| Contents |
Part 1. Count Basie (bandleader and piano) -- Jimmy Rushing (vocalist) -- Lester "Prez" Young (tenor saxophone and clarinet) -- Buck Clayton (trumpet and arranger) -- Jo Jones (drums) -- Eddie Durham (trombone, guitar, and arranger) -- Earle Warren (alto saxophone) -- Dicky Wells (trombone and arranger) -- Harry "Sweets" Edison (trumpet) -- Buddy Tate (tenor saxophone and clarinet) -- Helen Humes (vocalist) -- Snooky Young (trumpet) -- Joe Newman (trumpet) -- Preston Love (alto saxophone) -- Marshall Royal (alto saxophone and clarinet) -- Lockjaw Davis (tenor saxophone) -- Frank Wess (flute, saxophones, and arranger) -- Frank Foster (tenor saxophone and arranger) -- Joe Williams (vocalist) -- Al Grey (trombone) -- Sonny Cohn (trumpet) -- Eric Dixon (tenor saxophone, flute, and arranger) -- Bobby Plater (alto saxophone and arranger) -- Richard Boone (trombone and vocal) -- Nat Pierce (bandleader, piano, and arranger) -- Part 2. Jay McShann (bandleader, piano, and vocal) -- Gene Ramey (bass) -- Gus Johnson, Jr. (drums) -- Paul Quinichette (tenor saxophone) -- Jimmy Witherspoon (vocalist) -- Eddie Barefield (alto and tenor saxophones and clarinet) -- Leo "Snub" Mosley (trombone and slide saxophone) -- Sir Charles Thompson (piano) -- Melvin Moore (vocalist). |
| Abstract |
Past and present members of Basie's band, and members of Jay McShann's group tell of their musical beginnings, their careers, the social and economic conditions under which they played, and their feelings about Basie and each other. The author is one of the most proficient and consistent jazz writers practicing today. In this book he follows the formula he developed in writing about the milieu of Hines, Ellington and others. It consists of numerous tape-recorded and edited interviews with musicians and vocalists associated with Basie and each gets to tell his own story. Many overlap and there are interesting confirmations and disputes over details. |
