The Quintessence: New York - Chicago 1937-1941 - Count Basie,

Having expanded his band to the size of a large orchestra, Count Basie left Kansas City for New York, determined to bring the city to his feet. Between January 21, 1937 and February 4, 1939, he made sixteen recording sessions for Decca. With tremendous energy and a wealth of devastating riffs, his band quickly built up the pressure to compete with the best big bands of the day. With a prodigious rhythm section, a powerful singer, Jimmy Rushing, and inspired soloists including Lester Young and Herschel Evans on tenor saxophones, the Count Basie Orchestra's swing style was rarely equaled. This simple, effective jazz, firmly rooted in the blues, appealed to a wide audience fascinated by the dance. After a prodigious series of hits for Decca, the Count signed a new contract with Columbia/Vocalion in 1939 and continued his irresistible rise. --Pierre de Chocqueuse