It Might as Well Be Swing

It Might as Well Be Swing
It Might as Well Be Swing
Studio album by Frank Sinatra
Released	August 1964 (LP); October 1986 (CD)
Recorded	June 9–12, 1964, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Vocal jazz, traditional pop
Length	27:22
Label	Reprise ; FS 1012
Producer	Sonny Burke
Frank Sinatra chronology
Count Basie chronology

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	^[2]

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 arranged by Quincy Jones.

The recording of "Fly Me to the Moon" which appears on this album has become one of Sinatra's most popular. This was Sinatra and Basie's second collaboration after 1962'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[]

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

Personnel[]

Frank Sinatra - vocals
Count Basie - piano
Quincy Jones - arranger, conductor

The Count Basie Orchestra

Al Porcino, Don Rader, Wallace Davenport, Al Aarons, George Cohn and Harry "Sweets" Edison - trumpets
Henry Coker, Grover Mitchell, Bill Hughes, Henderson Chambers and Kenny Shroyer - trombones
Frank Foster, Charles Fowlkes, Marshal Royal, Frank Wess and Eric Dixon - reeds
Emil Richards - vibraphone
George Catlett - double bass
Freddie Green - guitar
Sonny Payne - drums

String section

Gerald Vinci, Israel Baker, Jacques Gasselin, Thelma Beach, Bonnie Douglas, Marshall Sosson, Erno Neufeld, Lou Raderman, Paul Shure and James Getzoff - violins
Virginia Majewski, Paul Robyn, Alvin Dinkin and Stan Harris - violas
Edgar Lustgarten and Ann Goodman - cellos

Production

Sonny Burke - producer
Lowell Frank - engineer
Ted Allen - cover photo
Gregg Geller - 1998 reissue producer
Lee Herschberg - 20-bit digital mastering

References[]

^ Allmusic review
^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 20. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.

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[1] Allmusic review

[RSJRG-2] Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 20. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.

[1]

[2]

show v t Count Basie Orchestra
Count Basie
Members	John Duke (Bass) Sal Nistico (Tenor Sax) Frank Wess (Alto Sax/Flute) Joe Williams (Vocals) Earle Warren (Alto Sax/Occasional Singer) Preston Love (Alto Sax) (Alto Sax) Sonny Cohn (trumpet) Reunald Jones (Trumpet) Neal Hefti (Trumpet) Harry Edison (Trumpet) Joe Newman (Trumpet) Lester Young (Tenor Sax) Herschel Evans (Tenor Sax) Jo Jones (Drums) Walter Page (Bass) Bill Hughes (trombone) (lead trombone) Grover Mitchell (trombone) Freddie Green (Guitar) Billie Holiday (Vocals) Buck Clayton (Trumpet) Jimmy Rushing (Vocals) Marshal Royal (Alto Sax) Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (Tenor Sax) Thad Jones (Trumpet) Al Grey (Trombone) John Clayton (Bass) Cleveland Eaton (Bass) Gregg Field (drums) Dennis Rowland (Vocals) Chris Murrell (vocals) (Drums) (Drums) Jack Washington (Baritone Sax) Johnny Williams (Baritone Sax) Butch Miles (Drums) Sonny Payne (Drums) Frank Foster (Tenor Sax) (Piano) (Guitar) (Piano) Scotty Barnhart (Trumpet) James Leary (Bass) (Drums) (guitar) Mel Wanzo (trombone) (trumpet) Ed Shaughnessy (drums)
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) Breakfast Dance and Barbecue (1959, Roulette) Welcome to the Club (Uncredited) (Nat King Cole) (1959, Capitol) Basie/Eckstine Incorporated (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) I Gotta Right to Swing (Uncredited) (Sammy Davis Jr.) (1960, Decca)
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 & 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! (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) Broadway Basie's...Way (1966, Command) Basie Meets Bond (1966, United Artists) Hollywood...Basie's Way (1966, Command) 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) A Very Swingin' Basie Christmas! (2015)
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)