“Li’l Darlin'”
Composed and arranged by Neal Hefti.
Recorded by Count Basie and His Orchestra for Roulette on October 21, 1957 in New York.
William J. “Count” Basie, piano, directing: Eugene “Snooky” Young, first trumpet; Thad Jones, Joe Newman and Wendell Culley, trumpets; Henry Coker, Al Grey and Benny Powell, trombones; Marshal Royal, first alto saxophone; Frank Wess, alto saxophone; Frank Foster and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, tenor saxophones; Charlie Fowlkes, baritone saxophone; Freddie Green, guitar; Eddie Jones, bass; Percival “Sonny” Payne, drums.
The story:
Composer/arranger Neal Hefti (1922-2008), began his association with Count Basie in the early 1950s. Basie later recalled: “Neal came by, and we had a talk, and he said he’d just like to put something in the book. Then he came back with “Little Pony” and then “Sure Thing,” “Why Not?” and “Fawncy Meeting You,” and we ran them down, and that’s how we got married.”(1) From that time and mostly through the balance of the 1950s, Hefti contributed many more original compositions/arrangements to the Basie band’s repertoire.
A milestone of sorts was reached in 1958 with the release of the Roulette LP album entitled: Basie and subtitled E=MC²=Count Basie Orchestra + Neal Hefti Arrangements. The album features eleven songs composed and arranged by Hefti, including the ballad ‘Li’l Darlin’.” Also on the album were: ‘Splanky,’ ‘The Kid from Red Bank’ featuring a sparse but swinging piano solo that was Basie’s hallmark, and other songs that quickly became favorites with Basie’s audiences such as ‘Flight of the Foo Birds,’ ‘Fantail,’ and ‘Teddy the Toad’.’ These pieces are evidence of both Hefti’s masterful arranging and the strong ensemble that Count Basie had (built through the mid-1950s)”(2)
Neal Hefti in the late 1950s. Count Basie’s magical relationship with time and tempo never ceased to amaze him.
The music:
Tempo. It is a very important component of any music. Count Basie was a master of finding and then setting the optimum tempo for the music he and his band played. In order to facilitate the easy, flowing swing the Basie band was always noted for, Basie very often set medium-bounce tempos for his band. There also were always a few choice up-tempo barn-burners in the Basie band’s book. But it would not be an exaggeration to say that the Basie band was never noted for playing music at slow tempi – at least, not before “Li’l Darlin’.” What is astonishing is that Neal Hefti, the composer and arranger of “Li’l Darlin’,” had by the time he delivered that composition to Basie, already collaborated with Basie most successfully on a good number of original compositions. Basie knew what Hefti was capable of musically, and he had confidence in him. Hefti envisioned “Li’l Darlin'” being played at a medium swing tempo, not as a ballad.(3) Basie thought differently. He not only envisioned “Li’l Darlin'” as a ballad, he deliberately set the tempo for performance of the tune at a very slow pace.
As anyone who knows anything about swing will tell you, playing at a very slow tempo, especially with a big band, is extremely difficult for a number of reasons. Simply getting 16 musicians to play and stay together while playing very slowly is a major challenge. Then there is the all-important matter of swing. The bounce that is present in so much swing music is completely absent in Basie’s performance of “Li’l Darlin’,” yet Basie somehow got the music to swing. He understood that his 1957 band was completely capable of doing what would be necessary to bring “Li’l Darlin'” to life, and doing it well. He as conductor would simply have to get the music out of his band members in a way that he thought was best. And as usual, father Basie knew best. He did that: his band’s performance of “Li’l Darlin'” is superb. It is in the words of jazz writer Donald Clarke, “an object lesson in how to swing at a slow tempo.”(4) (Above left: Count Basie conducting his band from the keyboard.)
The introduction to Basie’s recording of “Li’l Darlin'” is a perfect example of Count’s musical minimalism reduced to its basics: the quiet chords he plays to set the tempo hang in the air until guitarist Freddie Green cues the band to come in with a soft upward arpeggio.
The entire ensemble plays the melody gently and with total unity voiced in big, beautiful block chords. Each musician has matched his vibrato with those of his bandmates to create a warm, soft blanket of sound. The use by the ensemble of the most gentle of syncopations and dynamics reveals that Basie as a conductor was able to skillfully inspire his musicians to get the most musical impact out of these subtly applied devices. Mr. Green’s strategically placed arpeggios add a glittering topping the the sonic mix, as do Basie’s sparse, glistening piano notes.
The Harmon-muted trumpet solo is played lovingly by Wendell Culley. His sound is swathed in softly played but rich saxophone section chords. Note the playing of Freddie Green in this sequence: the pulse he maintains in conjunction with bassist Eddie Jones keeps the ensemble together.
If any bandleader understood how to utilize the discipline required to keep a big band’s performances unified and tight, it was Count Basie. But Basie also understood that there cannot be real swing without an equal amount of relaxation. His magical mixture of these things made his band one that always swung, no matter the tempo, with perfect unity.
P.S.
Here is a little story that illustrates how discipline in the new testament Basie band was imposed in the years 1952-1970 when lead alto saxophonist Marshal Royal was Basie’s deputy leader: Trombonist Al Grey joined the Basie band only a few days before the recording of “Li’l Darlin'” presented with this post was made. Just before coming into the Basie band, Grey had worked with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie’s band. Dizzy was an excellent bandleader and master musician. However, his approach to discipline was rather informal. Grey remembered: “After my first solo (in the Basie band), I leaned back in my chair to chat with the guys behind – just as we all used to do in Dizzy’s band – only to be reminded by Marshal Royal that this wasn’t done here! Discipline was tight, but cool. It was definitely a band of gentlemen.” (5)
Freddie Green, Wendell Culley and Marshal Royal on tour in Europe in the 1950s.
The recording presented with this post was digitally remastered by Mike Zirpolo.
Notes and links:
(1) Good Morning Blues …The Autobiography of Count Basie, as told to Albert Murray (1985),310.
(2) Information regarding Neal Hefti’s early association with Count Basie has been extracted from the Wikipedia post on him.
(3) This information on “Li’l Darlin'” comes from the Wikipedia post on it.
(4) Chapter 13: The Rise and Fall of Popular Music by Donald Clarke (2008), Donald’s Encyclopedia of Popular Music (online).
(5) Count Basie – A Bio-Discography by Chris Sheridan (1986), 466-467.
Here are links to some other great performances by Count Basie:
https://swingandbeyond.com/2017/02/04/blues-in-hoss-flat-1958-count-basie/
https://swingandbeyond.com/2024/08/24/wonderful-thing-1949-count-basie-with-harry-sweets-edison/
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/
https://swingandbeyond.com/2023/05/12/april-in-paris-1940-artie-shaw-and-1955-count-basie/
And for more of that late night feeling, check this performance out: https://swingandbeyond.com/2017/11/04/une-lettre-de-jean-1997-the-morpheus-trio/
A supernal piece of music by a wonderful writer and performed by a signature band. What isn’t good on the album: The Kid from Red Bank? Midnight Blue? Splanky? They’re all great. It does appear to be true that Neil Hefti’s biggest take of royalty money came from the Batman theme, which he is said to have thought was funny.
If I am not mistaken Hefti and Bobby Troup wrote what may be the last great popular song from that sensational period which ran from about 1915 – 1975, Girl Talk.