The Atomic Mr. Basie

The Atomic Mr. Basie
Studio album by Count Basie and his orchestra
Released	1958
Recorded	21–22 October 1957, at Capitol Studios, New York City.
Genre	Swing, Big band
Length	39:30[1] 56:34 (1994 Reissue)
Label	Roulette
Producer	Teddy Reig
Count Basie and his orchestra chronology
Count Basie at Newport (1957) The Atomic Mr. Basie (1958) Count Basie Presents Eddie Davis Trio + Joe Newman (1957)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	[3]

The Atomic Mr. Basie (originally called Basie, also known as E=MC² and reissued in 1994 as The Complete Atomic Basie) is a 1958 album by Count Basie and his orchestra. The album is one of Basie's most famous and is critically acclaimed. Allmusic gave it 5 stars, reviewer Bruce Eder saying "it took Basie's core audience and a lot of other people by surprise, as a bold, forward-looking statement within the context of a big-band recording."^[2] It is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Will Fulford-Jones calling it "Basie's last great record."^[1] According to the 2015 site update of Acclaimed Music, it is the 6th most critically acclaimed album of 1958, the 25th most acclaimed of the 1950s, and the 837th most acclaimed of all time, based on an aggregation of hundreds of critics' lists from around the world.^[4]

Reception

The album won Best Jazz Performance, Group and Best Performance by a Dance Band awards at the 1st Annual Grammy Awards.^[5]

Track listing

All songs composed and arranged by Neal Hefti except where noted.

Original Release (1958)[6]
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Kid from Red Bank" (Basie, Neal Hefti)	2:38
2.	"Duet"	4:10
3.	"After Supper"	3:22
4.	"Flight of the Foo Birds"	3:21
5.	"Double-O"	2:45
6.	"Teddy the Toad"	3:40
7.	"Whirlybird"	3:46
8.	"Midnite Blue"	4:25
9.	"Splanky"	3:35
10.	"Fantail"	2:50
11.	"Lil' Darlin'"	4:47

The Complete Atomic Basie Bonus Tracks (1994)[7]
No.	Title	Length
12.	"Silks and Satins" (Jimmy Mundy)	4:05
13.	"Sleepwalker's Serenade (Alternative Take)"	3:37
14.	"Sleepwalker's Serenade"	3:39
15.	"The Late, Late Show" (Roy Alfred, Murray Berlin)	2:52
16.	"The Late, Late Show (Vocal Version)" (Alfred, Berlin)	3:02

Personnel

• Wendell Culley — trumpet
• Snooky Young — trumpet
• Thad Jones — trumpet
• Joe Newman — trumpet
• Henry Coker — trombone
• Al Grey — trombone
• Benny Powell — trombone
• Marshal Royal — reeds
• Frank Wess — reeds
• Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis — reeds
• Frank Foster — reeds
• Charles Fowlkes — reeds
• Count Basie — piano
• Eddie Jones — bass
• Freddie Green — guitar
• Sonny Payne — drums
• Joe Williams — vocals (track 16)
• Neal Hefti — arrangements (tracks 1–11)
• Jimmy Mundy — arrangements (tracks 12–14)

References

1. Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (2008). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Octopus Books, London. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-8440-3624-0.
2. Eder, Bruce. The Atomic Mr. Basie at AllMusic
3. "Basie/The Atomic Mr. Basie/The Complete Atomic Basie at Acclaimed Music". Retrieved 4 July 2012.
4. "Count Basie at Acclaimed Music". Retrieved 4 July 2012.
5. "1958 Grammy Winners". Grammy.com. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
6. "Count Basie – The Atomic Mr. Basie (Vinyl, LP) at Discogs". Retrieved 30 June 2012.
7. "Count Basie – Count Basie – The Complete Atomic Basie (CD, Album, Mono) at Discogs". Retrieved 30 June 2012.