What instruments are in the Count Basie Orchestra?
This nine-piece group was known for its legendary soloists including, Joe Keyes and Oran 'Hot Lips' Page on trumpet, Buster Smith and Earle Warren on alto saxophone, Lester Young on tenor saxophone, Dan Minor on trombone, and a rhythm section made up of Jo Jones on drums, Walter Page on bass and Basie on piano.
What was Basie's piano style known for?
Basie began his career as a stride pianist, reflecting the influence of Johnson and Waller, but the style most associated with him was characterized by spareness and precision.
Who played Count Basie clarinet?
Benny Goodman, the clarinet player who looked like a banker but whose sound swooped and soared like a bird, led a band that sparked a worldwide craze in the 30s. He was hailed as "the King of Swing", but he wasn't the only one.
What is Count Basie's real name?
William James BasieCount Basie / Full name
What style of jazz is Count Basie?
swing soundJazz icon, Count Basie, was born William James Basie August 21, 1904 in Red Bank, New Jersey. Count Basie is considered one of the greatest bandleaders of all times. He was the arbiter of the big-band swing sound and his unique style of fusing blues and jazz established swing as a predominant music style.
What instrument did Miles Davis play?
trumpetBorn into a middle-class family, Davis started on the trumpet at age 13. His first professional music job came when he joined the Eddie Randall band in St. Louis in 1941.
Who played tenor saxophone for Count Basie?
Saxophonist Buddy Tate, a leading member of the Count Basie Orchestra in the 1940s, has died. Tate died Saturday in Chandler, Ariz. He was 87.
Who played acoustic guitar in Count Basie's orchestra?
But before garage bands existed, there was another rhythm guitar, one born of the banjo of the earliest jazz bands. And its acknowledged master was Freddie Green, anchor of the Count Basie Orchestra's rhythm section from 1937 until his death in 1987.
Who was the first saxophone player?
The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in the early 1840s and was patented on 28 June 1846....Saxophone.An alto saxophoneWoodwind instrumentClassificationWind, woodwind, aerophoneHornbostel–Sachs classification422.212-71 (Single-reed aerophone with keys)Inventor(s)Adolphe Sax7 more rows
What does the word Basie mean?
Basie in British English (ˈbeɪsɪ ) noun. William, known as Count Basie. 1904–84, US jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer: associated particularly with the polished phrasing and style of big-band jazz.
What makes bebop unique?
Bebop 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.
What instrument did Charlie Parker play?
Alto saxophoneAlto saxophone owned and played by Charlie Parker. The saxophone consists of seven parts: a body, neck, two [2] mouthpieces, two [2] ligatures and a reed.
What was the style of jazz that Basie played?
With the group becoming highly distinguished for its soloists, rhythm section and style of swing, Basie himself was noted for his understated yet captivating style of piano playing and precise, impeccable musical leadership. He was also helming one of the biggest, most renowned African American jazz groups of the day.
Where was Basie born?
Early Life. Basie was born William James Basie (with some sources listing his middle name as "Allen") on August 21, 1904, in Red Bank, New Jersey. His father Harvey was a mellophonist and his mother Lillian was a pianist who gave her son his first lessons.
How did Basie die?
Basie suffered from health issues in his later years, and died from cancer in Hollywood, Florida, on April 26, 1984. He left the world an almost unparalleled legacy of musical greatness, having recorded or been affiliated with dozens upon dozens of albums during his lifetime.
Who was the lead singer of the Barons of Rhythm?
He later worked for a few years with a band led by Bennie Moten , who died in 1935. Basie then formed the Barons of Rhythm with some of his bandmates from Moten's group, including saxophonist Lester Young. With vocals by Jimmy Rushing, the band set up shop to perform at Kansas City's Reno Club.
Who was the leader of the big band?
Count Basie. 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.
Who was the first African American to win a Grammy?
During the 1960s and '70s, Basie recorded with luminaries like Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Jackie Wilson, Dizzy Gillespie and Oscar Peterson. Basie ultimately earned nine Grammy Awards over the course of his career, but he made history when he won his first, in 1958, as the first African American man to receive a Grammy. A few of his songs were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as well, including "April in Paris" and "Everyday I Have the Blues."
Overview
Biography
William Basie was born to Lillian and Harvey Lee Basie in Red Bank, New Jersey. 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 wealthy families in the area. Both of his parents had some type of musical background. His father played the mellophone, and his mother …
Marriage, family and death
Basie was a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity. On July 21, 1930, Basie married Vivian Lee Winn, in Kansas City, Missouri. They were divorced sometime before 1935. Some time in or before 1935, the now single Basie returned to New York City, renting a house at 111 West 138th Street, Manhattan, as evidenced by the 1940 census. He married Catherine Morgan on July 13, 1950, in the King County courthouse in Seattle, Washington. In 1942, they moved to Queens. Their only c…
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 Sings, with "Every Day (I Have the Blues)" becoming a huge hit. With Billy Eckstine on the album Basie/Eckstine Inc…
Legacy and honors
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. In his autobiography, he wrote, "I think the band can really swing when it swings easy…
Representation in other media
• Jerry Lewis used "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 Boy.
• "Blues in Hoss' Flat," composed by Basie band member Frank Foster, was used by the radio DJ Al "Jazzbeaux" Collins as his theme song in San Francisco and New York.
Discography
Count Basie made most of his albums with his big band. See the Count Basie Orchestra Discography.
From 1929 to 1932, Basie was part of Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra:
• Count Basie in Kansas City: Bennie Moten's Great Band of 1930-1932 (RCA Victor, 1965)
• Basie Beginnings: Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra (1929–1932) (Bluebird/RCA, 1989)
Filmography
• Hit Parade of 1943 (1943) – as himself
• Top Man (1943) – as himself
• Sugar Chile Robinson, Billie Holiday, Count Basie and His Sextet (1950) – as himself
• Jamboree (1957)