Videos: Count Basie in 1971

In 1971, Count Basie toured Europe twice, once with just the band and again with the band plus Ella Fitzgerald and the Tommy Flanagan Trio. Yesterday, I came across four clips from these tours, courtesy of Reelin' in the Years Archive.

Here's alto saxophonist Curtis Peagler blowing on Neal Hefti's Cherry Point in 1971, with some especially crafty piano by Basie...



Here's alto saxophonist Bobby Plater soloing on his arrangement of Meditation...



Here's baritone saxophonist Cecil Payne soloing on Meeting...



And here's Ella Fitzgerald with the band in 1971 singing (They Long to Be) Close to You, which came out in August 1970 and had already become a global hit for the Carpenters. Ella's trio was in place with the band—Tommy Flanagan on piano, Frank DeLaRosa on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums...



Bonus: Here's one of the only meetings by two of the greatest voices of the second half of the 20th century—Ella Fitzgerald and Karen Carpenter. One can only imagine what the two of them said to each other after. A terrible shame they didn't record an album together...