Deluxe limited edition 5-CD box set, includes 20-page booklet plus 5 bonus tracks.
This superb 5-CD collection compiles all existing live recordings made by the Atomic band at the Crescendo Club, in Hollywood, in the summer of 1958, for the first time ever on a single edition. The sound quality is excellent throughout the set.
Count Basie's career was revived in late 1957 thanks to the success of the Neal Hefti-arranged LP Atomic Basie, which became one of his biggest hits. The orchestra was filled with stars, and Joe Williams' vocals were heard to great effect supported by Hefti's excellent scores and the superb quality of the band.
This long unavailable material includes amazing extended live versions of many of the perennial Hefti arrangements, plus a variety of songs that formed part of the orchestra's repertoire at the time, and Sammy Davis Jr. as a guest star singing with the band on Ray Charles' "Hallelujah, I Love Her So".
As a bonus, the soundtrack from a complete 17-minute TV show featuring the same band shortly before it started the Crescendo engagement. Our comprehensive booklet contains detailed information, as well as a rare Count Basie interview published in Down Beat during the band's stay at the Crescendo.
