BASIE & THE KANSAS CITY 8 - GET TOGETHER

1. Ode To Pres
2. Basie's Bag
3. Swinging On The Cusp
4. Like It Used To Be
5. My Main Men
6. Pretty Time
       I Can't Get Started (Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - soloist)
       What Will I Tell My Heart (Clark Terry - soloist)
       Talk Of The Town (Budd Johnson - soloist)
       I Can't Give You Anything But Love (Count Basie - soloist)
       I'm Confessin' That I Love You (Harry "Sweets" Edison - soloist)

Count Basie - piano
Clark Terry - trumpet, flugelhorn
Harry "Sweets" Edison - trumpet
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - tenor sax
Budd Johnson - tenor & baritone sax
Freddie Green - guitar
John Clayton - bass
Gus Johnson - drums

Produced by Norman Granz
Recorded at Las Vagas Recording Studios, September 4, 1979

1986 Pablo/Fantasy

I don't normally type liner notes in, but Norman Granz seemed passionate (and brief) about these, so here they are. - HH

PRODUCER'S NOTES:

   Unlike the various Kansas City groups that have already been released, this is the only one where all of the musicians were at one time or another part of Basie's small or large bands. Clark Terry, for instance, distinguished himself within Basie's small group whaen Basie was forced, for economic reasons, to break up the big band, and all the others were with various editions of the big bands.

   It also represents the widest spectrum of ages, with Freddie Green, virtually a charter member of the Basie musical family, followed by Sweets Edison, and leading up to "Youngblood" (as Basie called him) John Clayton on bass, who at the time of this date was within the then current big band.

   I would like to make special mention of Budd Johnson who plays tenor and baritone sax on the album. There are of course in jazz the giants known by musicians and public alike; for example, Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. On the other hand the musicians know who among them is really good and tough. I recall in the early forties Teddy Bunn, the guitarist with the Spirits of Rhythm, telling me how great Don Byas was. "No one," he said, "wants to tangle with him. He's a bad cat!" And it was true about Byas. Another bad cat was Budd Johnson; you didn't mess with him. I remember recording him with Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, and Ben Webster. On one number Hawk kicked it off, followed by Budd, and when Budd finished there was nothing left for Ben. It's a pity the general public never knew of his greatness. When I told Basie my idea to fly Budd in for the date he broke into a delighted grin and said, "He's going to make the other cats work".

   But no matter what the year of association with Basie, the minute Basie kicked off the tempo and started playing everyone sounded the same youthful, sparkling age, and Basie Time was there swinging as usual.