William "Count" Basie was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz pianistJazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instrument's combined melodic and harmonic capabilities...
,
organistAn organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
,
bandleaderA bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
, and
composerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. Basie led his
jazz orchestraThe Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie. The band survived the late '40s decline in big band popularity and went on to produce notable collaborations with singers such as Frank Sinatra and Ella...
almost continuously for nearly 50 years. Many notable musicians came to prominence under his direction, including
tenor saxophonistsThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
Lester YoungLester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
and
Herschel EvansHerschel "Tex" Evans , was a tenor saxophonist who worked in the Count Basie Orchestra. He had also worked with Lionel Hampton and Buck Clayton...
,
trumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
ers
Buck ClaytonBuck Clayton was an American jazz trumpet player who was a leading member of Count Basie’s "Old Testament" orchestra and a leader of mainstream-oriented jam session recordings in the 1950s. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong...
and Harry "Sweets" Edison and singers
Jimmy RushingJames Andrew Rushing , known as Jimmy Rushing, was an American blues shouter and swing jazz singer from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948.Rushing was known as "Mr...
and
Joe WilliamsJoe Williams was a well-known jazz vocalist, a baritone singing a mixture of blues, ballads, popular songs, and jazz standards.-Early life:...
. Basie's theme songs were "
One O'Clock Jump"One O'Clock Jump" is a jazz standard, a 12-bar blues instrumental, written in 1937 by Count Basie, with arrangement from Eddie Durham and Buster Smith. The original recording of the tune by Basie and his band is noted for the saxophone work of Herschel Evans and Lester Young; trumpeting by Buck...
" and "
April In Paris"April in Paris" is a song composed by Vernon Duke with lyrics by E. Y. Harburg in 1932 for the Broadway musical, Walk A Little Faster. The original 1933 hit was performed by Freddy Martin, and the 1952 remake was by the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, whose version made the Cashbox Top 50.Composer Alec...
".
Early life
William James Basie was born to Harvey Lee Basie, and Lilly Ann Childs, who lived on Mechanic Street in
Red Bank, New Jersey-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 11,844 people, 5,201 households, and 2,501 families residing in the borough. The population density was 6,639.1 people per square mile . There were 5,450 housing units at an average density of 3,055.0 per square mile...
. His father worked as a coachman and caretaker for a wealthy judge. After automobiles replaced horses, his father became a groundskeeper and handyman for several families in the area. His mother, a piano player who gave Basie his first piano lessons, took in laundry and baked cakes for sale and paid 25 cents a lesson for piano instruction for him.
Basie was not much of a scholar and instead dreamed of a traveling life, inspired by the carnivals which came to town. He only got as far as junior high school. He would hang out at the Palace Theater in Red Bank and did occasional chores for the management, which got him free admission to the shows. He also learned to operate the spotlights for the
vaudevilleVaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
shows. One day, when the pianist failed to arrive by show time, Basie took his place. Playing by ear, he quickly learned to improvise music appropriate to
silent movieSilent Movie is a 1976 satirical comedy film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks, and released by 20th Century Fox on June 17, 1976...
s.
Though a natural at the piano, Basie preferred drums. However, the obvious talents of another young Red Bank area drummer,
Sonny GreerSonny Greer was an American jazz drummer, best known for his work with Duke Ellington.Greer was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and played with Elmer Snowden's band and the Howard Theatre's orchestra in Washington, D.C. before joining Duke Ellington, who he met in 1919...
(who was
Duke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
's drummer from 1919 to 1951), discouraged Basie and he switched to piano exclusively by age 15. They played together in venues until Greer set out on his professional career. By then Basie was playing with pick-up groups for dances, resorts, and amateur shows, including Harry Richardson's "Kings of Syncopation". When not playing a gig, he hung out at the local pool hall with other musicians where he picked up on upcoming play dates and gossip. He got some jobs in
Asbury Park, New JerseyAsbury Park is a city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, located on the Jersey Shore and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 16,116. The city is known for its rich musical history, including its association with...
, playing at the Hong Kong Inn, until a better player took his place.
Early career
Around 1924, he went to
HarlemHarlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, a hotbed of jazz, living down the block from the Alhambra Theater. Early after his arrival, he bumped into
Sonny GreerSonny Greer was an American jazz drummer, best known for his work with Duke Ellington.Greer was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and played with Elmer Snowden's band and the Howard Theatre's orchestra in Washington, D.C. before joining Duke Ellington, who he met in 1919...
, who was by then the drummer for the Washingtonians,
Duke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
's early band. Soon, Basie met many of the Harlem musicians who were making the scene, including Willie "the Lion" Smith and
James P. JohnsonJames P. Johnson was an American pianist and composer...
.
Basie toured in several acts between 1925 and 1927, including
Katie Krippen and Her Kiddies as part of the
Hippity Hop show; on the
KeithBenjamin Franklin Keith was an American vaudeville theatre owner, highly influential in the evolution of variety theater into vaudeville.-Early years:...
, the Columbia Burlesque, and the
Theater Owners Bookers AssociationTheater Owners Booking Association, or T.O.B.A., was the vaudeville circuit for African American performers in the 1920s and 1930s. The theaters all had white owners and collaborated in booking jazz, blues, comedians, and other performers for black audiences...
(T.O.B.A.)
vaudevilleVaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
circuits; and as a soloist and accompanist to
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singers Katie Krippen and Gonzelle White. His touring took him to
Kansas CityKansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, St. Louis, New Orleans, and
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Throughout his tours, Basie met many great jazz musicians, including
Louis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
.
Back in Harlem in 1925, Basie got his first steady job at Leroy's, a place known for its piano players and its "cutting contests." The place catered to "uptown celebrities," and typically the band winged every number without sheet music (using "head" arrangements). He met
Fats WallerFats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
, who was playing organ at the Lincoln Theater accompanying silent movies, and Waller taught him how to play that instrument (Basie later played organ at the Eblon Theater in Kansas City). As he did with Duke Ellington, Willie "the Lion" Smith helped Basie out during the lean times arranging gigs at house-rent parties, introducing him to other top musicians, and teaching him some piano technique.
In 1928 Basie was in Tulsa and heard
Walter PageWalter Sylvester Page , nicknamed "Hoss," was an African American jazz bassist and leader of the Oklahoma City Blue Devils jazz orchestra from 1925–1931...
and his Famous Blue Devils, one of the first
big bandA big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
s, which featured
Jimmy RushingJames Andrew Rushing , known as Jimmy Rushing, was an American blues shouter and swing jazz singer from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948.Rushing was known as "Mr...
on vocals. A few months later, he was invited to join the band, which played mostly in
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and
OklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. It was at this time that he began to be known as "Count" Basie (see
Jazz royaltyJazz royalty is a term that reflects the many great jazz musicians who have been termed as musically gifted, honorific, "aristocratic" or "royal" and had titles added to their names or nicknames due to their strong musical abilities....
).
Kansas City years
The following year, Basie became the pianist with the
Bennie MotenBennie Moten was a noted American jazz pianist and band leader born in Kansas City, Missouri.He led the Kansas City Orchestra, the most important of the itinerant, blues-based orchestras active in the Midwest in the 1920s, and helped to develop the riffing style that would come to define many of...
band based in Kansas City, inspired by Moten's ambition to raise his band to the level of Duke Ellington's or
Fletcher HendersonJames Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. His was one of the most prolific black orchestras and his influence was vast...
's. Where the Blue Devils were "snappier" and more "bluesy," the Moten band was classier and more respected, and played in the "
Kansas City stompKansas City Jazz is a style of jazz that developed in Kansas City, Missouri and the surrounding Kansas City Metropolitan Area during the 1930s and marked the transition from the structured big band style to the musical improvisation style of Bebop...
" style. In addition to playing piano, Basie was co-arranger with Eddie Durham, who actually did the notating. During a stay in Chicago, Basie recorded with the band. He occasionally played four-hand piano and dual pianos with Moten, who also conducted. The band improved with several personnel changes, including the addition of
tenor saxophonistThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
Ben WebsterBenjamin Francis Webster , a.k.a. "The Brute" or "Frog," was an influential American jazz tenor saxophonist. Webster, born in Kansas City, Missouri, was considered one of the three most important "swing tenors" along with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young...
.
When the band voted Moten out, Basie took over for several months as Count Basie and his Cherry Blossoms until the band folded, when he returned to Moten's newly re-organized band. When Moten died in 1935 after a surgical procedure, the band unsuccessfully attempted to stay together. Then Basie formed a new band, which included many Moten alumni, with the important addition of tenor player
Lester YoungLester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
. They played at the Reno Club and sometimes were broadcast on local radio. Late one night with time to fill, the band started improvising. Basie liked the results and named the piece "
One O'Clock Jump"One O'Clock Jump" is a jazz standard, a 12-bar blues instrumental, written in 1937 by Count Basie, with arrangement from Eddie Durham and Buster Smith. The original recording of the tune by Basie and his band is noted for the saxophone work of Herschel Evans and Lester Young; trumpeting by Buck...
." According to Basie, "we hit it with the
rhythm sectionA rhythm section is a collection of musicians who make up a section of instruments which provides the accompaniment section of the music, giving the music its rhythmic texture and pulse, also serving as a rhythmic reference for the rest of the band...
and went into the
riffThe Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
s, and the riffs just stuck. We set the thing up front in D-flat, and then we just went on playing in F." It became his signature tune.
Hammond and first recordings
At the end of 1936, Basie and his band, now billed as Count Basie and His Barons of Rhythm, moved from Kansas City and honed their repertoire at a long engagement at the Grand Terrace Ballroom in Chicago. Right from the start, Basie's band was noted for its rhythm section. Another Basie innovation was the use of two tenor saxophone players; at the time, most bands had just one. When
Lester YoungLester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
complained of
Herschel EvansHerschel "Tex" Evans , was a tenor saxophonist who worked in the Count Basie Orchestra. He had also worked with Lionel Hampton and Buck Clayton...
' vibrato, the two were split apart and placed one on each side of the
altoAlto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
players, and soon Basie had the tenor players engaged in "duels". Many other bands later adapted the split tenor arrangement.
In that city in October 1936, members of the band participated in a recording session which producer
John HammondJohn Henry Hammond II was an American record producer, musician and music critic from the 1930s to the early 1980s...
later described as "the only perfect, completely perfect recording session I've ever had anything to do with". Hammond, according to Basie, had heard Basie's band over short-wave radio, then he went to Kansas City to check them out. The results were Lester Young's earliest recordings. Those four sides were released under the name Jones-Smith Incorporated, because Basie had already signed with
Decca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
but had not started recording for them (his first Decca session was January 1937). The sides were "Shoe Shine Boy", "Evening", "Boogie Woogie", and "Oh, Lady Be Good".
By now, Basie's sound was characterized by a "jumping" beat and the contrapuntal accents of his own piano. His personnel around 1937 included:
Lester YoungLester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
and
Herschel EvansHerschel "Tex" Evans , was a tenor saxophonist who worked in the Count Basie Orchestra. He had also worked with Lionel Hampton and Buck Clayton...
(tenor sax),
Freddie GreenFrederick William "Freddie" Green was an American swing jazz guitarist. He was especially noted for his sophisticated rhythm guitar in big band settings, particularly for the Count Basie orchestra, where he was part of the "All-American Rhythm Section" with Basie on piano, Jo Jones on drums, and...
(guitar),
Jo JonesJo Jones was an American jazz drummer.Known as Papa Jo Jones in his later years, he was sometimes confused with another influential jazz drummer, Philly Joe Jones...
(drums),
Walter PageWalter Sylvester Page , nicknamed "Hoss," was an African American jazz bassist and leader of the Oklahoma City Blue Devils jazz orchestra from 1925–1931...
(bass),
Earle WarrenEarle Warren was an alto saxophonist and occasional singer with Count Basie.He was born in Springfield, Ohio....
(alto sax),
Buck ClaytonBuck Clayton was an American jazz trumpet player who was a leading member of Count Basie’s "Old Testament" orchestra and a leader of mainstream-oriented jam session recordings in the 1950s. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong...
and Harry Edison (trumpet),
Benny MortonBenny Morton , born in New York City, was a jazz trombonist most associated with the swing genre. He was praised by fellow trombonist Bill Watrous among others. One of his first jobs was working with Clarence Holiday, and he appeared with Clarence's daughter Billie Holiday towards the end of her...
and Dickie Wells (trombone). Lester Young, known as "Prez" by the band, came up with nicknames for all the other band members. Basie became known as "Holy Man", "Holy Main", and just plain "Holy".
Basie favored
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, and he showcased some of the most notable blues singers of the era:
Billie HolidayBillie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
,
Jimmy RushingJames Andrew Rushing , known as Jimmy Rushing, was an American blues shouter and swing jazz singer from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948.Rushing was known as "Mr...
,
Big Joe TurnerBig Joe Turner was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to the songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." Although he came to his greatest fame in the 1950s with his pioneering rock and roll recordings, particularly "Shake, Rattle and...
,
Helen HumesHelen Humes was an American jazz and blues singer.Humes was successively a teenaged blues singer, band vocalist with Count Basie, saucy R&B diva and a mature interpreter of the classy popular song.-Career:...
, and
Joe WilliamsJoe Williams was a well-known jazz vocalist, a baritone singing a mixture of blues, ballads, popular songs, and jazz standards.-Early life:...
. He also hired arrangers who knew how to maximize the band's abilities, such as
Eddie DurhamEddie Durham was an American jazz guitarist, trombonist, composer and musical arranger of the swing music medium born in San Marcos, Texas, probably best known for his work with musicians like Cab Calloway, Willie Bryant, Andy Kirk, Glenn Miller, Jimmie Lunceford and Count Basie, among others...
and
Jimmy MundyJimmy Mundy was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, arranger, and composer, best known for his arrangements for Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Earl Hines....
.
New York City and the Swing years
When they arrived in New York, they made the Woodside Hotel their base (where they often rehearsed in the basement). Soon, they were booked at the
Roseland BallroomThe Roseland Ballroom is a multi-purpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's theatre district, on West 52nd Street....
for the
ChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
show. Basie recalled a review, which in his words was something like, "We caught the great Count Basie band which is supposed to be so hot he was going to come in here and set the Roseland on fire. Well, the Roseland is still standing". Compared to the reigning band of
Fletcher HendersonJames Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. His was one of the most prolific black orchestras and his influence was vast...
, Basie's band lacked polish and presentation. Hammond advised and encouraged them, and they soon came up with some adjustments, including softer playing, more solos, more standards, and saving their hottest numbers for later in the show to give the audience a chance to warm up. His first official recordings for Decca followed, under contract to agent MCA, including "
Pennies from Heaven"Pennies from Heaven" is a 1936 American popular song with music by Arthur Johnston and words by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1936 film of the same name...
" and "
Honeysuckle Rose"Honeysuckle Rose" is a 1928 song composed by Fats Waller, whose lyrics were written by Andy Razaf. Fats Waller's 1934 recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999....
".
Hammond introduced Basie to
Billie HolidayBillie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
who was soon singing with the band. (Holiday didn't record with Basie, however, as she had her own record contract and preferred working with small combos). The band's first appearance at the Apollo Theater followed, with vocalists Holiday and Rushing getting the most attention. Eddie Durham came back to help with arranging and composing, but for the most part their numbers were worked out in rehearsal, with Basie, guiding the proceedings, and the results written out little if at all. Once they found what they liked, they usually were able to repeat it using their collective memory.
Next, Basie played at the
SavoyThe Savoy Ballroom, located in Harlem, New York City, was a medium sized ballroom for music and public dancing that was in operation from March 12, 1926 to July 10, 1958. It was located between 140th and 141st Streets on Lenox Avenue....
, which was noted more for jitterbugging, while the Roseland was more of a place for fox-trots and
congaThe conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
s. In early 1938, the
SavoyThe Savoy Ballroom, located in Harlem, New York City, was a medium sized ballroom for music and public dancing that was in operation from March 12, 1926 to July 10, 1958. It was located between 140th and 141st Streets on Lenox Avenue....
was the meeting ground for a "battle of the bands" with
Chick WebbWilliam Henry Webb, usually known as Chick Webb was an American jazz and swing music drummer as well as a band leader.-Biography:...
's group. Basie had Holiday and Webb countered with
Ella FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
. As
MetronomeMetronome Magazine was a music-guide magazine published from the 1881 until 1961.The magazine in its early years catered for musicians in marching and then dance bands, but from the swing era, Metronome focused primarily on the genre of Jazz music appealing to fans...
magazine proclaimed, "Basie's Brilliant Band Conquers Chick's", then it went on in detail,
- "Throughout the fight, which never let down in its intensity during the whole fray, Chick took the aggressive, with the Count playing along easily and, on the whole, more musically scientifically. Undismayed by Chick's forceful drum beating, which sent the audience into shouts of encouragement and appreciation and casual beads of perspiration to drop from Chick's brow onto the brass cymbals, the Count maintained an attitude of poise and self-assurance. He constantly parried Chick's thundering haymakers with tantalizing runs and arpeggios which teased more and more force from his adversary".
The publicity over the battle, before and after, gave the Basie band a big boost and they gained wider recognition, as evidenced by
Benny GoodmanBenjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
's recording of
One O'Clock Jump"One O'Clock Jump" is a jazz standard, a 12-bar blues instrumental, written in 1937 by Count Basie, with arrangement from Eddie Durham and Buster Smith. The original recording of the tune by Basie and his band is noted for the saxophone work of Herschel Evans and Lester Young; trumpeting by Buck...
shortly thereafter.
A few months later, Holiday left for
Artie ShawArthur Jacob Arshawsky , better known as Artie Shaw, was an American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader. He was also the author of both fiction and non-fiction writings....
's band, and was replaced by
Helen HumesHelen Humes was an American jazz and blues singer.Humes was successively a teenaged blues singer, band vocalist with Count Basie, saucy R&B diva and a mature interpreter of the classy popular song.-Career:...
; she was also ushered in by John Hammond, and stayed with Basie for four years. Co-arranger and
tromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
player
Eddie DurhamEddie Durham was an American jazz guitarist, trombonist, composer and musical arranger of the swing music medium born in San Marcos, Texas, probably best known for his work with musicians like Cab Calloway, Willie Bryant, Andy Kirk, Glenn Miller, Jimmie Lunceford and Count Basie, among others...
left for
Glenn MillerAlton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
's orchestra and was replaced by
Dicky WellsWilliam Wells, , more famous under the name of Dicky Wells , was an American jazz trombonist....
. Basie's 14-man band began playing at the Famous Door, a mid-town nightspot, with a
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
network feed and
air conditioningAn air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
. Their fame took a huge leap. Adding to their play book, Basie received arrangements from
Jimmy MundyJimmy Mundy was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, arranger, and composer, best known for his arrangements for Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Earl Hines....
(who had also worked with Benny Goodman and
Earl HinesEarl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was an American jazz pianist. Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz piano and, according to one source, is "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".-Early...
) particularly for "Cherokee", "Easy Does It", and "Super Chief". In 1939, Basie and his band made a major cross-country tour, including their first
West CoastWest Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
dates. A few months later, Basie quit MCA and signed with the
William MorrisWilliam Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
Agency, who got them better fees.
In 1942, Basie moved to Queens with Catherine Morgan, after being married to her for a few years. On the West Coast, the band did a spot in
Reveille With Beverly, a
musicalMusical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
starring
Ann MillerJohnnie Lucille Collier, better known as Ann Miller was an American singer, dancer and actress.-Early life:...
, and also a "Command Performance" for Armed Forces Radio with Hollywood stars
Clark GableWilliam Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
,
Bette DavisRuth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
,
Carmen MirandaCarmen Miranda, GCIH was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, Broadway actress and Hollywood film star popular in the 1940s and 1950s. She was, by some accounts, the highest-earning woman in the United States and noted for her signature fruit hat outfit she wore in the 1943 movie The Gang's...
, Jerry Colonna, and singer
Dinah ShoreDinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
. Other minor movie spots followed including
Choo Choo Swing,
Crazy House,
Top Man, and
Hit Parade of 1943. They also started to record with RCA. The war years caused a lot of member turn over, and the band worked many play dates with lower pay. Dance hall bookings were down sharply as swing began to fade, the effects of the musicians' strikes of 1942-44 and 1948 began to be felt and the public's growing taste for
singersPop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
.
Post-war and later years
The big band era appeared to have ended after the war, and Basie disbanded the group. For a while, he performed in combos, sometimes stretched to an orchestra. In 1950, he headlined the Universal-International short film
"Sugar Chile" Robinson, Billie Holiday, Count Basie and His Sextet. He reformed his group as a 16-piece
orchestraAn orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
in 1952. Basie credits
Billy EckstineWilliam Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...
, a top male vocalist of the time, for prompting his return to Big Band and
Norman GranzNorman Granz was an American jazz music impresario and producer.Granz was a fundamental figure in American jazz, especially from about 1947 to 1960...
for getting him into the
BirdlandBirdland is a jazz club started in New York City on December 15, 1949. The original Birdland, which was located at 1678 Broadway, just north of West 52nd Street in Manhattan, was closed in 1965 due to increased rents, but it re-opened for one night in 1979...
club and promoting the new band through recordings on the
MercuryMercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
,
ClefClef Records was an American Jazz record label founded by Norman Granz in 1946. It was later absorbed into Verve Records....
, and
VerveVerve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
labels. The
jukeboxA jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media...
era had begun, and Basie shared the exposure along with early rock'n'roll and
rhythm and bluesRhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
artists. Basie's new band was more of an ensemble group, with fewer solo turns, and relying less on "head" and more on written arrangements.
Basie added touches of
bebopBebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
"so long as it made sense", and he required that "it all had to have feeling". Basie's band was sharing Birdland with bebop greats
Charlie ParkerCharles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
,
Dizzy GillespieJohn Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, and
Miles DavisMiles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
. Behind the occasional bebop solos, though, he always kept his strict rhythmic pulse, "so it doesn't matter what they do up front; the audience gets the beat". Basie also added
fluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
to some numbers, a novelty at the time that became widely copied. Soon, they were touring and recording again. The new band included:
Paul CampbellPaul Campbell is the name of:* Paul Campbell * Paul Campbell * Paul Campbell * Paul Campbell * Paul Campbell...
,
Tommy TurrentineThomas Walter Turrentine, Jr. was a swing and hard bop trumpeter of the 1940s to 1960s, the older brother of saxophonist Stanley Turrentine.-Biography:...
,
Johnny LetmanJohnny Letman was an American jazz trumpeter.Letman played early in his career in various Midwest bands, including those of Gerald Valentine, Scat Man Crothers, and Jimmy Raschelle...
, and
Idrees SuliemanIdrees Sulieman was a bop and hard bop trumpeter. He studied at Boston Conservatory, and gained early experience playing with the Carolina Cotton Pickers and the wartime Earl Hines Orchestra...
,
Joe NewmanJoseph Dwight Newman was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and educator, best known for his time with Count Basie....
(trumpet); Jimmy Wilkins,
Benny PowellBenny Powell was an African American jazz trombonist. He played both standard trombone and bass trombone....
,
Matthew GeeMatthew Gee was an American bebop trombonist and part time actor.Gee played trumpet and baritone as a child, and took up the trombone at age 11. After studying at Alabama State University, he played with Coleman Hawkins before doing a stint in the Army...
(trombone);
Paul QuinichettePaul Quinichette was a jazz tenor saxophone musician. He was known as the Vice President or Vice Prez for his uncanny emulation of the breathy style of Lester Young, known as Prez. Young, who affectionately called everyone "Lady ****" , called him "Lady Q"...
and
Floyd JohnsonFloyd Johnson , nicknamed "The Auburn Bulldog", was an American heavyweight boxer who was known for his stiff punch. His boxing record comes out to: 38 wins , 13 losses, and 11 draws...
(tenor sax);
Marshall RoyalMarshall Royal was an American clarinettist and alto saxophonist best known for his work with Count Basie, with whose band he played for nearly twenty years....
and
Ernie WilkinsErnest Brooks Wilkins Jr. was a jazz arranger and writer who also played tenor saxophone. He might be best known for his work with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie...
(alto sax); and Charlie Fowlkes (baritone sax).
Down BeatDown Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
said "(Basie) has managed to assemble an ensemble that can thrill both the listener who remembers 1938 and the youngster who has never before heard a big band like this".
In 1954, the band made its first
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an tour. Jazz was especially strong in
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
,
The NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in the 1950s; These countries were the stomping grounds for many
expatriateAn expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
jazz stars who were either resurrecting their careers or sitting out the years of racial divide in the United States.
Neal HeftiNeal Hefti was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, tune writer, and arranger. He was perhaps best known for composing the theme music for the Batman television series of the 1960s, and for scoring the 1968 film The Odd Couple and the subsequent TV series of the same name.He began arranging...
began to provide arrangements, notably "Lil Darlin'". By the mid-1950s, Basie's band had become one of the preeminent backing big bands for some of the most prominent jazz vocalists of the time. They also toured with the "Birdland Stars of 1955", whose lineup included
Sarah VaughanSarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
,
Erroll GarnerErroll Louis Garner was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His best-known composition, the ballad "Misty", has become a jazz standard...
,
Lester YoungLester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
,
George ShearingSir George Shearing, OBE was an Anglo-American jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for MGM Records and Capitol Records. The composer of over 300 titles, he had multiple albums on the Billboard charts during the 1950s, 1960s, 1980s and 1990s...
, and
Stan GetzStanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
.
In 1957, Basie released the live album
Count Basie at Newport. "
April in Paris"April in Paris" is a song composed by Vernon Duke with lyrics by E. Y. Harburg in 1932 for the Broadway musical, Walk A Little Faster. The original 1933 hit was performed by Freddy Martin, and the 1952 remake was by the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, whose version made the Cashbox Top 50.Composer Alec...
" (arrangement by Wild Bill Davis) was a best-selling instrumental and the title song for the hit album. The Basie band made two tours in the British Isles and on the second, they put on a command performance for Queen Elizabeth II, along with
Judy GarlandJudy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
,
Vera LynnDame Vera Lynn, DBE is an English singer-songwriter and actress whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during World War II. During the war she toured Egypt, India and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops...
, and
Mario Lanzaright|thumb|[[MGM]] still, circa 1949Mario Lanza was an American tenor and Hollywood movie star of the late 1940s and the 1950s. The son of Italian emigrants, he began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16....
. He was a guest on
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's
The Pat Boone Chevy ShowroomThe Pat Boone Chevy Showroom is a half-hour variety show that aired on ABC from October 3, 1957 to June 23, 1960, starring the young singer Pat Boone and a host of top-name guest stars. The program was of course sponsored by Chevrolet...
, a venue also opened to several other black entertainers. In 1959, Basie's band recorded a "greatest hits" double album
The Count Basie Story (
Frank FosterFrank Foster was an American tenor and soprano saxophonist, flautist, arranger, and composer. Foster collaborated frequently with Count Basie and worked as a bandleader from the early 1950s.-Biography:...
, arranger) and "Basie and Eckstine, Inc.": album featuring Billy Eckstine,
Quincy JonesQuincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
(as arranger) and the Count Basie Orchestra. It was released by Roulette Records, then later reissued by Capital Records.
Later that year, Basie appeared on a television special with
Fred AstaireFred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
, featuring a dance solo to "
Sweet Georgia Brown"Sweet Georgia Brown" is a jazz standard and pop tune written in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard and Kenneth Casey .The tune was first recorded on March 19, 1925 by bandleader Ben Bernie, resulting in a five-week No. 1 for Ben Bernie and his Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra...
", followed in January 1960 by Basie performing at one of the five
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
Inaugural Balls. That summer, Basie and
Duke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
combined forces for the recording
First Time! The Count Meets the Duke, each providing four numbers from their play books.
During the balance of the 1960s, the band kept busy with tours, recordings, television appearances, festivals,
Las VegasThe Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
shows, and travel abroad, including cruises. Some time around 1964, Basie adopted his trademark yachting cap.
Through steady changes in personnel, Basie led the band into the 1970s. Basie made a few more movie appearances, such as the
Jerry LewisJerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
film
CinderfellaCinderfella is a comedy film version of the classic Cinderella story, with several of the roles reversed. It was released December 16, 1960 by Paramount Pictures and stars Jerry Lewis as Fella.-Plot:...
(1960) and the
Mel BrooksMel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
movie
Blazing SaddlesBlazing Saddles is a 1974 satirical Western comedy film directed by Mel Brooks. Starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, the film was written by Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Al Uger, and was based on Bergman's story and draft. The movie was nominated for three...
(1974), playing his arrangement of "
April in Paris"April in Paris" is a song composed by Vernon Duke with lyrics by E. Y. Harburg in 1932 for the Broadway musical, Walk A Little Faster. The original 1933 hit was performed by Freddy Martin, and the 1952 remake was by the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, whose version made the Cashbox Top 50.Composer Alec...
".
Basie died of
pancreatic cancerPancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
in
Hollywood, Florida-Demographics:As of 2000, there were 59,673 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of...
on April 26, 1984 at the age of 79.
Count Basie and His Orchestra
The musicians associated with Count Basie over the years included the following:
- c.1937: Joe Keyes
Joe Keyes was an American jazz trumpeter who played in several leading bands in the 1930s and 1940s, including those of Bennie Moten, Count Basie, and Oran "Hot Lips" Page.-Life and career:...
, Buck ClaytonBuck Clayton was an American jazz trumpet player who was a leading member of Count Basie’s "Old Testament" orchestra and a leader of mainstream-oriented jam session recordings in the 1950s. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong...
, Carl SmithCarl Milton Smith was an American country music singer. Known as "Mister Country," Smith was the husband of June Carter and Goldie Hill, the drinking companion of Johnny Cash, and the father of Carlene Carter...
, George HuntGeorge Hunt was an American jazz trombonist, best known for his performances and recordings with the Count Basie Orchestra in the late 1930s....
, Dan MinorDan "Slamfoot" Minor was an American jazz trombonist who featured in the bands of Count Basie, Cab Calloway and many others from the 1920s to the 1940s.-Life and career:...
, Caughey RobertsCaughey Roberts was an American jazz alto sax player, best known for his time in the Count Basie Orchestra in the 1930s....
, Herschel EvansHerschel "Tex" Evans , was a tenor saxophonist who worked in the Count Basie Orchestra. He had also worked with Lionel Hampton and Buck Clayton...
, Lester YoungLester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
, Jack WashingtonRonald "Jack" Washington was an American jazz saxophonist, who was best known for his time in the Count Basie orchestra in the 1930s and 1940s.-Life and career:...
, Claude WilliamsClaude "The Fiddler" Williams was an American jazz violinist and guitarist.Williams was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, in 1908, and by 10 he had learned to play guitar, mandolin, banjo and cello. Upon hearing Joe Venuti play, he was inspired to take up the violin...
, Walter PageWalter Sylvester Page , nicknamed "Hoss," was an African American jazz bassist and leader of the Oklahoma City Blue Devils jazz orchestra from 1925–1931...
, Jo JonesJo Jones was an American jazz drummer.Known as Papa Jo Jones in his later years, he was sometimes confused with another influential jazz drummer, Philly Joe Jones...
.
- c.1939: Ed Lewis
Ed Lewis was an American jazz trumpeter.Lewis played early in his career in Kansas City with Jerry Westbrook as a baritone hornist, then switched to trumpet in 1925...
, Buck ClaytonBuck Clayton was an American jazz trumpet player who was a leading member of Count Basie’s "Old Testament" orchestra and a leader of mainstream-oriented jam session recordings in the 1950s. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong...
, Shad CollinsLester Rallingston "Shad" Collins was an American jazz trumpet player, composer and arranger, who played in several leading bands between the 1930s and 1950s, including those led by Chick Webb, Benny Carter, Count Basie, Lester Young, Cab Calloway and Sam "The Man" Taylor.-Life and career:Born in...
, Harry Edison, Earle WarrenEarle Warren was an alto saxophonist and occasional singer with Count Basie.He was born in Springfield, Ohio....
, Buddy Tate, Benny MortonBenny Morton , born in New York City, was a jazz trombonist most associated with the swing genre. He was praised by fellow trombonist Bill Watrous among others. One of his first jobs was working with Clarence Holiday, and he appeared with Clarence's daughter Billie Holiday towards the end of her...
, Dicky WellsWilliam Wells, , more famous under the name of Dicky Wells , was an American jazz trombonist....
, Freddie GreenFrederick William "Freddie" Green was an American swing jazz guitarist. He was especially noted for his sophisticated rhythm guitar in big band settings, particularly for the Count Basie orchestra, where he was part of the "All-American Rhythm Section" with Basie on piano, Jo Jones on drums, and...
.
- 1940: Al Killian
Al Killian was an American jazz trumpet player and occasional bandleader during the big band era, also known for playing jump blues and East Coast blues...
, Vic DickensonVic Dickenson was an African-American jazz trombonist. Dickenson's career started out in the 1920s and led him through musical partnerships with such legends as Count Basie , Sidney Bechet and Earl Hines...
.
- 1943: Joe Newman
Joseph Dwight Newman was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and educator, best known for his time with Count Basie....
, Snooky YoungEugene Edward "Snooky" Young was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known for his mastery of the plunger mute, with which he was able to create a wide range of sounds.-Biography:...
, Eli Robinson, Robert Scott, Louis TaylorLouis Taylor is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. He currently fights for Combat USA.-The Ultimate Fighter:Taylor was at the tryouts for The Ultimate Fighter 13 on November 4, 2010...
, Jimmy Powell, Rudy Rutherford, Rodney Richardson.
The singers
Basie hitched his star to some of the most famous vocalists of the 1950s and 1960s, which helped keep the Big Band sound alive and added greatly to his recording catalog. Jimmy Rushing sang with Basie in the late 1930s. Joe Williams toured with the band and was featured on the 1957 album
One O'Clock Jump, and 1956's
Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams SingsCount Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings is a 1956 album by the American jazz and blues singer Joe Williams, with the Count Basie Orchestra.-Track listing:# "Every Day I Have the Blues" – 5:29# "The Come Back" – 5:28...
, with "
Every Day (I Have the Blues)"Every Day I Have the Blues" or "Everyday I Have the Blues" is a classic of the blues that has been recorded by numerous artists. The song is usually credited to Peter Chatman and is often associated with jazz singer Joe Williams and B.B. King...
" becoming a huge hit. With Billy Eckstine on the album Basie-Eckstine Inc., in 1959.
Ella FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
made some memorable recordings with Basie, including the 1963 album
Ella and Basie!Ella and Basie! is a 1963 studio album by Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by the Count Basie Orchestra, with arrangements by Quincy Jones...
. With the 'New Testament' Basie band in full swing, and arrangements written by a youthful
Quincy JonesQuincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, this album proved a swinging respite from her
Songbook recordings and constant touring she did during this period. She even toured with the Basie Orchestra in the mid-1970s, and Fitzgerald and Basie also met on the 1979 albums
A Classy PairThe Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album three stars and said that "Basie's sidemen are unfortunately restricted in the Benny Carter arrangements to backup work but Basie has a few piano solos and Fitzgerald is in good voice and in typically swinging form" -Track listing:-Personnel:*...
,
Digital III at MontreuxDigital III at Montreux is a 1979 live album featuring a compilation of performances by Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Joe Pass, and Ray Brown, recorded at the 1979 Montreux Jazz Festival...
, and
A Perfect Match, the last two also recorded live at Montreux. In addition to
Quincy JonesQuincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, Basie was using arrangers such as
Benny CarterBennett Lester Carter was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King...
(Kansas City Suite),
Neal HeftiNeal Hefti was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, tune writer, and arranger. He was perhaps best known for composing the theme music for the Batman television series of the 1960s, and for scoring the 1968 film The Odd Couple and the subsequent TV series of the same name.He began arranging...
(The Atomic Mr Basie), and
Sammy NesticoSamuel "Sammy" Louis Nestico is a prolific and well known composer and arranger of big band music...
(Basie-Straight Ahead).
Frank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
recorded for the first time with Basie on 1962's
Sinatra-Basie and for a second studio album on 1964's
It Might as Well Be SwingIt 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 with Quincy Jones.This was Sinatra and Basie's second collaboration after 1963's Sinatra-Basie....
, which was arranged by
Quincy JonesQuincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
. Jones also arranged and conducted 1966's live
Sinatra at the SandsSinatra at the Sands is a 1966 live album by Frank Sinatra, accompanied by Count Basie and his orchestra, conducted and arranged by Quincy Jones, recorded live at the Copa Room of the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas....
. In May 1970, Sinatra performed in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's
Royal Festival HallThe Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
with the Basie orchestra, in a charity benefit for the
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to ChildrenThe National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is a United Kingdom charity campaigning and working in child protection.-History:...
. Sinatra later said of this concert "I have a funny feeling that those two nights could have been my finest hour, really. It went so well; it was so thrilling and exciting".
Basie also recorded with
Tony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
in the early 1960s — their albums together included the live recording at Las Vegas and
Strike Up the Band, a studio album. Basie also toured with Bennett, including a date at
Carnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
. Other notable recordings were with
Sammy Davis, Jr.Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
,
Bing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, and
Sarah VaughanSarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
. One of Basie's biggest regrets was never recording with
Louis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, though they shared the same bill several times.
Legacy
Count Basie introduced several generations of listeners to the Big Band sound and left an influential catalog. Basie is remembered by many who worked for him as being considerate of musicians and their opinions, modest, relaxed, fun-loving, dryly witty, and always enthusiastic about his music. As he summed up the key to his understated style, in his autobiography, "I think the band can really
swing when it swings
easy, when it can just play along like you are cutting butter".
Other cultural connections include
Jerry LewisJerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
using "Blues in Hoss' Flat" from Basie's
Chairman of the Board album, as the basis for his own "Chairman of the Board" routine in the movie
The Errand BoyThe Errand Boy is a 1961 American comedy film directed, co-written and starring Jerry Lewis.-Plot:Paramutual Pictures decides that they need a spy to find out the inner workings of their studio. Morty Tashman is a paperhanger who happens to be working right outside their window. They decide that...
, in which Lewis pantomimed the movements of a corporate executive holding a board meeting. (In the early 1980s, Lewis revived the routine during the live broadcast of one of his
Muscular Dystrophy AssociationThe Muscular Dystrophy Association is an American organization which combats muscular dystrophy and diseases of the nervous system and muscular system in general by funding research, providing medical and community services, and educating health professionals and the general public...
telethons).
Blues in Hoss' Flat, composed by Basie band member Frank Foster, was also the longtime theme song of San Francisco and New York radio DJ Al "Jazzbeaux" Collins. In addition, Basie is one of the producers of the "world's greatest music" that
Brenda FrickerBrenda Fricker is an Irish actress of theatre, film and television. She had appeared in more than 30 films and television roles...
's "Pigeon Lady" character claims to have heard in
Carnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in 1992's
Home Alone 2: Lost in New YorkHome Alone 2: Lost in New York is a 1992 American Christmas comedy film written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. It is the second film in the Home Alone series and the direct sequel to Home Alone. The film stars Macaulay Culkin in the lead role as Kevin McCallister, while...
. Drummer
Neil PeartNeil Ellwood Peart , OC, is a Canadian musician and author. He is the drummer for the rock band Rush.Peart grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ontario . During adolescence, he floated from regional band to regional band in pursuit of a career as a full-time drummer...
of the
CanadianCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
rock band
RushRush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
recorded a version of "One O'Clock Jump" with the
Buddy Rich Big BandBernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
, and has used it at the end of his drum solos on the 2002
Vapor Trails TourRush's Vapor Trails Tour marked the first tour for the band in nearly six years after the band entered a hiatus due to personal tragedies in drummer Neil Peart's life. The eponymous tour was in support of the band's first studio album in five years, Vapor Trails...
and Rush's
30th Anniversary TourThe R30: 30th Anniversary Tour was a concert tour by Canadian rock band Rush that celebrated the 30th anniversary of the band's definitive formation in July 1974 after Neil Peart replaced original drummer John Rutsey. It was also in support of the cover album Feedback...
.
The
Count Basie TheatreThe Count Basie Theatre is an historic landmark that operates as a theatre for performing arts in Red Bank, New Jersey. It opened as the Carlton Theater in 1926 and was renamed in 1984 to honor jazz great and Red Bank native William “Count” Basie. It has seating capacity for 1,543 patrons...
and Count Basie Field in his hometown of Red Bank, New Jersey were named in his honor. The street on which he lived, Mechanic Street has the honorary title of Count Basie Way.
On September 26, 2009, Edgecombe Avenue and 160th Street in
Washington Heights, ManhattanWashington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
, were renamed as Paul Robeson Boulevard and Count Basie Place. The corner is the location of 555 Edgecombe Avenue, also known as the
Paul Robeson HomeThe Paul Robeson Residence is a National Historic Landmarked building, located at 555 Edgecombe Avenue, Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA...
, a National Historic Landmark building where Count Basie and
Paul RobesonPaul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
lived.
Discography
The majority of Basie's recordings were made with his big band, see Count Basie Orchestra Discography.
Basie also made several small group recordings without his band:
- Count Basie Sextet (1954, Clef)
- Count Basie and the Kansas City 7
Count Basie and the Kansas City 7 is an album by American jazz bandleader and pianist Count Basie featuring small group performances recorded in 1962 for the Impulse! label.-Reception:...
(1962, Impulse!)
- Basie Swingin' Voices Singin' (1966, EMI)
- Loose Walk
Loose Walk is a 1972 album by Count Basie and Roy Eldridge. -Track listing:# "In a Mellow Tone" – 6:45# "Loose Walk" – 7:20# "Makin' Whoopee" – 4:37...
(with Roy EldridgeRoy David Eldridge , nicknamed "Little Jazz" was an American jazz trumpet player. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos and his strong influence on Dizzy Gillespie mark him as one of the most exciting musicians of the swing era and a...
) (1972, Pablo)
- Basie Jam (1973, Pablo)
- The Bosses
The Bosses is a 1973 album by American blues shouter Big Joe Turner accompanied by a small group led by Count Basie, recorded in 1973 and released on the Pablo label...
(with Big Joe TurnerBig Joe Turner was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to the songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." Although he came to his greatest fame in the 1950s with his pioneering rock and roll recordings, particularly "Shake, Rattle and...
) (1973)
- For the First Time
For the First Time is a 1974 studio album by Count Basie, with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Louie Bellson. Basie, Brown and Bellson followed For the First Time with For the Second Time . -Track listing:...
(1974, Pablo)
- Satch and Josh
Satch and Josh is a 1974 album by Oscar Peterson and Count Basie.-Track listing:# "Buns" - 4:35# "These Foolish Things " - 5:42...
(with Oscar PetersonOscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
)
- Basie & Zoot
Basie & Zoot is a 1975 studio album by Count Basie and Zoot Sims. - Track listing :# "I Never Knew" – 4:38# "It's Only a Paper Moon" – 5:33...
(with Zoot SimsJohn Haley "Zoot" Sims was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor and soprano.-Biography:He was born in Inglewood, California, the son of vaudeville performers Kate Haley and John Sims. Growing up in a performing family, Sims learned to play both drums and clarinet at an early age...
) (1975, Pablo)
- For the Second Time
For the Second Time is a 1975 studio album by Count Basie, with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Louie Bellson, the sequel to their 1974 album For the First Time. -Track listing:#"Sandman" – 5:48...
(1975, Pablo)
- Basie Jam 2
Basie Jam 2 is a 1976 studio album by Count Basie, the follow-up to 1973's Basie Jam.- Track listing :# "Mama Don't Wear No Drawers" – 12:33# "Doggin' Around" –...
(1976, Pablo)
- Basie Jam 3
Basie Jam 3 is a 1976 studio album by Count Basie, produced at the same sessions as Basie Jam 2. - Track listing :# "Bye Bye Blues" – 9:42# "Moten Swing" – 9:48...
(1976, Pablo)
- Kansas City 5
Kansas City 5 is a 1977 studio album by Count Basie. -Track listing:#"Jive at Five" – 5:30#"One O'Clock Jump" – 3:53#" No Special Thing" – 5:33...
(1977, Pablo)
- The Gifted Ones
The Gifted Ones is a 1977 studio album by Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie. -Track listing:#"Back to the Land" – 7:20#"Constantinople" – 8:28#"You Got It" – 5:21#"St...
(with Dizzy GillespieJohn Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
) (1977, Pablo)
- Basie Jam: Montreux '77
Basie Jam: Montreux '77 is a 1977 live album by Count Basie, recorded at the 1977 Montreux Jazz Festival. - Track listing :# "Bookie Blues" – 14:48...
(live) (1977, Pablo)
- Satch and Josh...Again
Satch and Josh...Again is a 1977 album by Oscar Peterson and Count Basie.-Track listing:# "Roots" - 6:44# "Your Red Wagon" Satch and Josh...Again is a 1977 (see 1977 in music) album by Oscar Peterson and Count Basie.-Track listing:# "Roots" (Count Basie, Oscar Peterson) - 6:44# "Your Red Wagon"...
(with Oscar Peterson) (1977, Pablo)
- Night Rider
Night Rider is a 1978 album by Oscar Peterson and Count Basie.-Track listing:# "Night Rider" - 12:38# "Memories of You" - 4:55# "9:20 Special" - 3:16...
(with Oscar Peterson) (1978, Pablo)
- Count Basie Meets Oscar Peterson – The Timekeepers (with Oscar Peterson) (1978, Pablo)
- Yessir, That's My Baby
Yessir, That's My Baby is a 1978 album by Oscar Peterson and Count Basie.-Track listing:# "Blues for Roy" - 6:00# "Teach Me Tonight" - 3:57...
(with Oscar Peterson) (1978, Pablo)
- Kansas City 8: Get Together
Kansas City 8: Get Together is a 1979 studio album by Count Basie. -Track listing:#"Ode to Pres" – 4:07#"Basie's Bag" – 9:45#"Swinging on the Cusp" – 5:41#"Like It Used to Be" – 8:29...
(1979, Pablo)
- Kansas City 7
Kansas City 7 is a 1980 studio album by Count Basie. -Track listing:#"Jaylock" – 7:17#"Exactly Like You" – 8:00...
(1980, Pablo)
- Kansas City 6
-Track listing:#"Opus Six" – 6:29#"Vegas Drag" – 6:14#"Scooter" – 4:36#"Wee Baby Blues" – 5:33#"Blues for Little Jazz" – 4:58#"St. Louis Blues" -Track listing:#"Opus Six" (Count Basie) – 6:29#"Vegas Drag" – 6:14#"Scooter" – 4:36#"Wee Baby Blues" (Pete Johnson, Big Joe Turner) – 5:33#"Blues for...
(1981, Pablo)
- Mostly Blues...and Some Others
Mostly Blues...and Some Others is a 1983 studio album by Count Basie. - Track listing :# "I'll Always Be in Love with You" Mostly Blues...and Some Others is a 1983 studio album by Count Basie. - Track listing :# "I'll Always Be in Love with You" Mostly Blues...and Some Others is a 1983 studio album...
(1983, Pablo)
Filmography
- Sugar Chile Robinson, Billie Holiday, Count Basie and His Sextet
"Sugar Chile" Robinson, Billie Holiday, Count Basie and His Sextet is a 1950 short film presenting five jazz numbers in a 15-minute running time...
(1950) – as himself
- Cinderfella
Cinderfella is a comedy film version of the classic Cinderella story, with several of the roles reversed. It was released December 16, 1960 by Paramount Pictures and stars Jerry Lewis as Fella.-Plot:...
(1960) – as himself
- Blazing Saddles
Blazing Saddles is a 1974 satirical Western comedy film directed by Mel Brooks. Starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, the film was written by Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Al Uger, and was based on Bergman's story and draft. The movie was nominated for three...
(1974) – as himself with his orchestra
Grammy Awards
Count Basie Grammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
history |
| Year |
Category |
Title |
Genre |
Results |
| 1982 |
Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band |
Warm Breeze |
Jazz |
Winner |
| 1984 |
Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band |
88 Basie Street |
Jazz |
Winner |
| 1980 |
Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band |
On The Road |
Jazz |
Winner |
| 1977 |
Best Jazz Performance By A Big Band |
Prime Time |
Jazz |
Winner |
| 1976 |
Best Jazz Performance By A Soloist (Instrumental) |
Basie And Zoot |
Jazz |
Winner |
| 1963 |
Best Performance By An Orchestra – For Dancing |
This Time By Basie! Hits Of The 50's And 60's |
Pop |
Winner |
| 1960 |
Best Performance By A Band For Dancing |
Dance With Basie |
Pop |
Winner |
| 1958 |
Best Performance By A Dance Band |
Basie |
Pop |
Winner |
| 1958 |
Best Jazz Performance, Group |
Basie |
Jazz |
Winner |
Grammy Hall of Fame
By 2011, four recordings of Count Basie had been inducted into the
Grammy Hall of FameThe Grammy Hall of Fame Award is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance"...
, a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least 25 years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance."
| Count Basie Grammy Hall of Fame Awards |
| Year recorded |
Title |
genre |
Label |
Year inducted |
| 1939 |
Lester Leaps In |
Jazz (Single) |
Vocalion |
2005 |
| 1955 |
Everyday (I Have the Blues) "Every Day I Have the Blues" or "Everyday I Have the Blues" is a classic of the blues that has been recorded by numerous artists. The song is usually credited to Peter Chatman and is often associated with jazz singer Joe Williams and B.B. King...
|
Jazz (Single) |
Clef |
1992 |
| 1955 |
April in Paris "April in Paris" is a song composed by Vernon Duke with lyrics by E. Y. Harburg in 1932 for the Broadway musical, Walk A Little Faster. The original 1933 hit was performed by Freddy Martin, and the 1952 remake was by the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, whose version made the Cashbox Top 50.Composer Alec...
|
Jazz (Single) |
Clef |
1985 |
| 1937 |
One O'Clock Jump "One O'Clock Jump" is a jazz standard, a 12-bar blues instrumental, written in 1937 by Count Basie, with arrangement from Eddie Durham and Buster Smith. The original recording of the tune by Basie and his band is noted for the saxophone work of Herschel Evans and Lester Young; trumpeting by Buck...
|
Jazz (Single) |
Decca |
1979 |
Honors and inductions
On May 23, 1985, William "Count" Basie was presented, posthumously, with the
Presidential Medal of FreedomThe Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
by President
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. The award was received by his son, Aaron Woodward.
On September 11, 1996 the
U.S. Post Office issued a Count Basie 32 cents postage stamp. Basie is a part of the Big Band Leaders issue, which, is in turn, part of the Legends of American Music series.
In 2009, Basie was inducted into the
New Jersey Hall of FameThe New Jersey Hall of Fame is an organization that honors individuals from the U.S. state of New Jersey who have made contributions to society and the world beyond....
.
| Count Basie award history |
| Year |
Category |
Result |
Notes |
| 2007 |
Long Island Music Hall of Fame The Long Island Music Hall of Fame is an organization whose office is located in Port Jefferson, New York. It was incorporated in July 2005 under the New York State Board of Regents as a non profit organization and holds a provisional charter to operate as a museum in the state of New York...
|
Inducted |
|
| 2005 |
Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame Jazz at Lincoln Center is part of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. JALC's performing arts complex, Frederick P. Rose Hall, is located at West 60th Street and Broadway in New York City, slightly south of the main Lincoln Center campus and directly adjacent to Columbus Circle. Frederick P....
|
Inducted |
|
| 2002 |
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to "performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording."...
|
Winner |
|
| 1983 |
NEA Jazz Masters The National Endowment for the Arts , every year honors up to seven jazz musicians with Jazz Master Awards. The National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowships are the highest honors that the United States bestows upon jazz musicians...
|
Winner |
|
| 1981 |
Grammy Trustees Award The Grammy Trustees Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to "individuals who, during their careers in music, have made significant contributions, other than performance, to the field of recording". Through 1983, performers could also receive this award...
|
Winner |
|
| 1981 |
Kennedy Center HonorsThe Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. The Honors have been presented annually since 1978 in Washington, D.C., during gala weekend-long events which culminate in a performance for—and...
|
Honoree |
|
| late 1970s |
Hollywood Walk of FameThe Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
|
Honoree |
at 6508 Hollywood Blvd. |
| 1970 |
Phi Mu Alpha SinfoniaPhi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music...
|
Initiated |
Mu Nu Chapter |
| 1958 |
Down Beat Jazz Hall of FameDown Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
|
Inducted |
|
National Recording Registry
In 2005, Count Basie's song "
One O'Clock Jump"One O'Clock Jump" is a jazz standard, a 12-bar blues instrumental, written in 1937 by Count Basie, with arrangement from Eddie Durham and Buster Smith. The original recording of the tune by Basie and his band is noted for the saxophone work of Herschel Evans and Lester Young; trumpeting by Buck...
" (1937) was included by the
National Recording Preservation BoardThe United States National Recording Preservation Board selects recorded sounds for preservation in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. The National Recording Registry was initiated to maintain and preserve "sound recordings that are culturally, historically or aesthetically...
in the
Library of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
National Recording Registry. The board selects songs in an annual basis that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
External links