Big Band: A Tribute to Basie in Bloomington, MN

Recorded in 1966 and originally released on LP by
Solid State Records
that same year as
Tribute to Count Basie
, this delightful ten-song set has seen the digital light before in 1996 when
Laser Light
released it on CD under its original title. It features organist
Jimmy McGriff
soloing on several
Count Basie
numbers accompanied by a big band that includes several alumni from the
Basie
orchestra. Make no mistake, this is
McGriff
's record, and it sounds exactly like a
soul-jazz
outing with some
big band
swing
grafted in, and that it all works probably has a lot to do with the presence of
Manny Albam
(who wrote for
) as the arranger. Among the highlights in what is a joyously cohesive sequence are versions of
Neal Hefti
's
"Cherry Point,"
which features one of those patented ensemble riffs that
so favored, a jaunty take on
Buck Clayton
"Avenue C,"
and a sturdy run-through of
Albam
's own
"Slow but Sure."
has always maintained that he is a
blues
organist rather than a
jazz
one, and as these ten selections show,
was no stranger to the
, either. At just a hair over 36-minutes in length, this is a bit short for the CD era, but it is a wonderful set all the same, and well-worth owning. ~ Steve Leggett