One o'clock jump

When Count Basie first begins on the piano all by himself, it is somewhat reminiscent of some of the ragtime piano playing of Scott Joplin.  When the rest of the band starts to kick in, however, it clearly becomes swing era.  This is especially true once the call and response between the reeds and the brass gets going.

I really liked the comment in the listening guide that the band sounded so relaxed that "one has the feeling that the band could probably go on all night, as long as there were still soloists waiting in line to play".   As I have stated in previous posts, one of the characteristics of superb players is that they take things that are difficult to do and make the look like they are incredibly easy!