A slightly disparate group of albums, all arranged by Hefti except for the lightweight 1962 septet that, apart from covering ‘Shoe Shine Boy’ and ‘Lady Be Good’, had precious little in common with the early ‘Kansas City 7’. The big band material combines Basie's first recorded meeting with Sinatra, still just about in prime condition, with the iconic Atomic (including seven 12-bar blues at seven different tempos!) and its less exciting, Lockjaw-less followup Plays Hefti. There have been mutterings in the past about Avid's reissue sound, but their new ‘Phase Compensated Stereo’ is something else – comparing the recent Warner Original Album Series (reviewed in Jazzwise 194) and its reproduction of Atomic (the only set they have in common), this version sets the teeth on edge like the fake stereo of 50 years ago. By contrast, the five bonus tracks from VOA's mono recording of the 1956 Newport Festival sound gloriously natural.