COUNT BASIE AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1941 | The Classics Chronological Series – 652 (1992) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Even after the loss of Lester Young, the Count Basie Orchestra was still in fine form on the recordings on this CD, which end right before Pearl Harbor. Trombonist Dicky Wells is mostly absent (he would be back) and Helen Humes had departed (replaced temporarily by singer Lynne Sherman). Meanwhile, Buck Clayton had blossomed as a writer (as can be heard on "Fiesta in Blue"), the band recorded such fine numbers as "Diggin' for Dex," "More Than You Know," and "Harvard Blues," and singer Paul Robeson guested on a tribute to boxer Joe Louis, "King Joe." Scott Yanow