1. Broadway
2. Farouk
3. Telegraph
4. Don't Blame Me
5. Marie
6. A Misty One
7. Save Your Love for Me
8. Lock-Up
9. Street Of Dreams
10. Swingin' until the Girls Come Home
11. Jack and Jill
12. Bread
13. Paradise Squad
14. Bootsie
15. Blues for the Count and Oscar
16. Fancy Meeting You
17. Little Pony
18. Whirly Bird
Tracks 1-10
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - Tenor sax
Count Basie - Piano
Shirley Scott - Organ
Joe Newman - Trumpet (tracks 1-3, 5-7, 10)
George Duvivier - Bass
Butch Ballard - Drums
Tracks 11-14, 16-18
Count Basie & his Orchestra featuring Eddie "Lockjaw"
Davis
Track 15
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - Tenor sax
Count Basie - Organ
Paul Quinichette - Tenor sax
Oscar Peterson - Piano
Ray Brown - Bass
Freddie Green - Guitar
Gus Johnson - Drums
The special sound of Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis's saxophone
was one of the distinctive features of Count Basie's band at various
periods. So it is not surprising that the Count repaid the debt by
presenting Davis in a session spotlighting Lockjaw's trademark sound:
big, gruff, and swinging. Eddie's tone was typical of the Texas school
of tenorists, although he was actually born in New York. He could
also sound seductive and tender in ballads like Don't Blame Me.
He is well supported by Count Basie at the piano and another Basieite
- Joe Newman on trumpet.
In the late 1950s, Lockjaw led a trio with organist Shirley Scott,
and I must say her presence is the only thing I dislike about this
album. She produces an oddly squeaky sound on the organ and mainly
plays thick chords rather than single notes, which contrast poorly
with Basie's economical piano playing. Despite this, Davis's tenor
playing is a continuous delight, revealing his feeling for the blues
in up-tempo numbers.
The original LP - recorded in 1957 - occupies the first ten tracks.
The remainder of the CD consists of various tracks recorded in 1952
and 1957 by Lockjaw with Basie's band or - in the case of Blues
for the Count and Oscar - with a septet which has Basie on organ
and Oscar Peterson at the piano. This track also sets Paul Quinichette's
laid-back Lester Young-style tenor alongside Eddie Davis's more forceful
approach.
Some of the Basie orchestra tracks are acceptable but hardly outstanding
swingers. For instance, Jack and Jill has a theme reminiscent
of Rock Around the Clock and Lockjaw's brief solo sounds a
bit subdued. But they save the best till last, with Whirly Bird.
This is not the version from the ground-breaking album The Atomic
Mr Basie (the first album really to capture the full Basie excitement)
but a live recording made in 1957 at L'Olympia in Paris for a radio
broadcast. Basie himself grunts and shouts approval throughout the
track, which is driven by Sonny Payne's explosive drumming and features
a lengthy solo from Davis. The audience (understandably) goes wild.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Fresh Sound FSR-CD 553
