One of Basie's biggest regrets was never recording with Louis Armstrong, though they shared the same bill several times. "heads"arrangements worked out without planning in century. [89] The board selects songs in an annual basis that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Diane died peacefully on October 15 after suffering a heart attack a few days before. Bandleader, arranger and pianist Fletcher Henderson is one of the most influential and yet least-known jazz masters. played drums in his school band and took some piano lessons from his, Basie made his professional debut playing piano with vaudeville acts 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. Basie, Count. returned to his first lovethe big bandand it thrived. Kliment, Bud. They also toured with the "Birdland Stars of 1955", whose lineup included Sarah Vaughan, Erroll Garner, Lester Young, George Shearing, and Stan Getz.[66]. in Kansas City, Missouri. She died in 1983. structure. You never got tired of that business at the end.". Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop singing.Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. He quickly made a name for himself playing the piano at local venues and parties around town until he moved to New York City in search of greater opportunities. Red Bank, New Jersey 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. The band survived Basie's death, Hammond introduced Helen Humes, whom Basie hired; she stayed with Basie for four years. . After a decade long courtship, Basie married dancer Catherine Morgan, his second wife, on his birthday in 1942. 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. A group that included some Basie sidemen was on stage, playing in a ragged, desultory fashion, when Mr. Basie arrived. He reformed his group as a 16-piece orchestra in 1952. "I wanted my 13-piece band to work together just like those nine pieces," he explained. From the time Count Basie's "Old Testament Band" surged out of Kansas City in 1936 and brought his irrepressible mixture of blues and riff-based head arrangements to New York until his death in 1984, Basie and the bands he led were a touchstone of jazz history. Despite the presence of Lester Young and Herschel Evans in the saxophone section, Buck Clayton in the trumpet section, Jo Jones on drums, with Jimmy Rushing and, briefly, Billie Holiday as vocalists, From that time on, I was a daily customer, hanging The World of Count Basie. "When they let you in the door," Ralph Gleason, the jazz critic, reported, "it was like jumping into the center of a whirlwind. Next, Basie played at the Savoy, which was noted more for lindy-hopping, while the Roseland was a place for fox-trots and congas. During his last years, he had difficulty walking and rode out on the stage How old was Catherine Basie when she died? Basie credited Billy Eckstine, a top male vocalist of the time, for prompting his return to Big Band. Well, the Roseland is still standing". When the Page band broke up in 1929, Mr. They had direct lines to presidents, occasionally exchanging personal telegrams giving well wishes. In fact, the only reason I enlarged the brass was to get a richer harmonic 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. skilled performers (reflecting Basie's sound management) gave the Who taught Count Basie how do you play the piano? 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. 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 . Birthday: August 21, 1904. At 16. give my right arm to learn. went to Kansas City to hear it and support it and brought it to the attention of booking agents. He also scored a series of Top Ten hits on the pop and R&B charts, includingI Didnt Know About You,Red Bank Blues,Rusty Dusty Blues, Jimmys Blues,andBlue Skies. What Is The Origin Of Springerle Cookies? See, Basie couldnt read music, so it was Eddie Durham who orchestrated his ideas for the Moten band and then later for the Basie band in New York for those Decca recordings. at Doctors' Hospital in Hollywood, Fla. He also recorded with Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby, and Sarah Vaughan. The "book" of this early Basie band was based on blues and riffs developed on a blues structure. Catherine Basie, wife of Count Basie, the jazz musician and band leader, died of a heart attack yesterday at the couple's home in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, according to Mr. Basie's agent. "Count.". Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography of Count Basie. The pianist in the combo gave up his seat to Mr. Basie who sat down, tinkled a few [77][78], Count Basie introduced several generations of listeners to the Big Band sound and left an influential catalog. 50 feet long, which was having trouble doing business in the summer because it had no air-conditioning. Among his band's best-known numbers were "One O'Clock Jump," "Jumpin' at the Woodside," "Li'l Darlin'" and "April in Paris.". 2022-06-30; wreck on 1942 crosby, tx today Here is all you want to know, and more! By then, Basie was playing with pick-up groups for dances, resorts, and amateur shows, including Harry Richardson's "Kings of Syncopation". "Big Name Bands, Singers in 'Cavalcade of Music' Sept. 23", Basie, Jordan, Prado Top Jazz Cavalcade Article, "Sugar Chile" Robinson, Billie Holiday, Count Basie and His Sextet, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Count Basie Presents Eddie Davis Trio + Joe Newman, Count Basie Jam Session at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1975, Count Basie Meets Oscar Peterson The Timekeepers, The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert, Solo Flight: The Genius of Charlie Christian, Sugar Chile Robinson, Billie Holiday, Count Basie and His Sextet, "On This Day: Count Basie, 79, Band Leader And Master of Swing, Dead", "Jackie Wilson & Count Basie Manufacturers Of Soul at Discogs", "Manufacturers of Soul by Jackie Wilson: Reviews and Ratings", "Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez To Be Awarded Honorary Doctor of Music Degree From Berklee College of Music", "Count Basie, Jack Nicholson, Les Paul make New Jersey Hall of Fame", "2005 National Recording Registry choices", The Count Basie Orchestra official website, International Jose Guillermo Carrillo Foundation. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. "He was the only leader in the business who ever went out of his way to help me," Mr. Basie said later. ABC World News Tonight feature on death of Count Basie on April 26, 1984 3,211 views Aug 26, 2016 26 Dislike Share Save pianopappy 7.27K subscribers Peter Jennings (who was a jazz an). There were often no musical notations made. [55] The war years caused a lot of members turn over, and the band worked many play dates with lower pay. This page was last edited on 3 February 2023, at 01:33. In 1950, financial considerations forced Basie to disband the orchestra. The swing era band Which is correct poinsettia or poinsettia? After automobiles replaced horses, his father became a groundskeeper and handyman for several families in the area. 1983. She was 67 years old. [62] Soon, his band was touring and recording again. She even toured with the Basie Orchestra in the mid-1970s, and Fitzgerald and Basie also met on the 1979 albums A Classy Pair, Digital III at Montreux, and A Perfect Match, the last two also recorded live at Montreux. Dance hall bookings were down sharply as swing began to fade, the effects of the musicians' strikes of 194244 and 1948 began to be felt, and the public's taste grew for singers. She was born with cerebral palsy and the doctors claimed she would never walk. He got some jobs in Asbury Park at the Jersey Shore, and played at the Hong Kong Inn until a better player took his place.[10]. The Gonzel White show was stranded in Kansas City, Mo., a fateful location for Mr. Basie. Their only child, Diane, was born February 6, 1944. The agent, Willard Alexander, said Mrs. Basie died while her husband was appearing at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. [41], Hammond introduced Basie to Billie Holiday, whom he invited to sing with the band. [25] The band improved with several personnel changes, including the addition of tenor saxophonist Ben Webster. In 1942, they moved to Queens. His daughter, Diane Basie, now 71 and living in Florida. 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. He was the leader of the group for almost 50 years and many musicians like saxophonists Lester Young and Herschel Evans, the guitarist Freddie Green, and trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry "Sweets" Edison, came to prominence under his direction. vaudeville circuits; and as a soloist and accompanist to blues singer Gonzelle White as well as Crippen. Count Basie, byname of William Basie, (born August 21, 1904, Red Bank, New Jersey, U.S.died April 26, 1984, Hollywood, Florida), American jazz musician noted for his spare, economical piano style and for his leadership of influential and widely heralded big bands. bands in history. 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. band's theme song, "One O'Clock Jump," The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. He flicked out tightly economical, single-finger These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. [34], By then, Basie's sound was characterized by a "jumping" beat and the contrapuntal accents of his own piano. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The band will continue under the guidance of Aaron Woodward, an adopted son of Mr. Basie who has worked closely with the orchestra leader during the last year. Basie made a few more movie appearances, such as in the Jerry Lewis film Cinderfella (1960) and the Mel Brooks movie Blazing Saddles (1974), playing a revised arrangement of "April in Paris". How did the bands of Count Basie and Duke Ellington differ? Jimmy Rushing sang with Basie in the late 1930s. It was released by Roulette Records, then later reissued by Capitol Records. On July 21, 1930, Basie married Vivian Lee Winn, in Kansas City, Missouri. See the Count Basie Orchestra Discography. They had one daughter, Diane, in 1944. His 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. Date of Death: April 26, 1984. Count was 79 years old at the time of death. In 2021s Elvis, a Count Basie poster is seen about 20 minutes into the movie. William James "Count" Basie (/besi/; August 21, 1904 April 26, 1984)[1] was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. with Rutgers web sites to accessibility@rutgers.edu or complete the Report Accessibility Barrier or on the stand. Basie gave up her career to care for their daughter, who was mentally retarded, and their two adopted sons. 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. expensive blunder in Basie's history," said Mr. Hammond) that included hit after hit--"Swingin' the Blues," "Jumpin' at the Woodside," "One O'Clock Basie earned nine Grammy Awardsand made history in 1958 by becoming the first African-American to receive the award. The family had a piano, and Basies mother paid 25 a lesson for his piano lessons at an early age. A few months later, Basie quit MCA and signed with the William Morris Agency, who got them better fees.[51]. [75], Basie also recorded with Tony Bennett in the late 1950s. The loss of key personnel (some to military service), the wartime ban on 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. 4 What pianist and his orchestra were really popular in the big band era?