The Atomic Mr. Basie (originally calledBasie, also known asE=MC2 and reissued in 1994 asThe Complete Atomic Basie) is a 1958 album byCount Basie, featuring the song arrangements ofNeal Hefti and theCount Basie Orchestra.Allmusic gave it 5 stars, reviewer Bruce Eder saying: "it took Basie's core audience and a lot of other people by surprise, as a bold, forward-looking statement within the context of a big-band recording."[2] It is included in the book1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Will Fulford-Jones calling it "Basie's last great record."[1] It was voted number 411 in the third edition ofColin Larkin'sAll Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[3]
| The Atomic Mr. Basie | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 1958 (1958) | |||
| Recorded | October 21–22, 1957 | |||
| Studio | Capitol[i] (New York) | |||
| Genre | Swing,big band | |||
| Length | 39:30[1] 56:34 (1994 Reissue) | |||
| Label | Roulette | |||
| Producer | Teddy Reig | |||
| Count Basieand his orchestra chronology | ||||
| ||||
Recording
editThe tracks were recorded October 21–22, 1957. The tracks on the original release were all composed and arranged by Hefti. Part of the second day was used for recording tracks byJimmy Mundy - "Silks and Satins" and "Sleepwalker's Serenade". It also featured recordings of "The Late, Late Show", which had been a hit forDakota Staton that year, also likely arranged by Mundy. These additional tracks were released in 1994 onThe Complete Atomic Basie.[4]
Release
editThis was the first Basie album released byRoulette Records.[4]
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [2] |
| Disc | [5] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [6] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz | [7] |
The album wonBest Jazz Performance, Group andBest Performance by a Dance Band awards at the1st Annual Grammy Awards.[8]
The success of the album led to Basie, Hefti and producerTeddy Reig collaborating together again six months later to recordBasie Plays Hefti.[4]
Track listing
editAll tracks composed and arranged byNeal Hefti, except where indicated.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Kid fromRed Bank" | 2:38 |
| 2. | "Duet" | 4:10 |
| 3. | "After Supper" | 3:22 |
| 4. | "Flight of the Foo Birds" | 3:21 |
| 5. | "Double-O" | 2:45 |
| 6. | "Teddy the Toad" | 3:40 |
| 7. | "Whirlybird" | 3:46 |
| 8. | "Midnite Blue" | 4:25 |
| 9. | "Splanky" | 3:35 |
| 10. | "Fantail" | 2:50 |
| 11. | "Li'l Darlin'" | 4:47 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Silks and Satins" (Jimmy Mundy) | 4:05 |
| 13. | "Sleepwalker's Serenade (Alternative Take)" (Mundy, Hefti) | 3:37 |
| 14. | "Sleepwalker's Serenade" (Mundy, Hefti) | 3:39 |
| 15. | "The Late, Late Show" (Roy Alfred, Murray Berlin) | 2:52 |
| 16. | "The Late, Late Show (Vocal Version)" (Alfred, Berlin) | 3:02 |
Personnel
edit- Wendell Culley —trumpet
- Snooky Young — trumpet
- Thad Jones — trumpet
- Joe Newman — trumpet
- Henry Coker —trombone
- Al Grey — trombone
- Benny Powell — trombone
- Marshal Royal —reeds
- Frank Wess — reeds
- Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis — reeds
- Frank Foster — reeds
- Charles Fowlkes — reeds
- Count Basie —piano
- Eddie Jones —bass
- Freddie Green —guitar
- Sonny Payne —drums
- Joe Williams —vocals (track 16)
- Neal Hefti — arrangements (tracks 1–11)
- Jimmy Mundy — arrangements (tracks 12–14)
Notes and references
editNotes
edit- ^Basie's session for theAtomic album was at Capitol Studios Studio A (Capitol Records, Inc.), located in theTheater District,Midtown Manhattan, on the first floor (one floor up) in the Eaves Building at 151 West 46th Street. The Eaves Costume Company occupied the ground floor.(The Sound Studies Reader, Jonathan Sterne, ed.,Routledge, 2012, pps. 310–311;OCLC 916524063)
References
edit- ^abRobert Dimery; Michael Lydon (2008).1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Octopus Books, London. p. 31.ISBN 978-1-8440-3624-0.
- ^abEder, Bruce.The Atomic Mr. Basie atAllMusic
- ^Colin Larkin, ed. (2006).All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.).Virgin Books. p. 153.ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
- ^abcCuscuna, Michael (1994).The Complete Atomic Basie liner notes.
- ^Hall, Tony (7 June 1958). "Best Basie".Disc. No. 18. p. 14.
- ^Larkin, Colin (2007).The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.).Omnibus Press.ISBN 978-0857125958.
- ^Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2006).The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. pp. 91–92.
- ^"1958 Grammy Winners". Grammy.com. RetrievedNovember 15, 2015.
- ^"Count Basie – The Atomic Mr. Basie (Vinyl, LP) at Discogs". Retrieved30 June 2012.
- ^"Count Basie – Count Basie – The Complete Atomic Basie (CD, Album, Mono) at Discogs". Retrieved30 June 2012.