anonymous (reportedly present in Royal Festival Hall in the 1950's) in Royal Festival Hall - 1956

from Southbank Centre Archive:

I spent a totally magical evening at the RFH in 1956. The first ever appearance in the UK of the Count Basie Orchestra. Wow - the sounds that greeted me on that amazing occasion are still very vivid today. Immense new tunes and arrangements by people like Ernie Wilkins and Neal Hefti; the incredible and immaculate section work and of course, the inspired soloists, people like Joe Neuman, Thad Jones, Frank Wess and Frank [?] Foster and underlining it, the feather-light rhythm section with its contagious pulsation led by the Count with his elliptical piano style, with the enduring Freddie Greene…   more >>
cite as

Southbank Centre (ed.), Southbank Centre Archive. In Southbank Centre Archive. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1401123916806 accessed: 29 March, 2024 (Southbank Centre Archive, http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/about-us/history-and-archive/southbank-centre-archive)

location of experience: Royal Festival Hall

Listeners

Listening to

hide composers
unknown
written by Scarlatti, Franz Schubert, George Frideric Handel, Mozart
performed by Count Basie Orchestra

Experience Information

Date/Time 1956
Medium live
Listening Environment in the company of others, indoors, in public

Originally submitted by Ivan Hewett on Mon, 26 May 2014 18:05:16 +0100