Mr. Hammond spread the word about the Basie band, While he was in his late teens, he gravitated to Harlem, where he encountered Fats Waller. [41], Hammond introduced Basie to Billie Holiday, whom he invited to sing with the band. Best Answer Copy William "Count" Basie and his wife Catherine had a daughter, Diane, who lived in Freeport, Bahamas at the time of Basie's death in 1984. His Family After a decade long courtship, Basie married dancer Catherine Morgan, his second wife, on his birthday in 1942. What was the greatest era of the Basie band? It went so well; it was so thrilling and exciting". He went out on tour with on the vaudeville and TOBA circuits again until his performance group disbanded in the mid-1920s, leaving him stuck in Kansas City. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. What Is The Origin Of Springerle Cookies? 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. The Black Music Association honored Mr. Basie in 1982 with a gala at Radio City Music Hall. Here is all you want to know, and more! Sometimes a member of the band would come up with an original, written His second great band, from the 1950s onwards, relied more on arrangements, typically from Neil Hefti and Ernie Wilkin's. As a pianist Basie. big city hotel ballrooms. See the Count Basie Orchestra Discography. was a member of the Basie band in the 1940's. It was on one of these broadcasts that Bill Basie became Count Basie. The World of Count Basie. . there were a couple of well-known bandleaders named Earl Hines and Duke Ellington. He was 79 years old and lived in Freeport, the Bahamas. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. In 1981, Mr. Basie was honored along with Cary Grant, Helen Hayes and other stars as a Count Basie | Official Site for one of the greatest bandleaders of all Required fields are marked *. He played piano with them, with one interruption, for the "Lester Leaps In," were created as features for The songs were often designed to He was a fine pianist and leader of one of the greatest jazz bands in history. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. In 1937 Basie took his group, Count Basie and His Barons of Rhythm, to New York to record their first album with Decca Records under their new name, The Count Basie Orchestra. [62] Soon, his band was touring and recording again. count basie daughter died - mobiusgpo.com Okla., a band that included--in addition to Mr. He was already playing jazz piano at parties, clubs and other venues. This page was last edited on 3 February 2023, at 01:33. Biography - A Short Wiki. The pianist Count Basie died at the age of 79. Mr. Basie's band, more than any other, was the Mechanic Street, where he grew up with his family, has the honorary title of Count Basie Way. Through Mr. Waller, Mr. Basie got a job as an accompanist with a vaudeville act called Katie Crippen and Her Kids. When William James Count Basie died of cancer in 1984, he left his $1.5 million fortune in a trust to provide for his only child. passages, directing his musicians with a glance, a lift of an eyebrow or a note hit gently but positively in passing. Count Basie was born on August 21, 1904 and died on April 26, 1984. [34], By then, Basie's sound was characterized by a "jumping" beat and the contrapuntal accents of his own piano. Basie liked the results and named the piece "One O'Clock Jump". Diane died peacefully on October 15 after suffering a heart attack a few days before. Soloists were less prominent in this second edition of the Basie band although it included some of the major jazz musicians of the post-50's years, such as Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Al Grey, Eddie Many musicians came to prominence under his direction, including the tenor saxophonists Lester Young and Herschel Evans, the guitarist Freddie Green, trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry "Sweets" Edison, plunger trombonist Al Grey, and singers Jimmy Rushing, Helen Humes, Thelma Carpenter, and Joe Williams. The following year, in 1929, Basie became the pianist with the Bennie Moten band based in Kansas City, inspired by Moten's ambition to raise his band to match the level of those led by Duke Ellington or Fletcher Henderson. The band flopped at a Pittsburgh hotel that had never booked a jazz band before. Today, Charlie Yardbird Parker is considered one of the great musical innovators of the 20th century. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Dance, Stanley. "[64] In 1957, Basie sued the jazz venue Ball and Chain in Miami over outstanding fees, causing the closure of the venue. Basie was a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity. 4 What pianist and his orchestra were really popular in the big band era? You never got tired of that business at the end.". He was a big force in music. In 1976, Mr. Basie suffered a heart attack. epitome of swing, of jazz that moved with a built-in flowing intensity. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Basie now called Kansas City home. the Basie band struggled for a year after it left Kansas City. Their neighbors included Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Jackie Robinson and Milt Hinton. After a decade long courtship, Basie married dancer Catherine Morgan, his second wife, on his birthday in 1942. He constantly parried Chick's thundering haymakers with tantalizing runs and arpeggios which teased more and more force from his adversary. Count Basie - Wikipedia Basie heard Bennie Motens band, and longed to play with them. Diane Basie | The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra Those four sides were released on Vocalion Records under the band name of Jones-Smith Incorporated; the sides were "Shoe Shine Boy", "Evening", "Boogie Woogie", and "Oh Lady Be Good". Their albums together included In Person and Strike Up the Band. pillsbury company net worth; does gotomeeting work in china; tanner mark boots website Basie's band regularly worked some of the better [55] The war years caused a lot of members turn over, and the band worked many play dates with lower pay. Count Basie is considered one of the greatest bandleaders of all times. Scale for the musicians at the Reno Club, where beer was a nickel and whisky was 15 cents, was $15 a week for playing from 8 P.M. to 4 A.M., except Saturdays when it was 8 P.M. until 8 A.M. During his orchestras peak years in the 1920s and 30s, he helped define the sound of big-band jazz, pioneering musical ideas which today are taken for granted. He rose to fame after taking over Bennie Moten's band in 1935. He died of cancer in The pianist in the combo gave up his seat to Mr. Basie who sat down, tinkled a few While on one tour he became stranded in Kansas City, Missouri. Early after his arrival, he bumped into Sonny Greer, who was by then the drummer for the Washingtonians, Duke Ellington's early band. His father played the mellophone, and his mother played the piano; in fact, she gave Basie his first piano lessons. According to court papers, Diane is severely retarded and only marginally communicative, so Basie left two co-trustees he considered his close friends in charge of his estate and his daughter. (traveling variety entertainment). His personnel around 1937 included: Lester Young and Herschel Evans (tenor sax), Freddie Green (guitar), Jo Jones (drums), Walter Page (bass), Earle Warren (alto sax), Buck Clayton and Harry Edison (trumpet), Benny Morton and Dickie Wells (trombone). His name was Louis Armstrong. [85], By 2011, four recordings of Count Basie had been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least 25 years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance.". Fletcher Henderson's band was playing at the Grand Terrace just before the Basie band arrived there. Before he was 20 years old, he toured extensively on the Keith and TOBA vaudeville circuits as a solo pianist, accompanist, and music director for blues singers, dancers, and comedians. In 1950, when big bands were falling apart, Mr. Basie cut down to an eight-piece group but by 1952 he was leading a big band once again. in the death of the big-band era. Jazz Musician. "April in Paris" (arrangement by Wild Bill Davis) was a best-selling instrumental and the title song for the hit album. (This became known as the New Testament Band, while the first Orchestra was the Old Testament Band.) They played command performances for kings, queens and presidents, and issued a large number of recordings both under Basies name and as the backing band for various singers, most notably Frank Sinatra. In 1935, Bennie Moten died and it was left to Basie to take some of the musicians from that orchestra and form his own, The Count Basie Orchestra, which is still alive and well today some 78 years later. Both of Basies parents were hard workers. Throughout his tours, Basie met many jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong. New York: Random House, 1985. The Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography of Count Basie. Dropping out of junior high school, Basie learned to operate lights for vaudeville and to improvise piano accompaniment for silent films at the local movie theater in his hometown that would eventually become the Count Basie Theatre. Even more important was the fact that the Famous Door had national and local radio wires. Released: 1967 . Count Basie, the jazz pianist whose spare, economic keyboard style and supple rhythmic drive made his orchestra one of the most influential groups of the Big Band era, died of cancer yesterday . [45] In early 1938, the Savoy was the meeting ground for a "battle of the bands" with Chick Webb's group. How did the bands of Count Basie and Duke Ellington differ? Hollywood, Florida, on April 26, 1984. During a broadcast the announcer wanted to give Basie's name some style, so he called him "Count". One of them, Aaron Woodward, a Long Island Baptist pastor and accountant, was considered an informally adopted son by Basie, according to a report by Jet magazine. Perhaps the most startling of the The Count Meets the Duke, each providing four numbers from their play books. recordings, the 1943 musicians' strike, the strain of When Bennie Moten died in 1935, the band disintegrated and Mr. Basie organized a small band to play at the Reno Club in Kansas City that became the nucleus of the band with which he gained his initial fame. [47], A few months later, Holiday left for Artie Shaw's band. But by 1952 he reorganized the band, and the second Count Basie Orchestra was considered as exciting, vibrant and even more important than the first. Is the Count Basie Orchestra still alive? Your email address will not be published. Basie's new band was more of an ensemble group, with fewer solo turns, and relying less on "head" and more on written arrangements. the Basie band. Basie changed the jazz landscape and shaped mid-20th century popular music, duly earning the title King of Swing because he made the world want to dance. It positioned him with Earl Hines, as well as Duke Ellington. Basie recalled a review, which said 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. with disabilities are encouraged to direct suggestions, comments, or complaints concerning any From then on, it was Count Basie.". One of the band's most popular arrangements, "April in Paris," was written in 1955 by Wild Bill Davis, a jazz organist who had originally developed it for his own small group. This familiar pattern was evident in the He said that Norman Granz got them into the Birdland club and promoted the new band through recordings on the Mercury, Clef, and Verve labels. [8], Though a natural at the piano, Basie preferred drums. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. "I wanted 13 men to think and play the same way. Credit: GettyImages/Global Images of Ukraine. Swing-era bandleader noted for his theme songs One O'Clock Jump from 1937 and April in Paris from 1932. While he recuperated his band continued to fulfill engagements, frequently with Nat Pierce taking Mr. Basie's place at the piano and sometimes with guest conductors such as the trumpeter Clark Terry, who He was 79 years old and lived in Freeport, the Bahamas. "And that's when the whole fire started," said Mr. Alexander. They were referred to as Basie gave up her career to care for their daughter, who was mentally retarded, and their two adopted sons.
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