''The Atomic Mr. Basie'' (originally called ''Basie'', also known as ''E=MC²'' and reissued in 1994 as ''The Complete Atomic Basie'') is a 1958

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Count Basie and his orchestra.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave it 5 stars, reviewer Bruce Eder saying: "it took Basie's core audience and a lot of other people by surprise, as a bold, forward-looking statement within the context of a big-band recording." It is included in the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...

'', Will Fulford-Jones calling it "Basie's last great record." It was voted number 411 in the third edition of

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along wit ...

's ''

All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...

'' (2000). According to

Acclaimed Music Acclaimed Music is a website created by Henrik Franzon, a statistician from Stockholm, Sweden in September 2001. Franzon has statistically aggregated hundreds of published lists that rank songs and albums into aggregated rankings by year, deca ...

, it is the 6th most critically acclaimed album of 1958, the 25th most acclaimed of the 1950s, and the 837th most acclaimed of all time, based on an aggregation of hundreds of critics' lists from around the world.

Reception

The album won Best Jazz Performance, Group and Best Performance by a Dance Band awards at the

1st Annual Grammy Awards The 1st Annual Grammy Awards were held on May 4, 1959. They recognized musical accomplishments by performers for the year 1959. Two separate ceremonies were held simultaneously on the same day; the first hotel in Beverly Hills, California, and the ...

Track listing

''All tracks composed and arranged by Neal Hefti, except where indicated.''

Personnel

Wendell Culley Wendell Philips Culley (January 8, 1906 in Worcester, Massachusetts – May 8, 1983 in Los Angeles, CA) was an American jazz trumpeter and occasional multi instrumentalist. Growing up in Worcester, Culley played regularly at the AME Zion Chur ...

—

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

* Snooky Young — trumpet * Thad Jones — trumpet * Joe Newman — trumpet * Henry Coker —

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

* Al Grey — trombone *

Benny Powell Benny Powell (March 1, 1930 – June 26, 2010) was an American jazz trombonist. He played both standard (tenor) trombone and bass trombone. Biography Born Benjamin Gordon Powell Jr in New Orleans, Louisiana, he first played professionally ...

— trombone *

Marshal Royal Marshal Walton Royal Jr. (December 5, 1912 – May 8, 1995) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and clarinetist best known for his work with Count Basie, with whose band he played for nearly twenty years. Early life and education Marshal Royal ...

— reeds *

Frank Wess Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. In addition to his extensive solo work, Wess is remembered for his time in Count Basie's band from the early 1950s into the 1960s. Critic ...

— reeds * Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis — reeds * Frank Foster — reeds *

Charles Fowlkes Charles Baker Fowlkes (February 16, 1916 – February 9, 1980) was an American baritone saxophonist who was a member of the Count Basie Orchestra for over twenty-five years. Early life Fowlkes was born in New York City on February 16, 1916. He stu ...

— reeds * Count Basie —

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Eddie Jones Edward, Eddie, or Ed Jones may refer to: Architecture * Edward Vason Jones (1909–1980), American neoclassical architect * Edward Jones (English architect) (born 1939), English architect who designed the Saïd Business School * Edward Jones (Wel ...

—

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Freddie Green —

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

Sonny Payne Sonny Payne (May 4, 1926 – January 29, 1979) was an American jazz drummer, best known for his work with Count Basie and Harry James. Biography Payne's father was Wild Bill Davis's drummer Chris Columbus. After early study with Vic Berton, i ...

—

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Joe Williams —

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

(track 16) * Neal Hefti — arrangements (tracks 1–11) * Jimmy Mundy — arrangements (tracks 12–14)

Notes and references

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atomic Mr. Basie, The 1958 albums Roulette Records albums Albums produced by Teddy Reig Count Basie Orchestra albums Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album Grammy Award for Best Performance by an Orchestra – for Dancing