It Might as Well Be Swing

It Might as Well Be Swing
Studio album by Frank Sinatra
Released August 1964
Recorded June 9–12, 1964, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Genre Vocal jazz, Traditional pop music
Length 27:22
Label Reprise
Producer Sonny Burke
Frank Sinatra chronology
America, I Hear You Singing (1964) It Might as Well Be Swing
(1964)		 12 Songs of Christmas (1964)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

It Might as Well Be Swing is a 1964 studio album by Frank Sinatra, accompanied by Count Basie and his orchestra. It was Sinatra's first studio recording with Quincy Jones.

This was Sinatra and Basie's second collaboration after 1963's Sinatra-Basie.

Sinatra's cover version of "Hello Dolly" on the album features a new second verse improvised by Sinatra, which pays tribute to Louis Armstrong, who had topped the Billboard charts with his own version of the song earlier in 1964.

It Might as Well Be Swing is a reference to the title of the well known jazz standard "It Might as Well Be Spring".

Track listing

  1. "Fly Me to the Moon" (Bart Howard) – 2:30
  2. "I Wish You Love" (Léo Chauliac, Charles Trenet, Albert Beach) – 2:56
  3. "I Believe in You" (Frank Loesser) – 2:21
  4. "More (Theme from Mondo Cane)" (Riz Ortolani, Nino Oliviero, Marcello Ciorciolini, Norman Newell) – 3:05
  5. "I Can't Stop Loving You" (Don Gibson) – 3:00
  6. "Hello, Dolly!" (Jerry Herman) – 2:45
  7. "I Wanna Be Around" (Johnny Mercer, Sadie Vimmerstedt) – 2:25
  8. "The Best is Yet to Come" (Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh) – 3:10
  9. "The Good Life" (Sacha Distel, Jack Reardon) – 3:10
  10. "Wives and Lovers" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 2:50

Personnel

The Count Basie Orchestra
Production

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
Count Basie Orchestra
Members

Sammy Nestico (Tenor Sax) · Joe Williams (Vocals) · Earle Warren (Alto Sax/Occasional Singer) · Preston Love (Alto Sax) · Reunald Jones (Trumpet) · Neal Hefti, (Trumpet) · Harry "Sweets" Edison (Trumpet) · Joe Newman (Trumpet) · Lester Young (Tenor Sax) · Herschel Evans (Tenor Sax) · Jo Jones (Drums) · Walter Page (Bass) · Freddie Green (Guitar) · Billie Holiday (Vocals) · Buck Clayton (Trumpet) · Jimmy Rushing (Vocals) · Marshall Royal (Alto Sax) · Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (Tenor Sax) · Thad Jones (Trumpet) · Al Grey (Trombone) · John Clayton (Bass) · Cleveland Eaton (Bass) · Greg Fields (drums)  · Dennis Rowland (Vocals) · Chris Murrell (vocals) Dave Gibson (Drums) Rich Thompson (Drums) · Jack Washington (Baritone Sax) · Butch Miles (Drums) · Sonny Payne (Drums) · Frank Foster (Tenor Sax) · George Caldwell (Piano) • Charlton Johnson (Guitar) • Tony Suggs (Piano) • Scotty Barnhart (Trumpet) • James Leary (Bass) • Brian Gryce (Drums) • Will Matthews (guitar)
1951–1960

Dance Session (1952–54, Clef) · Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings (with Joe Williams|) (1955, Clef) · April in Paris (1955–56, Verve) · The Greatest!! Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards (with Joe Williams) (1956, Verve) · Basie in London (live) (1956, Verve) · One O'Clock Jump (with Joe Williams and Ella Fitzgerald) (1957, Verve) · Count Basie at Newport (live) (1957, Verve) · E = MC² (1958, Roulette) · Basie Plays Hefti (1958, Roulette) · No Count Sarah (with Sarah Vaughan) (1958, EmArcy) · Chairman of the Board (1958, Roulette) · Welcome to the Club (Nat King Cole) (1959, Capitol) · Basie and Eckstine, Inc. (with Billy Eckstine) (1959, Roulette) · Strike Up the Band (with Tony Bennett) (1959, Roulette) · In Person! (with Tony Bennett) (1959, Columbia) · Everyday I Have the Blues (with Joe Williams) (1959, Roulette) · The Count Basie Story (1960, Roulette)
1961–1970

First Time! The Count Meets the Duke (with Duke Ellington) (1961, Columbia) · The Legend (1961, Roulette) · Count Basie/Sarah Vaughan (with Sarah Vaughan) (1961, Roulette) · Basie at Birdland (live) (1961, Roulette) · On My Way and Shoutin' Again! (Verve, 1963) · Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First (with Frank Sinatra) (1962, Reprise) · Li'l Ol' Groovemaker...Basie! (1963, Verve) · This Time by Basie: Hits of the '50s and '60s (1963, Verve) · Ella and Basie! (with Ella Fitzgerald) (1963, Verve) · Basie Land (1964, Verve) · It Might as Well Be Swing (with Frank Sinatra) (1964, Reprise) · Basie Picks the Winners (1965, Verve) · Our Shining Hour (with Sammy Davis, Jr.) (1965, Verve) · Arthur Prysock and Count Basie (with Arthur Prysock) (1965, Verve) · Basie's Beatle Bag (1965, Verve) · Basie Meets Bond (1966, Capitol) · Sinatra at the Sands (live, with Frank Sinatra) (1966, Reprise) · Basie's Beat (1967, Verve) · Half a Sixpence (1967, Dot) · The Board of Directors (with The Mills Brothers) (1968, Dot) · The Board of Directors Annual Report (with The Mills Brothers) (1968, Dot) · Basie Straight Ahead (1969, Dot) · Standing Ovation (1969, Dot) · Afrique (1970, RCA Victor)
1971–1980

Bing 'n' Basie (with Bing Crosby) (Daybreak, 1972) · Jazz at Santa Monica Civic '72 (live) (1972, Pablo) · The Bosses (with Big Joe Turner) (1973, Pablo) · Basie Big Band (1975, Pablo) · Fun Time (1975, Pablo) · I Told You So (1976, Pablo) · Prime Time (1977, Pablo)  · Montreux '77 (live) (1977, Pablo) · Live in Japan '78 (live) (1978, Pablo) · On the Road (1979, Pablo) · Digital III at Montreux (live) (1979, Pablo) · A Classy Pair (with Ella Fitzgerald) (1979, Pablo) · A Perfect Match (live, with Ella Fitzgerald) (1979, Pablo) Kansas City Shout (1980, Pablo) ·
1981–1990

Warm Breeze (1981, Pablo) · Send in the Clowns (Sarah Vaughan) (1981, Pablo) · Farmer's Market Barbecue (1982, Pablo) · 88 Basie Street (1983, Pablo) · Me and You (1983, Pablo) · Fancy Pants (final album with Count Basie) (1983, Pablo) · Long Live the Chief (1987, Denon) · Diane Schuur & the Count Basie Orchestra (live, with Diane Schuur) (1987, GRP) · The Legend, the Legacy (1990, Denon) ·
1991–2000

The George Benson Big Boss Band featuring The Count Basie Orchestra (1991, Warner Bros.) · The Count Basie Orchestra Live at El Morocco (1992, Telarc) · Joe Williams and the Count Basie Orchestra (1993, Telarc) · Live at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: The Count Basie Orchestra (1997, Blue Jackel) · At Long Last (with Rosemary Clooney) (1998, Concord) Count Plays Duke (1998, MAMA) · Swing Shift (1999, MAMA)
2001–present

Ray Sings, Basie Swings (2006, Concord) · Basie is Back (2007, MAMA) · Midnight in Manhattan (2007, Aspirion) A Swingin' Christmas (Featuring The Count Basie Big Band) (with Tony Bennett) (2008, Columbia)
Small group sessions

Basie Jam (1973, Pablo) · For the First Time (1974, Pablo) · Basie & Zoot (with Zoot Sims) (1975, Pablo) · For the Second Time (1975, Pablo) · Basie Jam 2 (1976, Pablo) · Basie Jam 3 (1976, Pablo) · Kansas City 5 (1977, Pablo) · The Gifted Ones (with Dizzy Gillespie) (1977, Pablo) · Basie Jam: Montreux '77 (live) (1977, Pablo) · Satch and Josh...Again (with Oscar Peterson) (1977, Pablo) · Night Rider (with Oscar Peterson) (1978, Pablo) · Count Basie Meets Oscar Peterson – The Timekeepers (with Oscar Peterson) (1978, Pablo) · Yessir, That's My Baby (with Oscar Peterson) (1978, Pablo) · Kansas City 7 (1980, Pablo) · Kansas City 6 (1981, Pablo) · Mostly Blues...and Some Others (1983, Pablo) ·