Homage to Count Basie

Grammy Award Winner for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

Famed Jazz star Bob Mintzer brings his tribute of the music of Count Basie to DMP with Homage to Count Basie.  This is a Live to 2 Channel and 4 Channel DSD recording by Tom Jung assisted by Mark Conese. NativeDSD is excited to bring this Grammy Award-winning Big Band album to our listeners in Stereo and Multichannel DSD – including new DSD 128, DSD 256, and DSD 512 editions created by Tom Caulfield at the NativeDSD Mastering Lab using Signalyst’s HQ Player Pro 4 mastering tools.

The Bob Mintzer Big Band delivers brilliant interpretations of classic Count Basie tunes delivered by the best musicians in New York (maybe the world). All compositions on Homage To Count Basie are arranged by Mintzer. All of the solos were performed live with the band and in most cases using the first take, no “overdubs”, “punch-ins” or “fixes”. This is real music in real-time.

Familiar tunes on Homage to Count Basie include April in Paris, One O’clock Jump, Shinny Stockings, Lil’ Darlin, and Cute. They sound much like the wonderful original arrangements, though definitely “Minzter-ized”. There are also three new Bob Mintzer compositions, two of which are clearly in the Basie tradition, Havin’ Some Fun and Lester Jumps Out. The third original, Home Basie has Basie sensibility juxtaposed with an R&B groove.

From the Artist

When one thinks of Count Basie, his orchestra, and the music his organization left us, several words come to mind. Positive, uplifting, swinging, fun, spontaneous, and joyous are but a few. His legacy has influenced not only big band music but also all of Jazz by way of the stellar musicians he kept and the great stable of arrangers who wrote for the band.

People like Lester Young, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Frank Foster, Thad Jones, Sammy Nestico, Ernie Wilkins, and Neal Hefti have had such a huge influence on my musicianship. I offer this homage to Count Basie, his music, and all the great artists who were spun off from his band.

There are 5 tunes commonly associated with the Basie band on the disc. In arranging these 5 songs I went and listened to as many recorded versions as I could find, and then picked up my pencil. I stuck fairly close to what I had heard in writing the arrangements, trying only to make room for the wonderful players in the band, and to perhaps slightly “Mintzerize” the songs.

The remaining 3 songs are original compositions. Two of them are clearly in the Basie tradition (Havin’ Some Fun and Lester Jumps Out). The third song is an idea that resulted from superimposing the Basie sensibility on an R and B groove: what might have happened if Sly Stone and the Count teamed up. I think this is one of the most fun recording experiences I have ever encountered, in great part due to the material, but also because of the great musicians in the band and the comfortability factor from having worked with Tom Jung for the last 16 years. I hope you feel some of the positive and uplifting energy we felt when you listen to the music. Have some fun!

— Bob Mintzer