“It’s Sand, Man”
Composed by Edward A. Lewis; arranged by Wilbur “Buck” Clayton.
Recorded by Count Basie and His Orchestra for Columbia on July 27, 1942 in Los Angeles.
William J. “Count” Basie, piano, directing: Ed Lewis, first trumpet; Al Killian, Wilbur “Buck” Clayton, Harry “Sweets” Edison, trumpets; Dicky Wells, Robert Scott and Eli Robinson, trombones; Earle Warren, first alto saxophone; Caughey Roberts, alto saxophone; George “Buddy” Tate and Don Byas, tenor saxophones; Ronald “Jack” Washington, baritone saxophone; Freddie Green, guitar; Walter Page, bass; Jonathan “Jo” Jones, drums.
The story:
Late in his life, Count Basie recalled the circumstances surrounding the recording of “It’s Sand, Man”: “Toward the end of July in 1942, we went to Los Angeles, and according to (newspaper clippings in Basie’s scrapbook), …started out by ‘erasing Glenn Miller’s all-time attendance record at the Orpheum Theater.’ We were also lined up for an appearance in a big movie musical starring Ann Miller, and we had two recording sessions at Columbia’s Hollywood studio. (The first date was with a small group that made several blues sides.) The second session a few days later was a full-band date. …The first instrumental was called ‘It’s Sand, Man,’ which (lead trumpeter) Ed Lewis brought in, and Buck Clayton made an arrangement on.”
“The title is taken from a dance step that was in style at that time called ‘the sanding,’ and ‘doing the sand.’ It was a light shuffle step that probably started with a dance act. It was a shuffle from side to side, like spreading sand on the dance floor with your feet. In the jive language of that time, if you accused somebody of sanding you he was bowing and scraping like a servant hyping the boss-man. If you said that somebody was a sandman, that meant that he was an Uncle Tom. But you could also do a little sanding to get next to a chick, especially if you were trying to get back in with her after having messed up.”(1)
Dancers in the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem – 1941.
This was Basie’s first trip to Los Angeles as a successful bandleader, and since he and his band were soon involved in making a movie, they found themselves involved in the Hollywood social swirl. “One of the funniest things I remember happening while I was in Los Angeles at that time happened at a party at Hattie McDaniel’s place. Hattie was a very big name in the movies at that time, having played in Gone With the Wind just a few years before. She had just recently bought a mansion out on South Harvard Boulevard, and that’s where the party was. …The funny part was one cat that I just happened to notice. I don’t know what it was, but there was something about him that caught my eye. Sweets Edison was with me and I said, ‘watch this cat!’ …We saw him pick up a plate and start to work his way down the buffet table. This was a real fancy spread with all kinds of hors d’oevre and entre’e and desserts. At the end of the table was a big crystal bowl with gardenias floating in it. He reached over cool and dignified, and served himself a couple of those gardenias, and put some salad dressing on them. …He swallowed a mouthful of gardenias before he could get somewhere to get rid of them. Sweets and I almost died laughing.”(2)
The music:
The Basie band comes on strong with a bright introduction. The first chorus has the saxophones, led by Earle Warren, playing the tune’s main melody for sixteen bars. Behind them is the great Basie rhythm section with Count’s aphoristic piano and Jo Jones’s high-hats propelling the music. The oo-ah trombone spots in this sequence are a deft Buck Clayton arranging touch. The bridge has the brass out in front, with a few well-placed jabs from the reeds for contrast. The saxophone quintet finishes the chorus. I have always been struck by the almost percussive, up-and-down way the saxophones phrased in the first chorus. It is quite unusual in the Basie canon. (Below: some of Basie’s band members early 1940s – L-R front: Buddy Tate, Earle Warren, Jack Washington; back Freddie Green and Walter Page.)
The second chorus begins with a swirling sequence of sounds led by the swinging brass with the bubbling saxophones underneath. This leads to an ascending brass passage with the saxophones temporarily falling away as the brass instruments build to a peak dynamically and rhythmically from which lead trumpeter Ed Lewis emerges, supported by the roiling saxophones. This is a second inspired arranging touch. Things quiet down as Basie plays a quintessential lean solo that packs the punch of a heavyweight boxer’s right hook. (Below left: trumpeter Ed Lewis.)
The next sequence is also very tasty: building brass going up played against massed saxophones going down, then some riffing to set the rhythmic ball rolling again. The tenor saxophone soloist sounds very much like George “Buddy” Tate to me, though some sources have said this solo was played by Don Byas.(3) Tate had a fuller sound than Byas in the early 1940s, and played with the deeply soulful style characterized then as “Texas tenor.” Byas’s playing at that time reflected a large Coleman Hawkins influence. Tate’s full-chorus solo swings along colorfully as he is prodded at various times by the brass and reeds, and levitated by Basie’s unique piano accompaniment. (Below: Buddy Tate.)
Drummer Jo Jones sets-up the band for the final chorus, in which the entire ensemble swings mightily, with Basie piano tickles to urge them on. A brief, contrasting piano solo by Count leads to the hot, riffing finale.
“It’s Sand, Man”
Composed by Edward A. Lewis; arranged by Wilbur “Buck” Clayton. Clayton arrangement reconstructed by Billy May.
Recorded by Billy May and the Swing Era Orchestra on September 13, 1971 for Capitol in Hollywood.
Billy May, directing: John Best, first trumpet; Shorty Sherock, Ray Triscari, Uan Rasey, trumpets; Pete Candoli, solo trumpet; Lloyd Ulyate, Dave Wells and Gil Falco, trombones; Marshal Royal, first alto saxophone; Abe Most, alto saxophone; Nat Brown and Plas Johnson, tenor saxophones; Chuck Gentry, baritone saxophone; Ray Sherman, piano; Jack Marshall, guitar; Rolly Bundock, bass; Nick Fatool, drums.
The music:
This performance is noticeably different from the Basie original. The first chorus saxophone section spots (under the dynamic lead of Basie band veteran Marshal Royal) are smoother, the trumpet to emerge from the build-up at the beginning of the second chorus is played here by Pete Candoli, who was tasked with just playing this solo spot. He did not play in the trumpet section. That section was led by John Best. Tenor saxophonist Plas Johnson pays his respects to Buddy Tate with a robust performance of Tate’s original solo, delivered with Johnson’s mammoth sound and swing, a paean to all tenor saxophone soloists who came out of the “Texas tenor” school of performance. Pianist Ray Sherman pays his respects to Father Basie, and Nick Fatool drives the band in the best Jo Jones tradition.
The recordings presented with this post were digitally remastered by Mike Zirpolo.
Notes and links:
(1) Good Morning Blues …The Autobiography of Count Basie, as told to Albert Murray (1985), 258.
(2) Ibid.
(3) Curiously, Count Basie himself in his autobiography (cited above) identified the tenor saxophone soloist as Don Byas. Basis went on to refer to …”Mr. Dicky (Wells) has the bones…” referring to Wells’s instrument, which was the trombone. But there is no trombone solo in “It’s Sand, Man.” I suspect that there was a bit of confusion between Basie and Albert Murray on this. Chris Sheridan, in his superb Basie bio-discography, identifies the tenor saxophonist in this performance as George “Buddy” Tate.
Here are links to some other great performances by Count Basie:
https://swingandbeyond.com/2024/08/24/wonderful-thing-1949-count-basie-with-harry-sweets-edison/
https://swingandbeyond.com/2017/02/04/blues-in-hoss-flat-1958-count-basie/
https://swingandbeyond.com/2019/05/10/hay-burner-1968-count-basie-and-sammy-nestico/
https://swingandbeyond.com/2020/06/02/920-special-1941-count-basie-with-coleman-hawkins/
https://swingandbeyond.com/2017/02/17/lady-be-good-1936-lester-young-and-count-basie/
https://swingandbeyond.com/2017/07/21/with-a-little-help-from-my-friends-1969-count-basie/
https://swingandbeyond.com/2021/05/14/the-blues-i-like-to-hear-1938-count-basie-jimmy-rushing/
Here is some Basie music along with that of other artists:
https://swingandbeyond.com/2023/05/12/april-in-paris-1940-artie-shaw-and-1955-count-basie/
Great recording, equally great analysis. “Various sources” are sure wrong here. That is definitely Buddy Tate.