New Vine Street Blues
LP RCA Vintage Series LPM-514
This beautiful mood piece is a remake of an early Benny Moten recording from 1924. Now we are in the depression, and it’s 1930.
The number is not a conventional 12-bar blues but has an unusual 24-bar structure and got its name from a famous thoroughfare in downtown Kansas City, the home town of this great band. Count Basie plays fine old-style piano, followed by the dobro guitar of the band’s main arranger, Eddie Durham. Then I guess that it is Ed Lewis who does some fine blues playing on his muted trumpet in the end. I also have to guess that it is Woody Walder who is responsible for the effective low-register clarinet playing at the beginning of the record and who also demonstrates outstanding slap tongue skills.