Great Jazz Albums (IMO) #31

Count Basie.   The Complete Atomic Basie (1994; recorded in 1957).  For some reason I feel compelled to listen to Big Bands on Sunday mornings.  And for me that usually means Count Basie.  My image of Basie was originally formed by his many appearances on TV variety shows when I was growing up in the 1960s.  It was only when I learned a little about music and started listening to his records that I discovered he was a lot more than a cute old guy in a cap, sitting at the piano and plunking a few well-timed notes.  Basie led a big band for almost 50 years, beginning in the mid-1930s.  His bands were characterized by a strong rhythm section and great brass players along with Basie's familiar "simple and sparse" piano style.  In 1994, an expanded version of the 1957 recording The Atomic Mr. Basie was released, with an additional five previously unreleased tracks.  This album has been described as a "swinging gem" and "one of Basie's finest."  I agree.

[Related posts:  Great Jazz Albums  #1 (Hank Mobley), #2 (Horace Silver), #3 (Sonny Rollins), #4 (Sonny Clark), #5 (Dexter Gordon), #6 (Cannonball Adderley), #7 (Bill Evans), #8 (McCoy Tyner), #9 (Clifford Brown), #10 (Sinatra), #11 (Monk), #12 (Kenny Dorham), #13 (Coltrane), #14 (Duke Ellington), #15 (Miles Davis), #16 (Wayne Shorter), #17 (Dinah Washington); #18 (Sarah Vaughan); #19 (Stan Getz); #20 (Blue Mitchell); #21 (Gene Ammons); #22 (Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers); #23 (Red Garland); #24 (Ella Fitzgerald); #25 (Charlie Parker); #26 (Art Pepper); #27 (Bud Powell); #28 (John Hicks); #29 (Kenny Barron); #30 (Coleman Hawkins)]