I think that there is no right or wrong when talking about Sound of Jazz. Rok2id is certainly correct that there are other jazz "greats" that should have performed with the 32 that did, but as frogman pointed out, who knows what Louie Armstrong's or the Duke's availability was at the time of the taping? For all we know, more were invited and either didn't want to participate or were unable to participate. Plus, mix into that the fact that the format of the show only allowed for 55 minutes of broadcast, so it wasn't as if you could just play as many songs as you wanted.
Here is the ultimate lineup:
Open All Night (aka Fast and Happy Blues) - Count Basie All Stars: Emmett Berry, Doc Cheatham, Joe Newman, Joe Wilder (tp); Roy Eldridge (tp, flhn); Vic Dickenson, Benny Morton, Dicky Wells (tb); Earl Warren (as); Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster (ts); Gerry Mulligan (bs); Count Basie (p); Freddie Green (g); Eddie Jones (b); Jo Jones (d)
The Count Blues - Basie, Green and E. Jones playing as John Crosby introduces the show.
Wild Man Blues - Composed By Louis Armstrong, Performed by: Henry "Red" Allen, Rex Stewart (tp); Pee Wee Russell (cl); Coleman Hawkins (ts); Vic Dickenson (tb); Milt Hinton (b); Danny Barker (g); Nat Pierce (p)
Rosetta - Composed by Earl "Fatha" Hines and William Henri Woode. Personnel same as Wild Man Blues.
Dickie's Dream - Same personnel as Open All Night
Blue Monk - Thelonious Monk (p); Ahmed Abdul Malik (b); Osie Johnson (d) (does not appear on 2003 idem DVD release)
I Left My Baby - Jimmy Rushing (v), with Count Basie All Stars (personnel same as Open All Night)
Fine and Mellow - Billie Holiday (v), with Mal Waldron All Stars: Roy Eldridge, Doc Cheatham (tp); Vic Dickenson (tb); Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Lester Young (ts); Gerry Mulligan (bs); Mal Waldron (p); Milt Hinton (b); Osie Johnson (d)
The Train and the River - Jimmy Giuffre Trio: Jimmy Giuffre (cl, ts, bs); Jim Hall (g); Jim Atlas (b)
Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gave to Me (appears on item DVD release, 2003), performed by Jimmy Giuffre, Pee Wee Russell (cl); Jo Jones (d); Danny Barker (g); Milt Hinton (b).
With Billie, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Basie, Thelonious Monk, Ben Webster, Russell, Freddie Green, etc. It's a pretty damn impressive collection of over-the-top talent to get organized to perform together at the same time and in one place. Think about the logistics involved to pull that off today . . . Schedules, negotiations, contracts, pay, cooperation among record companies, royalty splits and credits, rivalries, egos, selections that everyone agrees on . . . It is monumental.
Nat Hentoff . . . he is recognized as a "professor" of sorts of jazz during that period, and like any academic trying to impose intellectual analysis on a visceral experience like jazz will not surprisingly come off like a know-it-all and have opinions that others disagree with. But looking at what he assembled, regardless of some of his pontifications about one record or another, it was pretty impressive, even judged from these days, not to mention then, when everything was done with letters and telephone calls!
Here is the ultimate lineup:
Open All Night (aka Fast and Happy Blues) - Count Basie All Stars: Emmett Berry, Doc Cheatham, Joe Newman, Joe Wilder (tp); Roy Eldridge (tp, flhn); Vic Dickenson, Benny Morton, Dicky Wells (tb); Earl Warren (as); Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster (ts); Gerry Mulligan (bs); Count Basie (p); Freddie Green (g); Eddie Jones (b); Jo Jones (d)
The Count Blues - Basie, Green and E. Jones playing as John Crosby introduces the show.
Wild Man Blues - Composed By Louis Armstrong, Performed by: Henry "Red" Allen, Rex Stewart (tp); Pee Wee Russell (cl); Coleman Hawkins (ts); Vic Dickenson (tb); Milt Hinton (b); Danny Barker (g); Nat Pierce (p)
Rosetta - Composed by Earl "Fatha" Hines and William Henri Woode. Personnel same as Wild Man Blues.
Dickie's Dream - Same personnel as Open All Night
Blue Monk - Thelonious Monk (p); Ahmed Abdul Malik (b); Osie Johnson (d) (does not appear on 2003 idem DVD release)
I Left My Baby - Jimmy Rushing (v), with Count Basie All Stars (personnel same as Open All Night)
Fine and Mellow - Billie Holiday (v), with Mal Waldron All Stars: Roy Eldridge, Doc Cheatham (tp); Vic Dickenson (tb); Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Lester Young (ts); Gerry Mulligan (bs); Mal Waldron (p); Milt Hinton (b); Osie Johnson (d)
The Train and the River - Jimmy Giuffre Trio: Jimmy Giuffre (cl, ts, bs); Jim Hall (g); Jim Atlas (b)
Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gave to Me (appears on item DVD release, 2003), performed by Jimmy Giuffre, Pee Wee Russell (cl); Jo Jones (d); Danny Barker (g); Milt Hinton (b).
With Billie, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Basie, Thelonious Monk, Ben Webster, Russell, Freddie Green, etc. It's a pretty damn impressive collection of over-the-top talent to get organized to perform together at the same time and in one place. Think about the logistics involved to pull that off today . . . Schedules, negotiations, contracts, pay, cooperation among record companies, royalty splits and credits, rivalries, egos, selections that everyone agrees on . . . It is monumental.
Nat Hentoff . . . he is recognized as a "professor" of sorts of jazz during that period, and like any academic trying to impose intellectual analysis on a visceral experience like jazz will not surprisingly come off like a know-it-all and have opinions that others disagree with. But looking at what he assembled, regardless of some of his pontifications about one record or another, it was pretty impressive, even judged from these days, not to mention then, when everything was done with letters and telephone calls!