DJ Chrisbe's Song of the Week #221: Sleepwalker's Serenade

After the slow tune from last week I thought I'd stay in that tempo zone and feature another song. This time, though, on the other side of the timeline: it's from the late fifties.

And it's from an album that belongs into every serious swing music collection!

Sleepwalker's Serenade

Sleepwalker's Serenade didn't appear on the original release from 1958. It was added to the remastered release from 1994.

Personnel:

Wendell Culley — trumpet
Snooky Young — trumpet
Thad Jones — trumpet
Joe Newman — trumpet
Henry Coker — trombone
Al Grey — trombone
Benny Powell — trombone
Marshall Royal — reeds
Frank Wess — reeds
Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis — reeds
Frank Foster — reeds
Charles Fowlkes — reeds
Count Basie — piano
Eddie Jones — bass
Freddie Green — guitar
Sonny Payne — drums
Jimmy Mundy — arrangement

I really like that song and I often use it in Lindy beginners classes, it works perfectly.

About The Album

The Atomic Mr. Basie (originally called Basie, also known as E=MC2 and reissued in 1994 as The Complete Atomic Mr Basie) is a 1958 album by Count Basie and his orchestra.

The album is one of Basie's most famous and is critically acclaimed. Allmusic gave it 5 stars, reviewer Bruce Eder saying “it took Basie's core audience and a lot of other people by surprise, as a bold, forward-looking statement within the context of a big-band recording.”

It is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Will Fulford-Jones calling it “Basie's last great record.”

According to acclaimedmusic.net it is the 26th most critically acclaimed of the '50s, the 695th most acclaimed of all time and Basie's most acclaimed album overall.

Source: Wikipedia

Title: Sleepwalker's Serenade
Artist: Count Basie Orchestra
Recorded: October 1957
Tempo: 112 bpm
Dance: Lindy Hop