Count Basie - Basie Meets Bond

This campy LP from the 1960s features the Count Basie Orchestra playing ten themes from four early James Bond movies, with arrangements by either Chico O'Farrill or George Williams. While it seems doubtful that Basie added any of this music to his regular band repertoire, his band does its best to do justice to the arrangements. The somewhat monotonous "007" is converted into a dramatic calypso, while "The Golden Horn" is straight-ahead swing and might surprise someone who hadn't seen the film From Russia With Love. But most Basie fans will want to know how the band handled the best-known themes. "Goldfinger" is given a low-key but swinging treatment that has a fine solo by Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, while the foot-patting treatment of "Thunderball" focuses on Marshall Royal's soulful alto sax and a typically sparse Basie solo. - by Ken Dryden, AMG

It is a nice, well-arranged and enjoyable album to listen. I think it is one of the greatest achievements for the early James Bond movie themes in the off-soundtrack category, especially in the jazz section. If you like jazz and are a fan of James Bond movie themes, it is a must album to own and listen. I would like to listen to the jazz version of James Bond movie themes after Thunderball. - by S. Kitama, Amazon.com

Artist: Count Basie Orchestra
Album: Basie Meets Bond
Year: 1965
Label: Capitol Jazz (24bit remastered, 2002)
Runtime: 40:35

Tracks:
1.  007 (John Barry) 3:01
2.  The Golden Horn (John Barry) 3:45
3.  Girl Trouble (John Barry) 3:37
4.  Kingston Calypso (Monty Norman) 2:26
5.  Goldfinger (John Barry/Leslie Bricusse/Anthony Newley) 4:06
6.  Thunderball (John Barry/Don Black) 4:02
7.  From Russia With Love (Lionel Bart) 4:15
8.  Dr. No's Fantasy (Monty Norman) 3:57
9.  Underneath The Mango Tree (Monty Norman) 3:38
10.  The James Bond Theme (Monty Norman) 3:49
11.  Dr. No's Fantasy (first version) (Monty Norman) 3:54

Personnel:
Count Basie (Piano)
Freddie Green (Guitar)
Sonny Payne (Drums)
Norman Keenen (Double Bass)
Charlie Fowlkes (Baritone Saxophone and Bass Clarinet)
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (Tenor Saxophone)
Eric Dixon (Tenor Saxophone and Flute)
Bobby Plater (Alto Saxophone and Flute)
Marshall Royal (Alto Saxophone)
Bill Hughes (Bass Trombone)
Grover Mitchell (Trombone)
Al Grey (Trombone)
Henderson Chambers (Trombone)
Phil Guilbeau (Trumpet)
Wallace Davenport (Trumpet)
Sonny Cohn (Trumpet)
Al Aarons (Trumpet)