Restored Retro TV Classics - NBC COLOR (1959) Count Basie Kraft Music Hall w/ Joe Williams [STEREO]

Enjoy an early NBC color videotaped recording of the March 18, 1959 episode of Milton Berle's Kraft Music Hall edited down to feature their guests Count Basie and vocalist Joe Williams.

After their introduction by Milton Berle (who now hosted this program after the Texaco Star Theater fizzled out), Count Basie and his Atomic Band perform their hot opener, "Blee Blop Blues", which they were then known to perform at their appearances at the Crescendo nightclub. Next, you get a quick edit to Milton introducing Joe Williams, to sing "Baby Won't You Please Come Home".

The original audio was poor, as the opening music track shows (buzz and all) however, it WAS videotape. With a massive amount of EQ, stereo tools and using multitrack techniques, there is shiny copper under that green patina - and the Count Basie restored audio shows it.

Hear the live broadcast in a sound quality that sounds like it was recorded yesterday. 50 years yesterday!

Count Basie - piano; Billy Mitchell - tenor sax; Charlie Fowlkes - baritone sax; Marshall Royal - alto sax; Frank Wess - tenor sax; Frank Foster - tenor sax; Joe Newman - trumpet; Thad Jones - trumpet; Wendell Culley - trumpet; Snooky Young - trumpet; Al Grey - trombone; Benny Powell - trombone; Henry Coker - trombone; Freddie Green - guitar; Ed Jones - bass; Sonny Payne - drums; Joe Williams - vocals.

Oh, and yes, I know the "Laramie" peacock came out in 1962 - but it's one of the nicer birds I've seen - however, the NBC snake would be right in style for '59...

One of the most important figures to come out of the Swing Era, Count Basie presided with regal authority for 50 years over a dynamic big band that defined the art of group swing.

This 1950s edition of the Count Basie Orchestra, featuring fresh arrangements by Neal Hefti, Frank Foster, Thad Jones and Frank Wess, is sometimes known as the "new testament" band to distinguish this more modern, streamlined version of the Basie band from its "old testament" predecessors from the '30s and '40s.

This newer aggregation came into its own with the release of 1957's Atomic Basie (on Morris Levy's Roulette Records label), marking a new phase in Basie's career. And by 1959, the group was running smoothly on all cylinders.

A native of Red Bank, New Jersey, William "Count" Basie was born on August 21, 1904. His first piano teacher was his mother Lillian Basie. As a teenager, Basie played piano for silent films shown at the local Red Bank cinema. By 1924, he was hanging out in Harlem, where he met and befriended Harlem stride piano masters like Fats Waller, Willie "The Lion" Smith and James P. Johnson, all of whom introduced Basie to other top musicians while sharing piano tips with the young player. He later got his first road experience accompanying performers on the vaudeville circuit and in 1927 found himself stuck in Kansas City when the troupe he was traveling with disbanded. The 23-year-old pianist remained in that Midwestern town, picking up some freelance work before eventually hooking up in 1928 with Walter Page's Blue Devils. Bassist Page would later become part of Basie's All-American rhythm section (alongside drummer Jo Jones and guitarist Freddie Green). The singer in Page's Blue Devils band, Jimmy Rushing, would later become a star with the '30s edition of the Count Basie Orchestra. In 1935, after a stint in Bennie Moten's territory band, Basie formed his own nine-piece band (originally called the Barons of Rhythm) with former Moten bandmates Page on bass, Green on guitar, Jones on drums, Lester Young on tenor sax and Rushing on vocals. They were discovered by talent scout and record producer John Hammond, who was able to secure high-profile gigs for the band at the Grand Terrace in Chicago and the Roseland Ballroom in New York. This led to a recording contract with Decca Records in 1937. Their recording of "One O'Clock Jump" later that year was the band's first chart-topper and ultimately became the Count Basie Orchestra theme song for the next half century.
Basie spent the early '40s touring extensively with his orchestra. During the World War II years, they appeared in five films, including Reveille with Beverly, Stage Door Canteen, and Crazy House while also scoring hits with "I Didn't Know About You," "Red Bank Blues," "Rusty Dusty Blues" and "Blue Skies." In 1954, Basie went overseas for the first time to play in Scandinavia. Another Basie band staple, "April in Paris," was released the following year on an album of the same title for the Verve label. Vocalist Joe Williams was introduced to Basie fans on 1955's Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings, which included the hit single, "Every Day (I Have the Blues)." Williams remained a key component of the Count Basie Orchestra until 1960.