Ghosts are real. The Count Basie Orchestra, the ghost band of the late Kansas City jazz legend Count Basie, is haunted by exceptionally lively spirits. Recorded at the New York City venue in 2020, the new release Live at Birdland may be the ensemble’s strongest album since Basie’s death in 1984. Imbued with refined elegance and propulsive swing, the two-and-a-half hour set finds the big band paying homage to the past without seeming old-fashioned or mechanical. The musicians’ succinct, blues-steeped solos are suffused with joy. Rather than sounding as if it belongs in a dilapidated theater, Live at Birdland is a radiant soundtrack for a festive party. Basie lives!