By May 1954, tenor saxophonist Frank Wess had spent a year in Count Basie's newly formed New Testament band. This is the band that modernized swing with the help of superb arrangers like Neal Hefti, Frank Foster and Ernie Wilkins. To hold onto top players like Wess in the 10-inch LP era, Basie wisely let them record as leaders whenever the band took a b…
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