If you don't like Ray, you better stop reading.

So in my final post of library albums, I have one a little less jazzy and a little more blues/soul/pop-rocky. Today I am featuring "Ray Sings, Basie Swings" an album I originally thought was a performance of Ray Charles and Count Basie's Orchestra. But alas, I had been duped!

The album is actually a number of unreleased vocal performances from Charles, which the producers asked the contemporary Count Basie Orchestra to play on. For those of you who don't know what that is; Basie died in 1984 and a few of his long-time band members continued the Orchestra touring under the name they had been using for decades. The biggest change in the band is their shift from pieces granting ample space for soloists (they used to have Lester Young, one of the grandfathers of great sax jazz), but now tend to focus on whole arrangements as a band.

The CD is actually great. While I was a little disappointed to hear that this wasn't an actual collaboration between Charles and Basie, I enjoyed the album no less. It is a great early summer morning listen. Put it on, have some breakfast, hit the market. This album puts a spring in my step every time. So I suggest you check it out. Then check out more by Basie and Charles, they both have legacies that scream for attention, and you should pay them their due respect.

Here is a song from the album, conveniently on youtube!



And here is the album! (Ray Sings, Basie Swings)

Lastly, I would just like to tell you that on the album cover it is printed:

"Ray Charles + Count Basie=Genius²."

Could someone verify this identity for me?? Maybe I need mathematica or something.