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Count Basie Orchestra swings six-month series into action

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It's not often that an opportunity arises to sincerely congratulate a government department on a job well done, but with the announcement of the programme for this year's Jazz Up series of concerts organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, a bouquet is due. Brickbat service will be resumed in due course.

This is the second such concert series, and - as was the case last year - there should be something to please just about everybody. The range of styles includes swing, fusion and bop - all performed by artists of international stature - with the concerts spread over six months.

Starting things in style on June 7 at the Cultural Centre is the Count Basie Orchestra, now led by trombonist Bill Hughes, who joined the band in 1956. Basie died in 1984, but the great band he founded and led for more than half a century continue to embody his musical ideals, and to reproduce his signature swing blues sound. This show is part of a world tour marking the centenary of Basie's birth and the 20th anniversary of his death.

Several members of the present lineup played with Basie for many years, although most, of course, are too young to have had that experience. On the other hand, the band's classic arrangements are intact, and the hallmark of the best big bands has always been that they're strong enough to withstand major changes in personnel.

In recent years, the Count Basie Orchestra has garnered considerable critical acclaim for combining a few modernist elements with the best aspects of the band's long tradition, deeply rooted in the blues and dating back to Kansas City in the 1930s.

Hughes is the fourth musical director to run the Count Basie Orchestra, following on from Thad Jones, Frank Foster and Grover Mitchell. I last saw the band in London in the mid-80s, under Foster, with Ella Fitzgerald making one of her last appearances as the featured singer. It was a night to remember, and so should this be.

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