1968 European tour, prove that, despite changes in personnel, the orchestra was still able to produce marvelous music. Freddie Green, the guitarist of the famous Basie-Green-Walter Page-Joe Jones rhythm section from the '30s, is still there and, although Lester Young had died in 1958, the tenor chair was handled with aplomb by Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis. Other musicians like trombonist Richard Boone, flute and alto sax player Bobby Plater and clarinetist Marshall Royal are also noteworthy. But on this stage, the charts were as important as the soloists and the band boasted such important arrangers as Quincy Jones, Neal Hefti and Sam Nestico. After Basie's death, the group (now known as "the Ghost Band") would be conducted by some of the musicians heard here, including Eric Dixon and Grover Mitchell (Frank Foster and Thad Jones also conducted it for a while). Since 2006, the group has been fronted by bass trombonist Bill Hughes, who is present on both of these 1968 concerts.

Berlin, Germany, November 9, 1968: All of Me; Hittin' Twelve; Blues for Ilean; Bill Bailey; On a Clear Day; Cherokee; Good Time Blues; A Night in Tunisia; Muddy Water Blues; Whirly-Bird; Lonely Street; The Magic Flea; One O'clock Jump.

Stockholm, Sweden, November 12, 1968: Splanky; All of Me; Hittin' Twelve; Blues for Ilean; Cherokee.

Count Basie & His Orchestra: Gene Goe, Sonny Cohn, Oscar Brashear, Trumpet; Al Aarons, Trumpet/Flugelhorn; Grover Mitchell, Richard Boone, Bill Hughes, Bass Trombone; Marshall Royal, Alto Sax/Clarinet; Bobby Plater, Alto Sax/Flute; Eric Dixon, Tenor Sax/Flute; Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Tenor Sax; Charlie Fowlkes, Baritone Sax; Count Basie, Piano; Freddie Green, Guitar; Norman Keenan, Bass; Harold Jones, Drums; Marlena Shaw, Vocals.