Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Paul Quinichette: Basie Reunion

224

Paul Quinichette: Basie Reunion

By

View read count
Paul Quinichette: Basie Reunion
The Count Basie Band in all its multiplicity of incarnations was, and still is, a jazz institution. From its Kansas City beginnings to its various resurgences after the Count’s passing into the great jazz hereafter it’s held a stature rivaling that of the Ellington dynasty. Back in 58’ when this session was waxed Basie was still among the living and it was a common occurrence for his sidemen old and new to stage reunion’s honoring their bandleader. The second of two Prestige dates under the erstwhile leadership of first tenor chair Quinichette (the first being the equally excellent For Basie) the emphasis is firmly set on revisiting chestnuts from earlier Basie songbooks. Brimming with talent from bands past and present the one-shot aggregation places a premium on expansive individual solos and relaxed first-rate swing.

The Clayton-penned “Blues Jumped Out” works as a tonic to get the group in gear and benefits from a brief, but expressive statement from the under recorded Washington. Clayton follows up with a mellow turn before an amicable close. Conversely, “John’s Idea” is a smoker from start to finish as the rhythm section lights a blazing fire under the horns goading them to a fever pitch of expressive heights. Clayton is particularly flamboyant dancing a fleet-valved foxtrot atop the unison vamping of his partners. Not to be upstaged Washington blows in with a burner of his own before Quinichette’s rousing rundown of the melody takes things out. “Baby Don’t Tell On Me” is the flipside, cooling things off to a slow boil over the tasteful comping of Pierce and the swaying harmonies of the horns. Collins is the star here on the solo front turning a no frills slice of blues that again incites Washington to answer from deep within the viscera of his sax. This disc a winner on a variety of fronts: as an opportunity to hear Basie alum paying inspired homage to their employer, and as a rare opportunity to hear Washington cut loose in the company of his peers. Recommended wholeheartedly to any and all hepcats still practicing or reformed.

Personnel

Paul Quinichette
saxophone, tenor

Album information

Title: Basie Reunion | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: Soul Note

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.