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All of these delights come with a booklet, with a nice outline of Alan’s career and
some historical insights in it—did you know that ten day after Alan bought his
Wurlitzer keyboard, it was inadvertently left on a stage and was filched? Now, ain’t

that the blues?

Ian K McKenzie

Georgie Fame—with Count Basie Band -

Live in 1968—Rhythm and Blues RANDB
103

Georgie Fame (aka Clive Powell) was (is) one
of the best musicians in the British Blues Boom
of the 1960s. Capable of providing outstanding

music in many of the subcategories of blues
music including jazz-blues.

True, to the average citizen his forever

remembered (massive) hit song was ‘The Ballad
of Bonnie and Clyde’, which topped the charts
around the world. Nevertheless, Mr Fame has

deep roots. For some dedicated fans, the
‘poppieness’ of the ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ (1967) song suggested that Fame was
‘ignoring his roots’ and selling out. But underneath the apparent sell-out, Georgie

was still at heart a jazz/ swing man, a point made with some force by his regular
collaborations with Count Basie and his band.

In April 1968, Basie and Fame played the Royal Albert Hall, and the Free Trade Hall,

Manchester (top price tickets 25/- (£1. 25p)). On May 12, 1968, the pair again joined
forces on a BBC broadcast under the title ‘Together’.

This album is the full set from that broadcast, in its original running order, topped

off with some additional recordings made in Sweden, on BBC radio and on Associated
TeleVision (ATV).

Of the 23 tracks on the CD there are none that would fall into the category of ‘blues
traditional’ but all of them come with a solid link to jazz and swing including Fame
and the band addressing a version of ‘The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde’ which is most
unlike the original, giving Georgie the space to add some vocal embellishments that

serve as a counterpoint to the storming attack by the band.

Here’s the punch line. For reasons I fail to understand, far to many died-in-the-wool

blues fans head for the hills at even the mention of jazz. If you’re one of those, ease-up
for a moment and give it a chance—you might like it. For the rest, just go with the
flow, after all, Jazz, Blues, Gospel, R ‘n’ B and Rock ‘n’ Roll are so closely linked as to

be, sometimes, virtually indivisible. ‘Nuff Said!

Ian K McKenzie