Tuesday, September 13

            The fifth of the five gifts I ordered from Amazon as part of Mom’s birthday present for me arrived, Basie at Birdland, recorded live in 1961 at the New York jazz club made famous and founded by saxophonist Charlie Parker.  The Count Basie band had 16 players including the Count on piano.  I was fortunate enough to see and hear them twice in Detroit as a youth.  Once at the top of the Pontchartrain Hotel’s outdoor rooftop lounge and once at the Fox Theatre with vocalist Joe Williams.