Count Basie - One O’Clock Jump

[EllroyJames]

The great Wardell Gray on tenor saxophone

 

[EllroyJames]

The whole band is awesome!!!

 

[elihu]

The whole band is awesome!!!

Swinging!

And one of the comments says Wardell Gray was killed by the Mob in Las Vegas at the age of 34.

Sounds like a movie doesn't it?

And as I watch Freddie Green playing that big Gretsch Eldorado I keep expecting to see splinters flying!

 

[EllroyJames]

Wardell playing R&B with Little Willie Littlefield.

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

The CBB still rules!

 

[brookdalebill]

Yeah!

 

[brookdalebill]

Asleep At The Wheel’s version is great, too, BTW.

 

[billy logan]

sad story ... Wardell_Gray <--- wiki

The guitar is more hear-able in this one, ime




Another Count Basie version with more fellows contributing!

 

[EllroyJames]

Wardell Gray & Charlie Parker

 

[greenhornet]

My intro to Wardell was the Proper Box Set which I practically wore out listening to. One of the greatest, most underrated jazz players ever. Thanks for posting these. This is what I listen to, besides classical music (jazz is American classical music!): Monk, Bird, Miles, Stan Getz, Duke... Just sheer joy!

 

[maxvintage]

Everybody talks about New Orleans but jazz is really born in KC and the South west. The Basie band swung like a mutha at every phase. Charlie Christian came out of the southwest. Bird. Lester Young. Wardell. There was something really cool that came out of the Southwest, and if you want to mix genres you'd have to place Western Swing in the same region

 

[Harry Styron]

Everybody talks about New Orleans but jazz is really born in KC and the South west. The Basie band swung like a mutha at every phase. Charlie Christian came out of the southwest. Bird. Lester Young. Wardell. There was something really cool that came out of the Southwest, and if you want to mix genres you'd have to place Western Swing in the same region

Eldon Shamblin and Charlie Christian came up in Oklahoma City at the same time.

 

[kctelegas]

Count Basie was one of my dad's favorites.
He would hear this one and just say "smooth."
Man, that bari sax....

 

[elihu]

Eldon Shamblin and Charlie Christian came up in Oklahoma City at the same time.

Barney Kessel was born in Muskogee.

 

[Harry Styron]

Barney Kessel was born in Muskogee.

The list of jazz musicians who were natives of Oklahoma or who played there is long. Oklahoma natives include Chet Baker, Jay McShann, Lowell Fulson, Jimmy Rushing, Don Cherry, and singer Lee Wiley. Check out this article about the Oklahoma City Blue Devils, which included Basie, Jimmy Rushing and Fletcher Henderson, which became the core of the Basie band in Kansas City. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Blue_Devils

 

[EllroyJames]

One more Wardell.. ”It’s the Talk of the Town”. Beautiful!