Count Basie: The Atomic Mr. Basie (orange vinyl, bonus track) [WAXTIME IN COLOR]

Why you'll love it

This 180g orange pressing adds "The Late Late Show" from the same sessions and was cut with Direct Metal Mastering. The album won two awards at the very first Grammys and sits in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

This edition

• Orange vinyl
• 180g vinyl
• Bonus track
• Direct Metal Mastering
• Pressed in the EU

About the album

The cover shows a mushroom cloud, which is a fair warning of how hard this band swings. In October 1957, Count Basie took his New Testament orchestra into a New York studio with a book of brand-new arrangements by Neal Hefti, and in two days they made the record that relaunched Basie for a new generation.

Hefti wrote everything on the original LP, and he wrote it to fit the band like a tailored suit. "The Kid from the Red Bank" spotlights Basie's sparse, perfectly placed piano, "Splanky" and "Flight of the Foo Birds" crackle with brass, "Whirly-Bird" is pure fireworks, and "Li'l Darlin'" slows the whole orchestra to a gorgeous, unhurried glide. Teddy Reig produced it as Basie's first album for Roulette.

AllMusic's Bruce Eder called it a bold, forward-looking statement that surprised Basie's core audience. Six months later Basie, Hefti and Reig went back in for more, which is generally what people do after a record like this.

Also at Kops: more Count Basie on vinyl · browse Classic Jazz

Tracklist

Listen

On WaxTime In Color (cat# 950671), a reissue of the 1958 album.