Count Basie & Dizzy Gillespie – The Gifted Ones (Pablo, 1979)

Dizzy Gillespie (tr); Count Basie (p); Ray Brown (b); Mickey Roker (d)

Recorded on February 3, 1977

When fans talk about Dizzy's small-band recordings from the 1970s, the first one that gets mentioned is usually Dizzy Gillespie's Big 4.  No surprise there. It's a wonderful record. 

But I think album that Dizzy made with Count Basie is even more interesting.  The pairing works surprisingly well.  I don't understand why the record isn't held in higher esteem.  Maybe it just got lost in the shuffle.