One of jazz music's all-time greats, bandleader-pianist Count Basie was a primary shaper of the big-band sound that characterized mid-20th century popular music. when asking how much a gig was going to pay.[31]. . During the 1960s and '70s, Basie recorded with luminaries like Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Jackie Wilson, Dizzy Gillespie and Oscar Peterson. [1] He worked as a drummer and tap-dancer at carnival shows until joining Walter Page's band, the Blue Devils in Oklahoma City in the late 1920s. "[27] Holiday died four months later on July 17, 1959 at age 44. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a2b3f35bc02472d Rock Icon KISS Is Saying Goodbye (For Real), Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Count Basie, Birth Year: 1904, Birth date: August 21, 1904, Birth State: New Jersey, Birth City: Red Bank, Birth Country: United States. If you see something that doesnt look right, contact us. Jones also continued a ride rhythm on hi-hat, while it was continuously opening and closing instead of the common practice of only striking it while it was closed. Basie studied music with his mother and was later influenced by the Harlem pianists James P. Johnson and Fats Waller, receiving informal tutelage on the organ from the latter. Producer John Hammond heard the band's sound and helped secure further bookings. I mean, he'll concert you all, and then he'll swing you all, too, you understand, when he's ready to. 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 was a member of the Basie band in the 1940's. cemeteries found in East Farmingdale, Suffolk County, New York, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. Discover what happened on this day. He began working as an arranger for Count Basie in 1967, and wrote and arranged all the music for Basie's 1968 LP Basie Straight Ahead. [8], During World War II, Nestico joined the United States Army and served for five years. While he was in his late teens, he gravitated to Harlem, where he encountered Fats Waller. This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 19:11. As one critic put it, they ''put wheels on all four bars of the beat,'' creating a smooth rhythmic flow over which Mr. Basie's other instrumentalists rode as though they were on a streamlined cushion. He went on to join Walter Page's Blue Devils in 1928, which he would see as a pivotal moment in his career, being introduced to the big-band sound for the first time. 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. This stemmed primarily from the presence in the rhythm section, from 1937 to the present, of both Mr. Basie on piano and Freddie Green on guitar. He started out to be a drummer. This effort eventually resulted in the release of 63 albums by Time Life. His second great band, from the 1950s onwards, relied more on arrangements, typically from Neil Hefti and Ernie Wilkin's. As a pianist Basie. Swing-era bandleader noted for his theme songs One OClock Jump from 1937 and April in Paris from 1932. Directing With a Glance Mr. Basie, a short, stocky, taciturn but witty man who liked to wear a yachting cap offstage, presided over the band at the piano with apparent utmost casualness. A brother, James, died when William was a young boy. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? Young was the subject and inspiration of Prez. Recorded on a home recorder. He is rumored to have refused to play with the band on Friday, December 13 of that year for superstitious reasons, spurring his dismissal[11] although Young and drummer Jo Jones would later state that his departure had been in the works for months. 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. His mother paid 25 cents per piano lesson for him when he was young. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. After some challenges, the Count Basie Orchestra had a slew of hits that helped to define the big-band sound of the 1930s and '40s. Occupation (s) Musician. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? He served one traumatic year in a detention barracks[15] and was dishonorably discharged in late 1945. '', 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 (Lockjaw) Davis, Frank Wess, Jimmy Forrest and the blues singer Joe Williams. I thought he was kidding, shrugged my shoulders and repled, 'O.K.' From then on, it was Count Basie.''. This generation experienced much of their youth during the Great Depression and rapid technological innovation such as the radio and the telephone. In his hometown of Red Bank, there is now a Count Basie Theatre and a Count Basie Field. This second-generation big band differed from the early one in that it depended on arrangers for its basic style, a smooth, rolling, highly polished swing style for which Neal Hefti (''Li'l Darlin' ''), Ernie Wilkins and Frank Foster (''Shiny Stockings'') were among the most notable orchestrators. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. (William) Count Basie (1904-1984) was an extremely popular figure in the jazz world for half a century. Sorry! .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Rock Icon KISS Is Saying Goodbye (For Real), Rihanna and 10 Other Great Pregnant Performances, Burt Bacharachs Legacy: 5 Notable Collaborations, 2023 Grammy Awards: Six Winners Who Made History. I had never heard the blues played like that. Blues" (with D.B. 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. Throughout the 1960s, Basies recordings were often uninspired and marred by poor choice of material, but he remained an exceptional concert performer and made fine records with singers Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Frank Sinatra. We will continue to update information on Count Basies parents. [20] His second was to Mary Dale. During his last years, he had difficulty walking and rode out on the stage on a motorized wheelchair which he sometimes drove with joyful abandon. [12], Nestico wrote hundreds of arrangements for school band and jazz band programs. Jones died of pneumonia in New York City at the age of 73. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. Mr. Basie and his orchestra were scheduled to appear at the Kool Jazz Festival on June 30 in a program that would reunite them with many of the jazz stars who have passed through the Basie band. In 1935, Basie formed his own jazz orchestra, the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and their first recording. The resulting song then became both an elegy to Young, and, implicitly, Mingus as well. ' (Count Basie), I, of course, wanted to play real jazz. He is survived by a daughter, Diane Basie of Freeport. Peter Jennings (who was a jazz an) introduces a short feature on the career of Count Basie who died earlier in the day of pancreatic cancer. Of course, I wanted to play real jazz. Played for Kennedy and Reagan. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Zodiac Sign: Count Basie was a Leo. These performances were generally well attended by other drummers such as Max Roach and Roy Haynes. But the obvious talents of another young Red Bank drummer, Sonny Greer, who was Duke Ellington's drummer from 1919 to 1951, discouraged young Basie and he switched to piano. Thanks for your help! Oops, we were unable to send the email. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. You can always change this later in your Account settings. There was a problem getting your location. Jones's style influenced the modern jazz drummer's tendency to play timekeeping rhythms on a cymbal, that is now known as the ride cymbal. The story of Count Basie is very much the story of the great jazz band that he led for close to 50 years (1935-1984), an orchestra with a distinctive . But I wanted that bite to be just as tasty and subtle as if it were the three brass I used to use. His group, Count Basie and his Cherry Blossoms, was an outgrowth of Bennie Motens band in Kansas City. Sources:[22][23]. Your IP: He thought he could never outmatch Greers talent, so he took up piano at 15. In 1952 he was featured on Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio, released in 1954 on Norgran. JUMP TO: Count Basies biography, facts, family, personal life, zodiac, videos and related celebs. When the Page band broke up in 1929, Mr. There is a problem with your email/password. He rose to fame after taking over Bennie Moten's band in 1935. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. In 1979, Jones was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame for his contribution to the Birmingham, Alabama musical heritage. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most influential players on his instrument. In the early 1990s after Count Basie's death, leader Frank Foster was auditioning a young drummer for the Basie Band. It featured such jazzmen as tenor saxophonists Lester Young (regarded by many as the premier tenor player in jazz history) and Herschel Evans, trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry Sweets Edison, and trombonists Benny Morton and Dicky Wells.