Count Basie - Basie's Beatle Bag

The Count and his orchestra tackle the music of The Fab Four, without any hint of condescension or lassitude. Indeed, the 11 songs by John Lennon and Paul Mccartney and one ("Kansas City") by Leiber & Stoller are treated with the same kind of dignity and enthusiasm that the band would give to the likes of Johnny Mercer or Harold Arlen. "Kansas City" is the bluesiest number here, and the one with which the band is obviously the most comfortable -- it's the only number here that could have appeared, as is, on any Basie album of the previous decade. Read More