The Greatest!! Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards

The Greatest!! Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards is an album by vocalist Joe Williams and pianist/bandleader Count Basie and His Orchestra recorded in 1956 and released on the Verve label.[1][2][3][4] It was Williams' second album with Basie following Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings.

The Greatest!! Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards
Studio album by Count Basie and His Orchestra with Joe Williams
Released	1956
Recorded	April 28 and May 1, 1956 Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA
Genre	Vocal jazz, jazz
Length	34:43
Label	Verve MGV 2016
Producer	Norman Granz
Count Basie chronology
April in Paris (1956) The Greatest!! Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards (1956) Metronome All-Stars 1956 (1956)
Joe Williams chronology
Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings (1956) The Greatest!! Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards (1956) A Night at Count Basie's (1957)

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]

AllMusic awarded the album 3 stars.[5]

Track listing

1. "Thou Swell" (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) – 2:19
2. "There Will Never Be Another You" (Mack Gordon, Harry Warren) – 2:48
3. "Love Is Here to Stay" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 3:38
4. "'S Wonderful" (Gershwin, Gershwin) – 2:35
5. "My Baby Just Cares for Me" (Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn) – 2:24
6. "Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)" (Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby) – 3:54
7. "Singin' in the Rain" (Nacio Herb Brown, Arthur Freed) – 2:25
8. "I'm Beginning to See the Light" (Duke Ellington, Don George, Johnny Hodges) – 3:04
9. "A Fine Romance" (Dorothy Fields, Jerome Kern) – 2:28
10. "Come Rain or Come Shine" (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) – 3:58
11. "I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me" (Clarence Gaskill, Jimmy McHugh) – 2:38
12. "This Can't Be Love" (Hart, Rodgers) – 2:32

• Recorded at Capitol Studios in Hollywood, CA, on April 28, 1956 (tracks 2, 3 & 6-9) and May 1, 1956 (tracks 1, 4, 5 & 10-12)

Personnel

• Joe Williams - vocals
• Count Basie - piano
• Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman - trumpet
• Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell - trombone
• Marshall Royal - alto saxophone, clarinet
• Bill Graham - alto saxophone
• Frank Wess - alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, flute, clarinet
• Frank Foster - tenor saxophone, clarinet
• Charlie Fowlkes - baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
• Freddie Green - guitar
• Eddie Jones - bass
• Sonny Payne - drums
• Buddy Bregman - arranger, conductor

References

1. Edwards, D. & Callahan, M. Discography of the Verve, Clef, Down Home and Norgran Labels, accessed November 20, 2015
2. Kitora, R., Basie Discography, accessed November 20, 2015
3. Verve Records Catalog: Popular 2000 series, accessed November 20, 2015
4. Big Band Paradise, accessed November 20, 2015
5. Allmusic listing, accessed November 20, 2015