Count Basie Live

[rsm]

Best swing jazz rhythm section ever IMO:

Count Basie - piano; Freddie Green - guitar; Eddie Jones - bass; Sonny Payne - drums.





In the early '90s I had the honor and privilege to work with Eddie Jones (we lived in CT) a few years before his passing. An amazing, humble human being and incredible musician.

 

[Monkey Man]

Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown and Barney Kessel?

 

[rsm]

Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown and Barney Kessel?

I think I'd see them as more jazz players than swing jazz. Swing jazz rhythm sections were part of the big bands such as Basie, Ellington, Calloway, Miller, Goodman, Herman, etc.

There are good players in all of the big bands, but I think few rhythm sections were as solid. IMO. Freddie Green, for example, played with Basie around 50 years and created the standard definition of swing jazz guitar, which is still being analyzed and taught today.

IIRC getting into Basie's rhythm section was one of the toughest auditions because you had to impress Basie and Green.

I asked Eddie why he quit Basie's band (I think he quit in '62 or 63, right around the time of the performance I posted), and he said he was married with a growing family, needed to get off the road, and wanted something more consistent. He got hired by IBM.

When I met him, he had a jazz trio, and would spend summers playing in Europe, mostly Paris France. I never did get that gig, but then again I'm no Freddie Green or Barney Kessel.

Eddie also played on an album called The Jones Boys, with several players with a surname of Jones, including Quincy Jones.

 

[Monkey Man]

Quincy on trumpet?

Yeah, you're right; the trio I pulled out of my head doesn't technically fit the bill.