#2 - Bootie's Blues, Count Basie 'On the Road' live at Montreux 1979
Released on a relatively obscure live album by Count Basie late in his career, "Bootie's Blues" features journeyman trombone man and plunger-master Mitchell "Bootie" Wood. A native of Dayton, OH, Wood was in and out of the jazz business from the 1930s until his death in 1987. Over the course of those years he performed and recorded with many great bands, but most notably Ellington and Basie.
This performance features Wood's plunger and blues mastery. Particularly invigorating is his intensity ramping up to the big brass climax of the number.
Footnote: throughout this series, I'm going to try to prioritize live recordings that are not necessarily well known. Of course I'll throw in some war horses now and then (because they're great or they wouldn't be war horses) but I'd like a tune like "Bootie's Blues" to be typical--just a great number that many might have missed. I've also always thought that live jazz is the best. Despite the many great studio recordings out there, jazz is ultimately a communal and interactive art form--not just between musicians, but with the audience as well. The intensity Wood generates on this number wouldn't have been possible without the audience.
[ This is not a comprehensive list, nor is it representative of the "most important" or "best." Instead, following Duke Ellington's adage that the greatest music and musicians are "beyond category", I'm starting 2020 by sharing 100 jazz tunes I feel everyone should have the chance to hear--really just tunes and performances that I love. ]
