Tenor-saxophonist
Paul Quinichette, who had played with the
Count Basie Orchestra in the early 1950's, was a virtual soundalike of
Lester Young in the 1950's. On the first of two Prestige sets that pay tribute to
Basie,
Quinichette is teamed up with four fellow
Basie alumni (trumpeter
Shad Collins, guitarist
Freddie Green, bassist
Walter Page and drummer
Jo Jones) plus pianist
Nat Pierce who comes as close as anyone to sounding like
Count. On what would be probably
Page's last date (the bassist passed away two months later), the sextet jams on five
Basie-associated tunes from the 1930's and 40's, none of which are exactly overplayed: "Rock-A-Bye Basie," "Texas Shuffle," "Out The Window," "Jive At Five" and "Diggin' For Dex." Each of the songs serves as a strong vehicle for swing-oriented solos and the musicians (including
Collins who rarely recorded this late in his career) sound quite inspired. Recommended.