Count Basie & Joe Williams - The Greatest! Count Basie Plays Joe Williams Sings Standards
Year: 1957
Label: Verve (1991)
Total time: 35:21
Bitrate: 320 kbps

I first bought the reel-to-reel version of this album in 1963.  It is now 43 years since, and finally, found a copy of it on cd.  Without a doubt, the quintessential combination of Joe Williams' voice and Count Basie's band are beyond comparison.  "Standards" sung and played the way they should have been.  No "gimmicks," etc.  Just plain, honest and musically incomparable renditions of these songs.  It was a sad day for me, when it was announced that, Williams and Basie would no longer appear and record together again.  Even sadder is the loss of both of these "GIANTS" within the Jazz and music world.  I miss both of them beyond comprehension.  This is a MUST recording to include in your musical library.  ~ Tony Page, Amazon. com

How does Joe like singing with the Basie crew behind him? Well, Joe once put it this way to an interviewer: "When I'm finished with a song, I don't feel like taking a solo bow - I just say 'we' instead of 'I' when I talk to the audience. . .  This is a group effort and Basie is the greatest. " And how does the Count feel about his singing star? "My boy, Joe" says Basie, "is the kind of singer that comes along once in a generation.  Joe Williams is the greatest. " ~ from the original liner notes

Personnel:
Count Basie (Piano and Organ) 
Joe Williams (Vocals) 
Frank Wess (Tenor Saxophone and Flute) 
Bill Graham (Alto Saxophone) 
Marshall Royal (Alto Saxophone and Clarinet) 
Frank Foster (Tenor Saxophone) 
Charlie Fowlkes (Baritone Saxophone) 
Thad Jones, Reunald Jones, Wendell Culley, Joe Newman (Trumpet) 
Bill Hughes, Henry Coker, Ben Powell (Trombone) 
Freddie Green (Guitar) 
Eddie Jones (Double Bass) 
Sonny Payne (Drums) 
Buddy Bregman (Arranger) 

Count Basie & Joe Williams Tracks:
01  Thou Swell (Lorenz Hart/Richard Rodgers) 2:22 
02  There Will Never Be Another You (Harry Warren/Mack Gordon) 2:54 
03  Our Love Is Here To Stay (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin) 3:41 
04  'S Wonderful (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin) 2:38 
05  My Baby Just Cares (Walter Donaldson/Gus Kahn) 2:27 
06  Nevertheless (Bert Kalmar/Harry Ruby) 3:57 
07  Singin' In The Rain (Nacio Herb Brown/Arthur Freed) 2:28 
08  I'm Beginning To See The Light (Duke Ellington/Don George/Johnny Hodges/Harry James) 3:08 
09  A Fine Romance (Dorothy Fields/Jerome Kern) 2:31 
10  Come Rain Or Come Shine (Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer) 4:01 
11  I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me (Clarence Gaskill/Jimmy McHugh) 2:41 
12  This Can't Be Love (Lorenz Hart/Richard Rodgers) 2:33