Shorty George from Bounce! by B# Big Band

10) Shorty George - The Basie sound makes a welcome first appearance on this CD. The Count and sidekick Andy Gibson wrote this riff in 1938 to honor a tiny (just over five feet tall) Harlem Lindy Hop dancer named George Snowden. On the original, Buck Clayton, Dickie Well and Lester Young all get solos - a daunting precedent for others to follow. B# dazzles here with an arrangement that is really punchy and powerful, with some great sectional interplay and big ensemble passages. In many ways, this band here is superior to the late ‘30s Basie orchestra, which was known for its serious problems with staying in tune. Its soloists were fabulous, the rhythm unsurpassed, but the section work? Ouch! No such problems for later Basie bands, nor for our B# Big Band either. Soloists in the spotlight are Eugene Ball (Trumpet), Anton Delecca (Tenor Sax), John McAll (Piano) and former Sandgroper, Jordan Murray (Trombone).

Tracklist