1957-05-24 — Page 4

Pare

The Count Is Never Out

THE

TITLED

CAT

THE 1956 L.P. releases of the Count Basie Orches. tra met with tremendous success. Not only were the Count's fans of old delight ed, but the discs, drew thousands of new followers. The sides proved time and again that Count believes that in good jazz the music must be danceable.

"If anyone were to ask who swings more than anyone else," says Norman Granz,

the man who arranged the sesalons mentioned, "the chances are nine out of 10 would reply 'Count Basie.""

SOLID

Basic never has to resort crowd-elching antics

to

THE CHINA MAIL FRIDAY, MAY 24, 1937.

Chapter 12

20 years from now, his big band Evening" and "Every Day I

os ball in Love."

recordings will be held up arranging, full of swinging, bit- superb examples of thrilling ing jazz solos, as heart-warm- ing as countless thousands find them today.

With the Count on these his- tarle G, 56 recordings are men of the calibre of Marshall Royal, allo, Eric Wilkins, allo, Frank Foster, Frank Wess, Tenors, Charlle Fowlkes, baritone, Wen dell Culley, Joc Newman, Reunald Jones and Thad Jones, trumpets. Henry Powell, Bill Hughes, trombones. Freddie Green.guitar, Eddie Jones, bass, and drummers Gus Johnson and Sonny Payne.

Coker,

John Lewis, brilliant bearded planist - originaton of the this Modern Jazz Quartet, has

to say of the Count's music:

"The band has some of

the

realest Jazz soloists exchanging and improvising ideas with and counter to the ensemble and the rhythm scolion, the whole per- meated with the

EMPIRE DAY-a

date that rings

with DESTINY

by Tom Stacey

folk-blues KITCHEN TIME

element developed to the most exciting degree,

Ben I don't think it is possible; to plan or make that kind of thing happen. It is a natural product. All we can do la reach and strive for it."

Many vocalist could suit the Basie band, Joe Williams does. Tail, sedate, gangling Joe has a terride admiration for Basic, To sing with the band is the great- est delight for this boy from like Cordele. marching 'up and down the aisles with his men,

Joe spent most of his youth blowing

jozz frantic riffs into the crowd Lo in another great

eity They say he is got them worked up. He gen- Chicago. erates just as much excitement "blues bawler." That he has a from pure music. Certainly 4 "ball" when he sings is Joe's raro feat in these days when a reply to that one,

tenar honking

Ale- throated octopus-like

"singer and an over-amplified electric guitar are considered necessary to rouse the youngsters, by play- ing rock 'n' roll.

MAN. д

That Basie can be so success-

ful in the midst of this morass of shamefully debased jazz, play ing the way he wants to re- gardless of public whim, is proof enough that the Count IS Jazz; TRUE jazz,

A

His singing

of "Every Day" made that song the first genuine record hit to come Basle's way since 1941. It also made Joe's

name.

Much

of his singing style stems back to the days of Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey, and even beyond, His singing has an earthy quality found in so old Negro blues many of the shouters.

To make

BIG

Hla music retains much of the carly, basic feeling of his big band. But it hus obserbed new ideas. Blended thein among well-established and trusted formulas.

a hit out of a song Urill what has emerged

two sung in this manner filustrates Is the best of

the enormous uppeal of the musical worlds.

way Joe has adapted a wealth own For a man to make a come- of blues history into his back on the scale Besle's at unique phrasing and ideas. No an age when many men are of one can be said to sing like Joe, fixed habits and ideas, in great Indeed.

It remains to be reen the Bill Haleys and Elvis Presley of the music business will be heaped in success when they Bre 50. It remains to be seen whether their comributions will even be remembered when they reach such an age.

Basic's music of 20 years ago and more is still respected and acclaimed by the discern- ing music lover. And there poems little reason to doubt that

Other recorded songs by the Basle-Williams combination in-

It is iting that the last word

should go to Willard Alexander, fe-long friend and admirer of Basic,

that

Bays Willard: "My personal experiences with Baste have been some of the most wonder- I have ful experiences shered in my life. They dale from the very first day that I heard Basie, when I flew with John Hammond to Kansas City to hear him play at the Reno Club, that small night club, with a small band, back in 1935.

is

sermon

time

I

pire

Lord Beaverbrook: Let us then refuse to be discouraged even though all our plans for the unity of the Empire have been rejected by the politicians and abandoned by the party leaders. In the words of the hymn dear to so many: "Chords that were broken will vibrate once more."

Up went "Malster Hunt's" There is not one person

WONDER what you can see from your bed-

EMMAR BAT, THER

**

room window. An Em- little church in flames, and In Erilain this morning who all his books, and down they, has not a personal duty to

で

Well, I can lie in bed with the went into ashes. But Hunt fu (which is what I am doing

now) and from this bedroom stayed on to build a new window I can look out derosa a

wonderful sweeping valley of the church. East Sussex Downs to the parish of the Rev Robert Hunt,

It is the parish of Heath- field. You can still read Robert Hunt's entries in the yellowing parchment of the church regis

fer.

Founder

Hunt"

BUT "Master December 1608, the time of King James 1, Robert Hunt sailed to the New World as one of the leaders of the first successful colonising expedition which ever

Heathfield no more. For In

FOR THE REV. ELSIE sailed from Britain.

HAVE just met a I

Pilgrimage

NOW, on Friday week, May 24, I intend to make a short Journey of homage across this greta valley to Hunt's church,

wards this greatest brother-

hood of nations of which we,

whether we like It or not,

are leaders.

the

The most challenging lesson about the world is I have learned while travelling

how countries of the Empire watch Britain minutely for her guld- ance, her example, and above all her interest in them. Too

୪୯

For me, an East Sussex man, it might be calica Hunt's Day. often they are disappointed. fa at

To others, different parts of

Too often the feeling of the Britain, it might be Cook's Day, other members of the Empire or Wolfe's Day, or Banks Day about Britain's view of them can or Clive's Day, or Rhodes Day".

But to us al will also be Zealander whe said: "Every 40 summed up by the New Empire Day. And when I get to Heathfield Church there will be often somebody pops out here more to pay homage 10 than for 24 hours, nips back to White- "Maister Hunt." It will be the hall and says: It's all right, day to remember in my associa- chaps, they are still there," " tion with 600 million tellow members of the Empire.

So this neighbour Hunt turns out to be one of the founders of the British Empire,

aller he

woman inissionary whose head.

I do not know a great deal quarters is one minute from Oxford Circus, and about Robert Hunt, except that

day She has a congregation on the second whose huge heathen flock is US. of 3,000,000 before eight in the morning, another reached Chesapeake Bay he be

and 1,000,000 at "Five to Ten,"

1,000,000 each gan to build a church which had Thursday at tea-time.

For the Rev Elsie Chamber- lain is the only ordained woman in the Religious Department at Broadcasting House, dttees six of the most popular religious programmes on found and TV.

"I look on myself as a mis- bigsionary because three-quartern of my listeners never go church," she says logically.

"This was a great experience, It was a much greater experi- ence to see hirm develop over a period of years with the band, and to be privileged to of the great it in on some sesions both with the little and big band after hours. By sitting in, I don't mean I performed, I

merely listenedi

over

She unofficially attended the meeting of the Anglican Church Group" who at their annual

a sail for a root

In flames

Saddening

A chance

WHAT special part can you NUMBER of these British

play on May 24? Well, you Empire fellow citizens 1 can fly the Bug from your home. know personally-in. the Far Or perhaps you can send a greet- Eart Africa, India, Canada,

ings telegram to your relatives Ceylon And it is sad for me living in a distant country under

and pro- meeting this month sald for the THE other thing I know about to know that India and Ceylon the Union Jack.

Hunt is that when a ship at second time "that it was reason- eble and desirable that women last arrived at Chesapeake Bay had been should be ordained in the Angliaer the colonists can Church."

fighting for survival for more than a year, one of the visiting But the Rev. Elsie Chamber sailors accidentally set fire to the

whole encampment., to lairy was a disappointed listener. "There were no shattering results," she told me sadly. "They reaffirmed that there are

biblical

and theological Teasons why women should,” not be ordained, but they missed out on the most vital point of all. Surely women have a sense of vocation and feel "the call If this is s0, just as men do. they must be properly ordain

will not be celebrating Empire

In This is because they do not

way or another you Day at all.

Empire. To can make it the day to remem- favour the word them it smacks too much of the ber that our Empire has been derived-4mperium, cule. Roman word from which it is built by the British

courage, vigour, and takin God of the kind which made a man of Robert Hunt. And that by such, and such alone, it will be maintained.

Miss Chamberlain's aim is to relate religion to everyday Hie. "I want to cure people of talk- ing in religious jargon," sko told пис and

among recent

"As a man, he is one of the great men I have mot in the speakers in her overscas pro- industry. He has warmth, inte-gramme were an actress, A grity, and a great simplicity scientist, a weatherman, a farm- that makes the man a giant. Myer and a school teacher. personal deeling as to the con tribution he has made to musle is unlimited.

Lift Up Your Hearts has been in her charge since it started when she joined the BBC in 1950.

"It is a job choosing people

ed.

very

Miss Chamberlain has "Throughout the years, the

close ties with the Anglican Church. At work the Head of Easte muste has beer so excit

Religious Broadcasting is C of E ing and so simple, that it is astounding how exclting music

(the second in command is can be when it is played 50 kitchen at ten to eight in the always a Free Churchman) and becomes Mrs simple.

morning," she laughed. "Qulte, at home she know." a tricky position to be in, you Garrington, wife of the Vicar of

All Souls, Hampton.

moro than

clude "The Comeback"--an apt "I think no one in the Jazz

'em Pete,' Ille-"Roll rollicking re-hash of n number idiom has ever developed this well-known to fans of boogie particular point planisi Pete Jatnion. "Teach me Basie." tonight," a popular ballad which lends itself to the swinging ideas of both men, "Alright, OK, You Win," and "My Baby Up- sets me," written by Joe,

Perfect examples of finest kind of restrained balled sing- ing are spotlighted on "In the

And Basic? What does he say? 613 hope to continue to try and have, it humanly possible, always a great, great swing land"

END

by Noel Wain

GOLF CLUB

who will be welcome

in

Warm charm

the

Tall, angularly handsome, with bright brown eyes, she is full of worm unclerical charmel though a late colleague described her to me as "a good scout, but a bit terrifying."

Musical enough to have her ARCM for violinship, and clever enough at dressmaking to make it pay her fees for four years' theological study at London University, Elsle Chamberlain was ordained into the Baptist Church, in 1947 ng a minister. "Not like the Methodists who give their women just as much work as the men, and only call them. deaconesses," she said grimly.)

This year che was the first woman to be elected chairman of all the Congregational Churches in England and Wales

"Having got supplementary coupons for running my wife's poor old mother around for her health, the end of rationing presents a bit of a problem,”

The Rey, John Garrington is quite used to being married to an itinerant minister. I rang him rather nervously after lunch time that Was one Sunday, a always reserved for my father's ministerial thoughts In the Methodist manse of my youth,

"You have not disturbed me at all" he answered cheerfully. "My wife is preaching in Devon this week-end, and I am just doing the washing up in a waterproof. The kitchen looks rather like Niagara."

of

But when the Head of the Congregational churches England and Wales is at home, her wifely dulles come first.

"When my husband and I are both writing sermons and the doorbell rings I am always the one who answers J," she said.

Mme Ulanova

falls in love

He is calm, polite, fond of his job,.

and he's English

By SHELLEY ROHDE NALINA Ulanova, primo ballerina of Moscow's

G

ROMANY BAIN Bolshoi Ballet, fell in love!

during her triumphant season in London last year. Ulanova found an image of

a man. A man cala by nature, full of self-respect, fond of his jab, polite and Intelligent,"

Who is he? The ordinpay Englishman."

The 46-year-old dancer tells of ber affection for the average Englishman in her London Dlary, Just published. In the Moscow monthly Soviet Litera-

Lure.

She walles: "I fell in love with this Englishman and I am

convinced

that bo is full of good- will and friendliness to all people.. that he hopes all the best and most beautiful qualition to ba four in each antion can bo preserved and uxided to R poople will meet

MOTO

· often and get

to know each other bettor. That means getting to Wiko each other better."

It was on the day of the Bolshoi's, Inst· performance in Britain that Úlanova

wrote those words in her diary.

"But there was something much more important than the Monctorul 4he final perform- unce,” she says, Noch was our leave-taking with " the public www the storms 'of' Appiato FANA ao violent that at one, mognisert E Zelt so frightened I shrntale buck strom, the moribb #

But how wrong those na- tions to discard the celebration of Empire Day for such a reason. For, once the governing hand of Britain is withdrawn, how much more vital does A become to maintain the other disciplines

of Empire association.

I

A lesson

BELIEVE that # is only in obeisance to these symbolle · anniversarks and in the ardent perpetuation of links of history, blood, and mutual consultation

tenneity, fr

It will be the chance for

you to prove your loyalty to this Empire dedicated to

brotherhood, peace, and civilisation.

You cannot ignore it. If that the spirit of our Empire you are not with it actively, you are actively against it.

can thrive and strengthen.

3888888ESSSESESSI Man of the Century

A

MAN once asked George Mallory? one of the greatest of British mountaineers, why he bothered to climb mountains. He replied: "Because they are there."

Mallory climbed mountains because they were there. Beccause Everest was there, because it was | the highest peak in the world, because he wanted to stand where no man had stood before....he died. “

Clad in his English tweeds and Alpine hat Mallory set out in 1924 to tackle the final heights of Everest and was never seen again,

It was nearly thirty years later when a young New Zealander set out in his footsteps. His story begins In the China Mail tomorrow, and appears daily.

Sir Edmund Hillary by Bryan Adams

Keep your sugar dry!

EVEN, IN. THE

DAMPEST WEATHER

Fine granulated sugar is now available in new 5 lb. plastic bags

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..