Walter Page. Need I say more? Probably. In a continuing effort to re-listen to my entire LP collection (alphabetically), I have just spent a few days listening to my Count Basie records. Not all of them have Walter Page, but IMHO, the very best Basie records do. Of course, there were other fantastic bassists in the Basie band – Cleveland Eaton, Ike Isaacs and Norman Keenan, for example – but Page was the bomb. Specifically, I have been listening to:

• Kansas City Style (Young Bill Basie with the Bennie Moten Orchestra) – includes early recordings of “Toby” and “Moten’s Swing,” with tons of great bass lines.  This collection is on RCA, but seems to be lp-only.
• Listen and You Shall Hear – a fantastic collection of early recordings, including the quintessential version of “One O’clock Jump” and another version of “Toby.”
• Count Basie Vol. 2 – an Italian import from 1982 with excellent versions of “Topsy,” “Red Wagon,” “Moten Swing,” and an excellent version of “Lester Leaps In” with Prez himself.
• Superchief – a great John Hammond collection on CBS.  “Shoe Shine Boy,” in particular, is incredible.
• Some 1961 live recordings and studio re-recordings (Best Of… style).  I’m not a huge fan of this period – no Walter Page.  But soloists like Thad Jones, Snooky Young, Benny Carter and Frank Foster do play some incredible music.
• High Voltage (Basic Basie, Vol. 2) – The playing is perfect, but it’s just not my favorite period.  Cecil Payne and Freddie Green stand out, and of course, the great George Duvivier (one of my all-time favorite bassists – that guy was amazing) all play beautifully.
• Count Basie Jam Session at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1975 – now, this is the beginning of something interesting.  It’s among the first (if not the first) recording Basie made with a small group for the Pablo label.  Basie Jam and Basie Jam #2 follow, and all three are fantastic.  The Montreux recording has a bit more fire than the studio recordings, but they all have something fantastic.  Montreux features Roy Eldridge, Milt Jackson, Johnny Griffin, Niels Pedersen, and Louis Bellson playing the blues and a rhythm changes.  It’s fantastic to hear different dialects at the same time, and this recording does a great job of documenting the differences between the 1930s Kansas City style, late 1930s/early 1940s swing era style, and bebop.  You could add “European” to that, I suppose…
• Basie Jam and Basie Jam #2 are studio recordings featuring two slightly different casts.  Both recordings spend a lot of time on the blues, and on Basie Jam #2 (in particular), the blues compositions tend to be riff-style (which means one melody is repeated throughout the form with only very small alterations made to fit the chords).  One might feel as if this approach to compositions for a studio date could lessen the experience somehow.  But the solos are fantastic and the groups play together as if they have known one another forever (which is sometimes true).  Basie Jam stars Louie Bellson, Ray Brown (!), Irving Ashby, J.J. Johnson, Harry Edison, Eddie Davis, and Zoot Sims.  Basie Jam #2 keeps Davis and Bellson, replacing the rest of the line up with Benny Carter (who is absolutely amazing on this record), Clark Terry (see Benny Carter comments), Al Grey, Joe Pass (again, unbelievable), and John Heard.

Enjoy, R.