Anyone who ever heard Count Basie launch his band into a blues with several choruses of effortless piano has lamented that there is far too little of Basie the soloist among his recorded legacy. This shortage was rectified to a certain extent by the trio albums Basie made with Ray Brown and Louis Bellson in the Seventies, of which this is the sequel to the For the First Time set of the previous year.

Once again, Basie’s poetic introductions, precise calibrations of touch and coloration, and definitive swing create a joyous program of four venerable standards and an equal number of new blues. Bellson is empathetic throughout and dances with his brushes on “Sandman,” while Brown’s robust tone and earth-moving walking lines bring out the best in Basie the soloist and accompanist.

Mastered by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab at Blue Heaven Studios from the original analog tape, and pressed at Quality Record Pressings for optimal sound quality, this Analogue Productions 180-gram reissue is a reissue jazz fans and audiophiles alike will treasure. Housed in a single pocket Stoughton Printing tip-on jacket.