The Count Basie Orchestra Marches On…39 years After Basie’s Death
The concept of the jazz “ghost band” refers to orchestras who continue to play long after the leader dies. Twelve years after Glenn Miller went missing during World War II, his orchestra revved back up. Duke Ellington died in 1974 but his band continued for another 20 years with his son Mercer at the helm. Charles Mingus, Cab Calloway, Tommy Dorsey, Gene Krupa, Guy Lombardo, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman, Sun Ra and Xavier Cugat all had bands that continued for years after their leader died.
Count Basie of Red Bank, who got his start in the 1920s playing small clubs in Newark and Asbury Park, led one of the most ferocious bands of all time, swinging to the max. He formed the band in 1935 and it still goes strong today, despite Basie dying in 1984. Their new album, Basie Rocks, with singer Deborah Silver, is a mixed affair, star-studded and produced by Rolling Stones drummer (since 2021) Steve Jordan, but not altogether successful. The problem lies with Silver, a fine singer, but not exactly suited to rock’n’roll.
She tries her best on “Paint It Black,” “Benny & The Jets,” “Band On The Run,” “A Hard Day’s Night” and more. Unfortunately, despite the presence of legendary Cuban Trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, Peter Frampton (on his own “Baby I Love Your Way”) and Trombone Shorty, half the time it comes off like that old Saturday Night Live skit with Bill Murray as the bad nightclub singer. “Joy To The World,” “Fly Like An Eagle, “Every Breath You Take and “Old Time Rock & Roll” all suffer. The saving grace is the 1981 Soft Cell synth-pop hit “Tainted Love,” (a cover of a 1964 soul hit by Gloria Jones). Still, as a curio, it’s rather fascinating.
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