Fun Time: Count Basie Big Band at Montreux '75 [Live]

1. Fun Time

2. Why Not?

3. Lil' Darlin'

4. In a Mellow Tone

5. Body and Soul

6. Good Times Blues

7. I Hate You Baby

8. Lonesome Blues

9. Whirley Bird

10. One O'Clock Jump

Editorial Reviews

From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD
Blues, of course, is a great part of the pleasure generated by the Count and his court at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in July 1975. Adequate twelve-bar belter Bill Caffey helps out on two of the previously unissued songs. -- © Frank John Hadley 1993

Fun Time: Count Basie Big Band at Montreux '75,Count Basie,Pablo,Big Band,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop,Swing

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Tracks:

Fun Time
Why Not
Lil' Darlin
In A Mellow Tone
Body And Soul
Good Time Blues
I Hate You Baby
Lonesome Blues
Whirley Bird
One O'Clock Jump

Customer Reviews:

Basie reaching for his peak of perfection.......2007-02-10

From the mid 70's until about 1983 Bill Basie achieved greatness unlike few others. Basie had invested in a priceless library of charts and had sufficient financial success to do prety much that which he wanted. His stable of band members was magnificant with beloved Al Grey, Freddie Green, Jimmy Forest, Eric Dixon and on and on. At the top was the drumming of Butch Miles who's ability to read the mind of Basie was remarkable. (While my admiration for Butch is unmatched, a long drum solo really doesn't fit with a Basie concert.) They were collectively the best, they knew they were the best and they had FUN playing the best together. For the gig Norman Granz had a grand idea. He combined the sound quality of studio recording while inviting in a knowledgeable crowd of fans to react and thus drive the band forward. The Basie band always reacted with brillance to a live audiance and they did here as well. This is what Five Stars really means!

Fasten your seat-belts!.......2004-11-28

Big swing bands have come and gone - some good - some even great - but since the early forties, the one quality all big bands seemed to reach for (though never quite attaining) was the big, rich sound of the Count Basie bands, which were always anchored by a great drummer. Without them, who knows to what level of mediocrity his bands would have slipped. The band that gave us this album is no exception.

While some drummers excel in small rhythm ensemble environments, they seem to disappear when asked to drive a big band. Not Butch Miles. Butch Miles is at his absolute best in a big-band

This album is all about the powerful drumming of Butch Miles. I first became a Butch Miles fan when I saw him at the old Circle Star Theater near San Francisco just after he had joined Basie back in 1975 and I've stayed a fan ever since.

Make no mistake about it. this album is a showcase for Butch Miles. Butch Miles drives this band, at least as far as this album is concerened. His brash but impeccable sense of time is evident throughout and his masterful technique goes on display with an amazing five and a half minute solo on the final track ('Whirly-Bird').

Move over, Joe Jones, Sonny Payne, Louie Bellson and Buddy Rich - and make room for another legend. Before Butch is done, he will have become the new standard by which all future big-band drummers will be judged.

This IS fun!!!.......2003-02-27

If you enjoy hearing a big band live that is having fun with what they're doing, then listen to this one! Al Grey plays some solos that gets everyone going, including Baise responding with "yeah!" more than once. And the vocal "I Hate You Baby" is emotional fun itself, with the Joe Williams baritone sound-alike.

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