[24] During a stay in Chicago, Basie recorded with the band. In 1959, Basie's band recorded a "greatest hits" double album The Count Basie Story (Frank Foster, arranger), and Basie/Eckstine Incorporated, an album featuring Billy Eckstine, Quincy Jones (as arranger) and the Count Basie Orchestra. [70], During the balance of the 1960s, the band kept active with tours, recordings, television appearances, festivals, Las Vegas shows, and travel abroad, including cruises. What pianist and his orchestra were really popular in the big band era? Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of the passing of Diane Lillian Basie (1944-2022), the beloved only child of the legendary jazz musician, William James "Count" Basie and his wife, Catherine Morgan Basie. "He was a wonderful man. He joined Walter Page's Blue Devils in 1928, and a year later, he started to play with Bennie Moten's band in Kansas City. 2022-06-30; wreck on 1942 crosby, tx today . He has had an unprecedented four recordings inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame One OClock Jump(1979),April in Paris(1985),Everyday I Have the Blues(1992), andLester Leaps In(2005), along with a slew of other awards and honors not only for his music, but for his humanitarianism and philanthropy around the world. On Moten's death in 1935, Basie and several other core band members formed their own ensemble, the Barons of Rhythm. 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. 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 morning He became an accompanist to the blues singers Clara Smith and Maggie Jones and he worked [30], In that city in October 1936, the band had a recording session which the producer John Hammond later described as "the only perfect, completely perfect recording session I've ever had anything to do with". They had one daughter, Diane, in 1944. In 2009, Edgecombe Avenue and 160th Street in, "Blues in Hoss' Flat," composed by Basie band member, Since 1963 "The Kid From Red Bank" has been the theme and. (193545) was unquestionably Basie's greatest. Their "Moten Swing", which Basie claimed credit for,[23] was an invaluable contribution to the development of swing music, and at one performance at the Pearl Theatre in Philadelphia in December 1932, the theatre opened its door to allow anybody in who wanted to hear the band perform. From the Archives: Count Basie, 79, Master of Understated Swing, Dies The Basie band played at President John F. Kennedy's inaugural ball, and in 1965 toured with Frank Sinatra. "flagwavers," These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. There was a memorable concert at Town Hall several This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Did count basie have kids? - Answers Report Accessibility Barrier or [35] Lester Young, known as "Prez" by the band, came up with nicknames for all the other band members. 5 How old was Catherine Basie when she died? Basie made his professional debut playing piano with vaudeville acts (traveling variety entertainment). Discography of American Historical Recordings, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Count_Basie&oldid=1137147837, Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band, Best Jazz Performance by a Soloist (Instrumental), Best Performance by an Orchestra For Dancing. His name was Louis Armstrong. Provide Feedback Form. Catherine Basie, wife of Count Basie, the jazz musician and band leader, died of a heart attack yesterday at the couples home in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, according to Mr. Basies agent. Your email address will not be published. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Teaches Jazz. Around 1924 Basie moved toHarlem, a hotbed for jazz, where his career started to quickly take off. Born: August 21, 1904 However, the man ended up betraying Basies trust, and he stole from Diane. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Basie's band was sharing Birdland with such bebop musicians as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis. They had one daughter, Diane, in 1944. ***** All concert dates after Count Basie's death are for The Count Basie Orchestra ***** Discography. so rode out on stage in a motorized wheelchair. She paid 25 cents a lesson for Count Basie's piano instruction. Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. With Mr. Basie's 13 men in full cry at one end of this elongated closet, the sound ricocheting off the walls and rocketing down from the low ceiling, no listener could escape the exhilarating power A stocky, handsome man with heavy-lidded eyes and a sly smile, Basie was [65], In 1958, the band made its first European tour. Through Mr. Waller, Mr. Basie got a job as an accompanist with a vaudeville act called Katie Crippen and Her Kids. (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. For a year he played piano accompaniment to silent moves and then joined Walter Page's Blue Devils in Tulsa, "Lester Leaps In," were created as features for band's theme song, "One O'Clock Jump," Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. 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 Count Basie | Official Site for one of the greatest bandleaders of all Basie Advertisement Further Reading on Count Basie These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Birthday: August 21, 1904. As a result, the band got a date at the Grand Terrace in Chicago. groups' recordings were of the highest quality, but in 1951 Basie 'One More Once' A Centennial Celebration of the Life and Music of Count What pianist lead the most successful band in Kansas City? The agent, Willard Alexander, said Mrs. Count Basie, 79, Band Leader And Master of Swing, Dead - The New York Times They paced themselves to save their hottest numbers for later in the show, to give the audience a chance to warm up. He is credited for creating the use of the two split tenor saxophone, emphasizing the rhythm section, riffing with a big band, using arrangers to broaden their sound, and beautifully layering masterful vocalists. with a particular soloist or two in mind. There were often no musical notations made. fame. Provide Feedback Form. Who was Count Basies adopted son on Long Island? recordings, the 1943 musicians' strike, the strain of [52] When You Breathe In Your Diaphragm Does What. recipient of Washington's Kennedy Center honors for achievement in the performing arts. She was 67 years old. [15], Back in Harlem in 1925, Basie gained his first steady job at Leroy's, a place known for its piano players and its "cutting contests". since many of Mr. Basie's musicians were blowing patched-up horns and saxophones held together by rubber bands). In 2021s Elvis, a Count Basie poster is seen about 20 minutes into the movie. 50 feet long, which was having trouble doing business in the summer because it had no air-conditioning. Basie earned nine Grammy Awardsand made history in 1958 by becoming the first African-American to receive the award. Count Basie (1904-1984) The title of one of his bands most famous tunes The Kid from Red Bank is an obvious tip-off, but many jazz historians assume that William J. [89] The board selects songs in an annual basis that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. Copyright 2023, Rutgers, The State University of She took in laundry and baked cakes for sale for a living. Count and Mrs. Basie were true socialites often gathering with friends including celebrities Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Basie protg Quincy Jones. [43] Durham returned to help with arranging and composing, but for the most part, the orchestra worked out its numbers in rehearsal, with Basie guiding the proceedings. vaudeville circuits; and as a soloist and accompanist to blues singer Gonzelle White as well as Crippen. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It positioned him with Earl Hines, as well as Duke Ellington. Diane died peacefully on October 15 after suffering a heart attack a few days before. They had one daughter. I thought he was kidding, shrugged my shoulders and replied, 'O.K.' [40] His first official recordings for Decca followed, under contract to agent MCA, including "Pennies from Heaven" and "Honeysuckle Rose". Behind the occasional bebop solos, he always kept his strict rhythmic pulse, "so it doesn't matter what they do up front; the audience gets the beat". hired him. When Basie died of pancreatic cancer in 1984 at the age of 79, he left his $1.5 million fortune in a trust to provide for Diane. The award was received by Aaron Woodward. [50] In 1939, Basie and his band made a major cross-country tour, including their first West Coast dates. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2023 FAQS Clear - All Rights Reserved April 27, 1984 7 AM PT. With many of the other big bands of the swing This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. One day he asked me whether I played the organ. The Black Music Association honored Mr. Basie in 1982 with a gala at Radio City Music Hall. It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of the passing of Diane Lillian Basie (1944-2022), the beloved only child of the legendary jazz musician, William James Count Basie and his wife, Catherine Morgan Basie. [8], Though a natural at the piano, Basie preferred drums. A pianist, Count Basie played vaudeville before eventually forming his own big band and helping to define the era of swing with hits like One OClock Jump and Blue Skies. In 1958, Basie became the first African American male recipient of a Grammy Award. 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. Friend 'stole' $70K from jazz legend's disabled daughter The Count Basie Orchestra, today directed by Scotty Barnhart, has won every respected jazz poll in the world at least once, won 18 Grammy Awards, performed for Kings, Queens, and other world Royalty, appeared in several movies, television shows, at every major jazz festival and major concert hall in the world. See the Count Basie Orchestra Discography. on the stand. But Moten was an expert piano player himself, and Basie fashioned a job for himself as the bands staff arranger. The songs were often designed to 1983. and Sarah Vaughan (19241990). 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. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Most swing musicians know what the Count Basie ending is: three rhythmically-spaced chords followed by a low, emphatic exclamation point. The word Splank for Basie was coined by Sinatra a good onomatopoeic description of the lick. many other famous artists, including Duke Ellington (18991974), Count Basie was a pianist, bandleader, and composer considered as one of the most popular figures in the jazz world. As a young boy, Basie hated to see his parents working so hard, and vowed to help them get ahead. Ellington was a composer who played piano, but he really used the band as his expressive instrument. William James "Count" Basie learned how to play the piano at an early age under his mothers instructions. Basie's new band played at the Reno Club and sometimes were broadcast on local radio. dealing with the egos of his musicians. Rutgers is an equal access/equal opportunity institution. Splank-Splank-Splank-Boom. [61] Basie also added flute to some numbers, a novelty at the time that became widely copied. After automobiles replaced horses, his father became a groundskeeper and handyman for several families in the area. Jimmy Rushing sang with Basie in the late 1930s. Received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in 1974. On February 19, 1940, Count Basie and his Orchestra opened a four-week engagement at Southland in Boston, and they broadcast over the radio on February 20. Basie. parents, Harvey and Lillian (Childs) Basie, were both musicians. The couple had an only daughter, Diane Basie, whos now a 74-year-old disabled woman. The place catered to "uptown celebrities", and typically the band winged every number without sheet music using "head arrangements". night performances in a number of small cities and towns that were It does not store any personal data. Count and Mrs. Basie were true socialites - often gathering with friends including celebrities Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Basie protg Quincy Jones. epitome of swing, of jazz that moved with a built-in flowing intensity. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 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. Basie was often recognized for his understated yet captivating style of piano playing and his precise, impeccable musical leadership. I said the minute the brass got out of hand and blared and screeched instead of making every note mean something, there'd be some changes made. He played piano with them, with one interruption, for the Late one night with time to fill, the band started improvising. Count was 79 years old at the time of death. (traveling variety entertainment). 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. He played along with The Flairs, Christine Kittrell, Lamp Lighters, Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five, Ruth Brown, and Perez Prado and his Orchestra.[59]. ", The jazz pianist George Shearing said that Mr. Basie's greatest trademark was the three sweet, soft notes that ended many of his great swing-era compositions. [41], Hammond introduced Basie to Billie Holiday, whom he invited to sing with the band. However, throughout the 1940s, he maintained a big band that possessed an infectious rhythmic beat, an enthusiastic team spirit, and a long list of inspired and talented jazz soloists. [9] 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. After Moten died in 1935, Basie took what was left of the band, expanded [55] The war years caused a lot of members turn over, and the band worked many play dates with lower pay. How did the bands of Count Basie and Duke Ellington differ? [45] In early 1938, the Savoy was the meeting ground for a "battle of the bands" with Chick Webb's group. She was 67 years old. 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 silent movie theater, he joined Walter Page's Blue Devils in He started out to be a drummer. Then I sat beside him and he taught me.". After a decade long courtship, Basie married dancer Catherine Morgan, his second wife, on his birthday in 1942. Basie also toured with Bennett, including a date at Carnegie Hall. The pianist Count Basie died at the age of 79. The agent, Willard Alexander, said Mrs. Basie died while her husband was appearing at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. who was Duke Ellington's drummer from 1919 to 1951, discouraged young Basie and he switched to piano. A group that included some Basie sidemen was on stage, playing in a ragged, desultory fashion, when Mr. Basie arrived. At a White House reception, President Reagan said that Mr. Basie was "among the handful of musicians that helped change the path of American music in the 30's and the 40's" and that he had "revolutionized jazz.". traveled to by bus). 4 What pianist and his orchestra were really popular in the big band era? A longtime friend of jazz legend Count Basie is facing possible jail time for allegedly stealing $70,000 from the late bandleaders disabled daughter. Jazz was especially appreciated in France, The Netherlands, and Germany in the 1950s; these countries were the stomping grounds for many expatriate American jazz stars who were either resurrecting their careers or sitting out the years of racial divide in the United States. Please fill in your e-mail so we can share with you our top stories. onenighters, and the bebop revolution of the mid-1940s all played a role Mr. Basie's band, more than any other, was the Sinatra later said of this concert "I have a funny feeling that those two nights could have been my finest hour, really. In 2005, Count Basie's song "One O'Clock Jump" (1937) was included by the National Recording Preservation Board in the Library of Congress National Recording Registry. But I wanted that bite to be just as tasty and subtle as if it were the three brass I used to use. After a decade long courtship, Basie married dancer Catherine Morgan, his second wife, on his birthday in 1942. Basie, Count. Their fame took a huge leap. How Did Count Basie Die? - FAQS Clear Count and Mrs. Basie were true socialites - often gathering with friends including celebrities Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Basie protg Quincy Jones. He also recorded with Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby, and Sarah Vaughan. Count Basie Biography - parents, death, history, wife, school, mother Count Basie was an extremely popular figure in the jazz world for half a Unostentatious as Mr. Basie appeared, his presence was a vital factor in directing his band or any group of musicians with whom he might be playing. He also hired arrangers who knew how to maximize the band's abilities, such as Eddie Durham and Jimmy Mundy. And it was a seven-day week. [38] Compared to the reigning band of Fletcher Henderson, Basie's band lacked polish and presentation. [21] In addition to playing piano, Basie was co-arranger with Eddie Durham, who notated the music. [32] He invited them to record, in performances which were Lester Young's earliest recordings. Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 - July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. William James "Count" Basie (/besi/; August 21, 1904 April 26, 1984)[1] was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. The Count Basie Orchestra had a slew of hits that helped to define the big-band sound of the 1930s and 40s. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The His second great band, from the 1950s onwards, relied more on arrangements, typically from Neil Hefti and Ernie Wilkin's. As a pianist Basie. Biography - A Short Wiki. On May 23, 1985, William "Count" Basie was presented, posthumously, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan. [5][6], The best student in school, Basie dreamed of a traveling life, inspired by touring carnivals which came to town. era he also shared the less appealing one-nighters (a series of single 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 was on one of these broadcasts that Bill Basie became Count Basie. . As Metronome magazine proclaimed, "Basie's Brilliant Band Conquers Chick's"; the article described the evening: 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. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and their first recording. "He certainly made a notch in musical history," said Benny Goodman, 75 years old, the jazz clarinetist and bandleader. Joy S. Rosenthal, Trustee, William J. Basie Trust and Guardian for Diane L. Basie, At Institute of Jazz Studies, an Intimate Look at Count Basie, Grammy Nominated for Live At Birdland . Count Basie and his Orchestra played at the tenth Cavalcade of Jazz concert also at Wrigley Field on June 20, 1954. He died of cancer in On September 11, 1996, the U.S. Post Office issued a Count Basie 32 cents postage stamp. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. But in 2012, Manhattan Surrogates Court Justice Kristin Booth Glen removed Woodward from his guardian role after he failed to account for money that belonged to Diane.