"After all, I do have the world's best rhythm section" was Count Basie's laconic answer when asked why his pianist fingers used to dwell in crisp pling-pling trebles. And thinking of that rhythm section – Jo Jones and Walter Page – proves him right. Jones, Page, and Freddie Green (baptized Frederic William Green) were the "All American Rhythm Section". Green was the man "with the cannon of a guitar", which he used to hold almost flat on his lap. He was the dean of rhythm guitarists in a world of neurotic players longing to be up front. He was the Count's partner from their very first shared experiences until the Count's...