[BonzoHansen]

Doing something different tonight, poking through Wolfgang's Vault came across this. Big band jazz/swing at its finest. The musician ship is insanely good.

http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/concer...port-jazz.html

One of the most important figures to come out of the Swing Era, Count Basie presided with regal authority for 50 years over a dynamic big band that defined the art of group swing. Their appearance at the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival, coming two years after an acclaimed live album (1957's Count Basie at Newport on Verve), was a typically swinging affair marked by a steamrolling momentum and highly polished execution by the brassy juggernaut. A string of potent solo voices in saxophonists Frank Wess, Frank Foster and Marshall Royal, trumpeters Joe Newman, Snooky Young and Thad Jones, trombonists Al Grey and Benny Powell added improvisational punch to the proceedings while longstanding Basie drummer Sonny Payne fueled the well-oiled aggregation with his inimitable flash and swing factor alongside bassist Eddie Jones and reliable rhythm guitarist Freddie Green, a fixture in the Basie organization from its inception in 1937 to the bandleader's death in 1987. Their exhilarating set on July 2nd at Newport was enhanced by the bluesy vocals of Joe Williams, a Basie regular from 1954-1961, and special guests Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, whose ground-breaking vocalese approach on familiar Basie fare elevated the energy level a notch or two ...

http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/count-...y-02-1959.html