Perfection: Harry James in the Late '50s/Early '60s

Two big bands that knock me out from the late 1950s and early 1960s are the ones led by Count Basie and Harry James. Both could swing the house sideways, but both knew when enough was enough. Basie, of course, invented the concept of just enough, but James's decade-straddling band is often overlooked for the same quality. James's near-stalker passion for Basie is well known ("Two O'Clock Jump) but less known is that during this period, they shared the same arrangers, including Neal Hefti and Ernie Wilkins. Bill Holman and Jack Haskell were also fundamental to James's updated swing sound.

Both bands packed a lyrical punch built on a riff, and their charts were always tasty. Today, I'm going to prove my point with six Perfection tracks of the James Gang in the stereo era:

Here's Neal Hefti's Bells (April 1958), with Harry James (tp); Nick Buono, Ollie Mitchell and Bob Rolfe (tp); Ray Sims and Bob Edmondson (tb); Ernie Tack (btb); Willie Smith (as); Herb Lorden (cl,as); Sam Firmature (ts); Bob Poland (ts,bar); Ernie Small (bar); Jack Perciful (p); Dennis Budimir (g); Russ Phillips (b) and Jackie Mills (d)...



Here's Ernie Wilkins's Fair and Warmer (1958), with Harry James, Rob Turk, Nick Buono, Bud Billings and Vern Guertin (tp); Ray Sims and Dick “Slyde" Hyde (tb); Dick McQuary (b-tb); Willie Smith and Pat Chartrand (as); Sam Firmature (ts); Modesto Briseno (ts,bar); Ernie Small (bar,fl,tb); Jack Perciful (p); Terry Rosen (g); Russ Phillips (b) and Tony DeNicola (d)...



Here's Bill Holman's Here's One, with the same band...



Here's Jack Haskell's J. Walkin' (1958), with Harry James, Nick Buono, John Audino, Ollie Mitchell and Bob Rolfe (tp); Ray Sims and Bob Edmondson (tb); Ernie Tack (b-tb); Willie Smith and Herb Lorden (as,cl); Sam Firmature and Ernie Small (ts); Bob Poland (bar); Jack Perciful (p); Dave Koonse (g); Marvin Shore (b) and Jackie Mills (d)...



Here's Wilkins's Get Off the Stand (May 1959), with Harry James, Nick Buono, John Audino, Ollie Mitchell and Bob Rolfe (tp); Ray Sims and Bob Edmondson (tb); Ernie Tack (b-tb); Willie Smith and Herb Lorden (as,cl); Sam Firmature and Ernie Small (ts); Bob Poland (bar); Jack Perciful (p); Dave Koonse (g); Marvin Shore (b) and Jackie Mills (d)...



And here's Neal Hefti's The Creeper (May 1961), with Harry James, Rob Turk, Nick Buono, Bud Billings and Vern Guertin (tp); Ray Sims and Dick “Slyde" Hyde (tb); Dick McQuary (b-tb; Willie Smith and Pat Chartrand (as); Sam Firmature (ts); Modesto Briseno (ts,bar); Ernie Small (bar,fl,tb); Jack Perciful (p); Terry Rosen (g); Russ Phillips (b) and Tony DeNicola...