Joel Roberts
October 2001

Combing the Catalog
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By Joel Roberts

EMI/Capitol, the parent company of Blue Note, digs into the Roulette Jazz vaults for some late '50s and early '60s sides from some of the biggest names in swing and mainstream jazz: Count Basie, Joe Williams and Harry "Sweets" Edison, and Sarah Vaughan. While these newly reissued CDs may not reveal anything new about these stellar artists, at least two of them should make welcome additions to any collection.

Recorded at a live dance concert in Miami in 1959, Breakfast Dance and Barbecue captures one of Count Basie's finest groups, the so-called "Atomic" band, in peak form. From the first notes of Basie's piano on the opener, Thad Jones' "The Decaon," through the signature closer, "One O'Clock Jump," the orchestra delivers the full-throttle brand of blues and swing only it can. Standout soloists include Frank Foster, Frank Wess, Benny Powell, Joe Newman, and Billy Mitchell, and ex-Basie great Harry Edison makes a guest appearance. Joe Williams is also on hand for a tasty selection of blues and ballads. But the real star of these proceedings is the band itself - a unique organism with a beat and a soul all its own. There's nothing quite like it.

Together/Have a Good Time combines two of the three albums made by two of Basie's most distinguished alumni, Joe Williams and Harry Edison, after Williams left Basie in 1961. And the pair are a near perfect fit: Williams, the most debonair and elegant of jazz/blues singers; Edison, the savvy, stylish trumpeter with the immistakably sweet sound. With arrangements on both albums by Ernie Wilkins, yet another old Basie hand, and fine contributions from pros like Jimmy Forrest, Charles Thompson, and Jimmy Jones, the CD offers some top-notch small-group swing. Though the selection of standards is unsurprising and Williams, perhaps with an eye on a wider audience, mostly stays away from down and dirty blues, the results are quite enjoyable.

Sweet 'N' Sassy is a lesser Sarah Vaughan recording from 1963. Not a straight jazz date, it's a more commercial effort featuring overdone, sticky sweet orchestral arrangements from Lalo Schifrin. Sophisticated make-out music, really. But with that rich, luxurious voice, Sarah Vaughan could sing a phone book and make it swing. And there are some fine moments here, like her takes on "More Than You Know" and Duke Ellington's "I Didn't Know about You." The lounge crowd (is there still such a scene?) might get a kick out of this one. Real jazz fans should probably look elsewhere.

Count Basie - Breakfast Dance and Barbecue
Personnel: Count Basie and His Orchestra featuring Joe Williams
Track listing: The Deacon, Cute, In a Mellow Tone, No Moon at All, Cherry Red, Roll 'Em Pete, Cherry Point, Splanky, Counter Block, Li'l Darlin', Who Me? Five O'Clock in the Morning, Every Day Have the Blues, Back to the Apple, Let's Have a Taste, Moten Swing, Hallejuhah I Love Her So, One O'Clock Jump.

Joe Williams and Harry "Sweets" Edison - Together/Have a Good Time
Personnel: Joe Williams, vocals; Harry "Sweets" Edison, trumpet; Jimmy Forrest, tenor sax; "Sir" Charles Thompson, Jimmy Jones, piano; Tommy Pooter, Joe Benjamin, bass; Clarence Johnston, Charlie Perisp, drums.
Track listing: Winter Weather, I Don't Know Whay (I Just Do), There's a Small Hotel, Out of Nowhere,Aren't You Glad You're You, Remember, Together, Deep Purple, Always, Lover Come Back to Me, By the River Sainte Marie, Alone Together, Have a Good Time, Sometimes I'm Happy, Old Folks, Until I met You, I Won't Cry Anymore, S'posin', A Blues Serenade, September in the Rain, Summertime, Moonlight in Vermont, Falling in Love with Love.

Sarah Vaughan - Sweet 'N' Sassy
Personnel: Sarah Vaughan, vocals, with orchestra arranged by Lalo Schifrin.
Track listing: I Didn't Know About You, More Than You Know, Thanks for the Ride, Come Spring, I Wish I Were In Love Again, Lazy Afternoon, Just Married Today, Something I Dreamed Last Night, I Got Rhythm, This Can't Be Love, SLowly, Just You Just Me.