Count Basie Orchestra "Lil Darlin' " (Neil Hefti)

[@Go1US1Marines]

I always loved this tune. I wish I could have seen Count Basie & Co. perform in person. William B. Williams always played this on the old WNEW in NY, "The World's Greatest Radio Station". Contrast this melodic miracle to today's unscorable yelling and electronic "music".

[@Paul47Tat]

That's my dear, late-great friend, Benny Powell, playing the trombone nearest the camera. Benny was one of the finest people I've ever met.

[@joseespinoza6283]

How fortunate you are!

[@PumilateVFX]

how are you still alive?

[@stschannelt1476]

@Pumilate don't be rude

[@PumilateVFX]

@@stschannelt1476 not trying to be sorry

[@wolfkumaran-eriksson8761]

@@PumilateVFX He was 80 or so when he passed in 2010 and you're also assuming that Paul Tatara is the same age.

[@davenelms68]

The Count was so cool, I got to meet him at a nightclub gig in Florida, early 70's.

[@ITSME-sp5up]

Cool

[@sybil-roxanneclemons1333]

William Count Basie called me Little Cat Eyes (my eyes are hazel) and I got a chance to play with him in my 20 's . He told me I was a Jazz Prodigy.

[@c141]

@@sybil-roxanneclemons1333then you were. The man doesn’t lie. I hope you’ve realised your dreams. Toujours l’audace

[@garythomas6443]

Man, could Basie and the Band Swing!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@anthonyfoster6419]

It's so great to see dad... Frank foster. And to hear this song from my childhood.

[@PumilateVFX]

is that actually your dad?

[@postatility9703]

I don't know how many fans,even of the Basie band,no just how huge a contribution your dad made,as a great soloist and especially his amazing additions to the band's library,as composer and arranger.And any musician who recorded with both Monk and Elmo Hope was obviously in a class all his own.

[@j.fhernandez3457]

Where is your dad?

[@r4b32t11]

Count Basie and Neil Hefti go together like Champagne and Caviar. YUM

[@youngpaderewski3668]

Just put me in a time machine and transport me back to that musical moment, back when the band was as smooth as silk.

[@anselmoduartejr7540]

Sim!

[@b.a.samuels]

Bumped into the Count on Michigan Ave in Chicago, sitting on a fire hydrant waiting on his limo...me and my boy were 15-16, he caught my eye because he looked exactly like my grandfather, dressed in the captain's hat, super clean. Tiny man. "Are you Count Basie?" "What you young cats know about Count Basie?" And we impressed him with our jazz knowledge and did his signature ending just to let him know. He laughed hard.

[@charlesbarry971]

One of the greatest jazz orchesttas

[@NiallsSongs]

This is the most sensual jazz composition ever in my humble opinion. I discovered it about four weeks ago and I just can't listen to anything else since.

[@bustabass9025]

Ellinton's "Solitude" from the 30s is hard to beat. The sensuality is also second to none....but, to each his own. Incidentally, that last riff Basie plays at the end is the intro to Solitude! That should tell you something 😆

[@michaelchapman4955]

I recall hearing this Neal Hefti gold nugget as a young boy in the early days of HiFi/Stereo LP's

[@eguirald]

I agree one hundred percent with your opinion! The same thing happened to me, the first time I heard this classic! I put it on a par with Ellington's Satin Doll.

[@williamtaylor4545]

Neil Hefti is the best, my all time favorite composer check out the soundtrack of How to Murder Your Wife . Horrible title, incredible music

[@dwightdinan9075]

Written by Neil Hefti

[@AndyTurenne]

Definitely my all time Basie favorite...and with Neil Hefti it doesn't get better than that.

[@risbandgeekramirez7006]

We played this song in my middle school jazz band and I instantly fell in love

[@claires3432]

RISbandgeek ramirez same

[@chubbyzee3714]

@@claires3432 wowsers me too, we did terrible but the song is beautiful

[@square-on-wheels]

Yay! Hope for the future!

[@murraystewartj]

We had a small school jazz band that, thanks to a great band director and a truly supportive community, punched way above our weight when it came to the annual provincial jazz festival. One year we played this arrangement but our director had us do it way slow - painfully slow. It took weeks of practice to get over the inclination to go faster (as we'd all heard the piece in the usual tempo) but we did it. Came in second, and I think the challenge we met was a good part of that. And if you want a great vocal/scat version, check out The Real Group - they do Lil Darlin' proud.

[@stephencondon3016]

Me too

[@BetsyRanelli]

nothing like the count and his guys when music was really music nothing like it anywhere

[@tsdavis1951]

I had the privilege of knowing Mr. Hefti, we lost him a few years ago. He was great guy, he told me some great stories from Sinatra to Neil Simon and The Odd Couple.

[@Bonkel35]

What did he tell you about sinatra?

[@spencerpetunia8268]

Oooh! What'd he have to say about Simon and working on the Odd Couple film and TV show?

[@kyleolejarczyk4584]

[X] Doubt

[@williamtaylor4545]

You suck. Haters like you are disgusting. Whether it's true or not, you don't know. So if you don't know...keep your mouth shut

[@MrAitraining]

Basie in their glorious prime! Just the best.

[@andrewkelley8099]

I came across this composition in 2017, my sophomore year of high school. I was failing class and got expelled not long after from my school. But only a few months later I met the woman who is now my wife, and things have been on the up and up since. Sometimes good omens really are trustworthy.

[@leonradoux7702]

Bonjour voilà pourquoi je suis fan d une tablette toute cette musique des années passées et le chic des musiciens MERCI Messieurs

[@Snug-the-Joiner]

24 Carat - composition, arrangement and performance. Beautiful . . . . .delicious even !

[@estheringram3244]

when I want peace I listen to this tune.

[@traczone]

Love this song just a simply beautiful melody

[@tnurse61]

Sublime!!! Great melody, Love this amazing music🎹❤ Thank you God, Count Basie and Neil !! 🎼

[@johnnoone2214]

It swings oh so gently.

[@rickjensen2717]

Absolute class - very difficult to make it swing like that and keep it tight at this tempo 👍👏

[@AlexFenske]

Yes, it's harder than it looks

[@steveascolese3050]

So true and it must be played at that tempo. I played in a rehearsal band that always played it too fast. Next time they called it I counted itoff and you could see all the cats heads nodding in appreciation. Score one for the bass player. Swingin'

[@ericmintz6689]

Freddie Green is in the pocket at all times. Great shot of him during the trumpet solo

[@Twentythousandlps]

For some reason Basie ends with "Solitude."

[@rickjensen2717]

'If you can't hear Freddie you're playing too loud'

[@willsims2009]

I’m reading a book called Q on Producing by Quincy Jones and he mentioned that he learned the importance of tempo and setting the right groove to music from Count Basie! He said that Neal counted it off at about 220 bpm and Basie changed it to 65bpm and it made such a difference because the tempo change brought out the colors in the tune!!’ As a compose myself, I am definitely taking that advice!!

[@lindaperkins4521]

you can not go wrong with any thing Neal Hefti wrote for basie or the movies

[@shaliabear]

I'm here because of q on producing too ☺ isn't it wild? He said we'd have awesome computing power by 2019 and look at us now!

[@TheChnecht]

Same here from how to listen to jazz^^

[@scoobeeturpin]

I'm reading that paragraph right now! I stopped to give the song a listen. Love it, and I love this QJ book, too.

[@cmtso7409]

@@TheChnecht im readin this book too but our is by ted gioia, man. lmao Different book

[@NormanMorin]

Thank you local boy Neal hefti nothing can be prettier

[@organgrinder55]

I love the baritone sax on this!

[@BetsyRanelli]

when music was music the count had it big time class all the way

[@nicklh186]

So together and just... beautiful

[@covettamcsears156]

Always together nothing could stop them best swing band ever Noone could compare

[@Trombonology]

A perfect illustration of why Basie's was THE big band of the '50's.

[@lindaperkins4521]

in mind, this band still is!!!!!!

[@frankp1842]

And the 60s and the 70s and the 80s!

[@garyedmondson2998]

I hear they did OK in the 30s and 40s as well......

[@Trombonology]

@@garyedmondson2998 Am I correctly sensing sarcasm? My favorite period for the band was when Lester Young and Herschel Evans were the two tenors -- a period that ended in '39, with Herschel's untimely death at 29. ... However, in the '50s, by which time the Big Band Era had ended, the Basie band was still going strong, while the competing orchestras from years before were less prominent or had ceased to exist as a unit.

[@garyedmondson2998]

Maybe just a little sarcasm. Y'all were giving them their due from the 50s to the 80s. I was just completing the picture. They were hell on wheels coming out of Kansas City.About the fifties, yeah, somehow my sister and I came up with a 45 of the band doing "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" about that time. With your handle, you might get a kick out of this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYvdiJydqK-qiJo Rita, who also sings, is 16 here; the other young soloist about the same.

[@mikeslipper1779]

Absolutely superb..the band so smooth.

[@ata1811]

Came upon this marvellous piece of music whilst looking up (composer & arranger) Neal Hefti!

[@williamtaylor4545]

Wasn't he just the best arranger/composer you've ever heard?

[@TheSason666]

Thank you very much indeed for uploading this historical jazz footage for us here !!! I've been favouring this standard for many many years!!!

[@fadguru]

This ridiculously good.

[@archivebeetlejuicelocklear7758]

we’re playin this in jazz band now and i happened to get the solo part- cant wait for the concert!

[@davidwilmot2096]

Love the "In my solitude...I'm praying" tag.

[@Afiplaysmusic]

The programmer played this song on the Sunday afternoon jazz show on WVOL, Nashville's Black radio station back in the day. It's so beautiful.

[@tonyjohnson1864]

Dam. I love this song..simply brilliant!!!!!!!

[@murph3001]

Never ever gets old ___ the kid from Red Bank ____ great stuff

[@Picabitwest]

That solo ... wow! Took some chances and it really works.

[@feztoys]

This takes me back to my high school days. We had two Jazz competitions and I won best trumpet soloist both times for that solo. It's the solo itself that gave me those medals.

[@HarryBanks-f5o]

Lovely, I came here from the film "Tar" . I'd heard it numerous times in bits and pieces. This is the first time I've listened to it completely.

[@helenesteinberg7189]

I listened to it from TV in plain sight! This just hooked me. So gorgeous and smooth!

[@robertaller4776]

Sweet and sentimental The music just purrs! Thank you for posting!

[@rckcr]

great Basie band great Neil Hefti song played on my radio shows often

[@bettybrite4970]

Boy this Remind ´s me college stage band with Richard Ferland in Drummondville ... Wow what a feeling. Luc Rockology MTL .

[@JohnMHill-oi6rb]

My all time favourite. The band is so tight! Mine was good, and we had fun It may well still be going: The Melbourne Municipal Band, Melbourne, Florida. John M. Hill

[@AnthonyAvery]

All elegant and giftted gentlemen.

[@bremlquan]

The way he strums the guitar around 2:20 is so nice

[@jean-lucbersou758]

insightful catching and testimony giving precious informations about F.G.'s strumming . Right hand flexible wrist brushing energically through the strings on the beat with subtle variations of intensity and left hand moving largely on two beats positions and changes through tight chords fingerings .

[@georgialittle9621]

My husband and I had our first kiss while this song was playing. I loved it before the kiss but I love it even more now!

[@stormygal121]

THIS SENDS me STRAIGHT TO HEAVEN - BRILLIANT ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@PopGunJames]

TÁR. Thank you.

[@michaelcherney40]

Ha! I’m watching Tar as well 😅

[@gimmeshelter1969]

@@michaelcherney40 Me too!!🤣

[@secondhandmickey]

When this tune came up when the two women were dancing in their living room? Knocked me dead, man, so sensual, so evocative. Great choice of music for that scene. Humbles me to think how talented some film directors are.

[@PopGunJames]

Absolutely. I'm right there with ya@@secondhandmickey

[@robertboney4493]

Great Neil Hefti tune. Great band.

[@yyrm8321]

Count’s final notes evoke In My Solitude, the Duke.Ellington song. So classy!

[@Fernando-em7tl]

Fernando Costa de PAULA/Petrópolis,RIO(20/12/2024):Bravo!!!

[@QuickWorksBeauty]

Oh my gosh! Didn’t know the name of this song! Thanks for sharing!

[@zanerichter3806]

Favorite phrase in solo at 2:09, favorite chorus at 2:43, and that ending! So delicate. Beautiful music...

[@jongilchrist7229]

I'm from the rock era but was never the same when one day in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, at the band shell there, I watched a big band playing. Very classy!

[@georgefspicka5483]

It's so wonderful to hear this again :)

[@michaelquillen2679]

Played this one with my jazz ensemble at a jazz festival about 40 years ago (I was a music teacher). This was the second tune of a 3-tune set for adjudication at the festival. After we finished it, all three adjudicators gave us a standing ovation. Yep, we got a I+ (superior) rating. God, that was a great group of student musicians I had, who really enjoyed and appreciated quality big band music and were willing to do the woodshedding to make it happen! BTW, we closed the set with Basie's, Magic Flea.

[@cliffworks748]

thank you for giving credit to all players

[@samster926]

Only if my high school jazz band sounded half as good as this … I would’ve been happy… We were all over the place … lol

[@MA-naconitor]

As for something as simple as an intro, Basie just has that feel

[@pamtebelman2321]

Beautiful song and beautifully arranged. Thank you for posting.

[@zachsplep]

The Brass are playing with "Bucket Mutes" at the beginning. The Trumpet Solo is played with Harmon Mute, stem in. Invented by Mr. Harmon. For a time it was Johnny Carson's preferred closer of his Tonight Show. Beautiful sound!

[@PabloVestory]

The final quote. Fantastic homage!

[@TheFaithArtist]

Sublime.

[@robertboney4493]

Smooth solo...great players.

[@fredjrcarney9264]

I was taking trombone lessons in the 60s. This song was one of the first songs I learned to play . I loved it but didn't know the name of it or who wrote it.

[@steveflor9942]

Sure goes nice with morning coffee. Exquisite.

[@slim555555]

The best version

[@gaylemitchell4428]

Gotta love the classic Count Basie

[@mikeslipper1779]

So lush and lovely.

[@marcelolinhares8233]

Fantástico!! Nada mais!!

[@mnart1238]

The very definition of "laid back". So close without turning the beat over. Classic Basie.

[@darrenbanton8929]

The Quincy Jones book brought me here . Good for the soul!

[@marciahelland2071]

All time Favorite!

[@jenniferrobison4299]

Beautiful ❤

[@MrLuvOldies]

Thanks. Sooo nice and smooth.Mmmmmmmm

[@Nightman221k]

I love it! Such a smooth song!

[@scottstevens78]

Just beautiful.

[@jcam783]

So sweet , wow !

[@jamesspicer4644]

Fine and dandy!

[@jamessykes100]

I love music from this era, real music not like the stuff you hear today!

[@orangeduckable]

+james sykes I'm 12 and I love this song. songs today are horrible

[@xiaoxiaoyuan360]

+orangeduckable wow your comments just suprised me! good taste(^_^)

[@orangeduckable]

+XIAOXIAO YUAN thanks I grew up with classical music and jazz, lil darlin is my favorite ballet it just sounds so smooth and relaxing

[@mjjm5511]

I love it too! when I was a deb they played this when I curtsyed per my mom's request . smooth and sexy nice muted trumpet too

[@serious7422]

We're playing this in our jazz band and its so nice

[@cvstathopoulos]

As cool as it gets!

[@raginbakin1430]

This is lit. I dabbed when that beat dropped. Lol in all seriousness, this is beautiful.

[@Elixear]

Une des plus belles reprises de notre cher Henri Salvador, avec laquelle il rendit hommage au maestro en y ajoutant des paroles de Daniel Filipacchi et Frank Ténot, en 1963. Paroles à chanter sur le thème : Tous les matins quand j'sors du lit, Je mets un disque de Count Basie. Il ne m'en faut pas d'avantage Pour m'enlever tous mes soucis, Juste un p'tit disque de Count Basie. En prenant mon café au lit, J'écoute un disque de Count Basie. Et ça me donne du courage, Je me sens comme au paradis Avec un disque de Count Basie. Juste un petit disque de Count Basie. Un bon petit disque de Count Basie. Basie, Basie, oui !

[@robertwilliams1891]

Freddy Green and Marshall Royal!

[@robertwilliams1891]

Fabulous band :))).

[@markstephenson6023]

I was in the French Quarter, 2015 in NOLA. Gerald French Quintet played this for me, and Let me do Vocals. What a Bucket List Dream Come True. I did Lil' Darlin' Right, and Gerald French quintet better, they didn't miss a note, and dragged the back beat in perfect time.

[@garythomas6443]

A CLASSIC!!!!!

[@vova47]

"In My Solitude"- Basie's quote at the very end. A little Duke tribute, was he there, maybe?

[@ROSAMO7]

c'est exceptionnel !

[@daviddalton9214]

So smooooooth.

[@yamotonooyaji]

I love this song. And, snooky youn's solo makes poetic melody.

[@williamtaylor4545]

Just to set the record straight.. Sonny Cohn played the solo

[@MidnightJazzer]

Excellent true to form negotiation of Neils tunes!!

[@oldschool_2717]

so relaxing

[@terrytk9398]

Sheer musical artistry.

[@BuckieBear]

This is magic

[@mjjm5511]

when I was a deb they played this when curtsyed per my mom's request .. smooth and sexy!! nice muted trumpet

[@neekanarya8321]

Myra Juarez after you said mothers request you said smooth and sexy some one could really take that out of context

[@bmorecarlos]

Sonny Cohn is playing the trumpet solo, not Snooky Young. Snooky Young is seated to the right of Sonny Cohn on the bandstand.

[@deontebell43]

Brilliant

[@paulsaganski2070]

I play this in my high school's alumni jazz band every December, but we never take it this quick. I also get that solo and stretch the bejeezus out of it rhythmically.

[@lemonwedge-brawlstars5196]

We gonna play this lol wish me luck im the bass

[@zentertainer217]

I see alot of hip hop and r&b artist that use this progression and think they thought of it! haha