Count Basie

COUNT BASIE

When the word "swing" is mentioned, it is quite likely that the first jazz musician to spring to mind is William "Count" Basie. Basie has become synonymous with swing because his band, in all its incarnations, swung harder than any other. His minimalist, right-on-the-money piano sytle captured the imagination of the public, and his style of big band jazz never really went out of style.

Basie was born in Red Bank, New Jersey on August 21, 1904. He began by playing stride piano in the same style as James P. Johnson, and toured the black vaudeville circuit until he found himself in Kansas City broke and unable to return home. He stayed on, joining Walter Page's Blue Devils until most of the group was merged into Bennie Moten's territory band, which played primarily in the southwest. Moten was killed in a car accident in 1935, and Basie put together a nine piece group utilizing the band's rhythm section and several other players. Shortly after the group was formed, Lester Young, who was also playing around Kansas City at the time, joined.

The group honed their skills at the Reno club, playing radio broadcasts and enjoying the opportunity to settle in one place for a time. One of their broadcasts was heard by John Hammond, a jazz producer and writer, who produced pieces about the band for Down Beat magazine. Partly as a result of Hammond's work, the Basie band was signed to a contract for Decca records, for whom they recorded from 1937 to 1939. Their work on the label included the classic big band tracks "One O'Clock Jump" and "Jumpin' At the Woodside". In 1939 the band moved to Columbia Records, where they recorded many sides featuring the saxophone work of Lester Young, including "Lester Leaps In", "Miss Thing", and "Dickie's Dream". Following World War II it became increasingly difficult from an economic standpoint to keep a big band on the road. Many of Basie's distinctive soloists left the band, and he finally disbanded it in 1950, recording with a small band for a short time.

In 1952, the Count returned with a brand new big band, and a new idea. Rather than stake his group's claim to fame on individual soloists who could leave the band at will, he would instead base the new band's sound on a book of written charts that would convey the Basie sound regardless of the group of musicians that played them. He hand-picked the arrangers he worked with, and they included Neal Hefti, Quincy Jones, Frank Foster, Thad Jones, and, later, Sammy Nestico. This band recorded classic albums such as April In Paris and Atomic Basie for Norman Granz's Clef label. The group, with a variety of musicians (although guitarist Freddy Green never left the band) continued to record and play live throughout the fifties and sixties. In 1972, Granz formed the Pablo record label and recorded numerous outings by the band. Even more interesting, he recorded Basie with a variety of small ensembles and in a trio setting. These recordings demonstrated that Basie was a unique and talented jazz pianist, despite his bare-bones style.

Basie died on April 24, 1984. His band has continued to play live and record, and continues to do so to this day.