", 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. Both of Basies parents were hard workers. 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. Count Basie is considered one of the greatest bandleaders of all times. [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. with trumpeter Thad Jones directing until his own death in 1986. She was 67 years old. or complete the Report Accessibility Barrier or [4] Both of his parents had some type of musical background. What disability did Count Basies daughter have? They had one daughter, Diane, in 1944. Required fields are marked *. 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". Where did Count Basie do most of his touring? 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.". He also recorded with Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby, and Sarah Vaughan. On Moten's death in 1935, Basie and several other core band members formed their own ensemble, the Barons of Rhythm. He said that Norman Granz got them into the Birdland club and promoted the new band through recordings on the Mercury, Clef, and Verve labels. The place catered to "uptown celebrities", and typically the band winged every number without sheet music using "head arrangements". In 1950, when big bands were falling apart, Mr. Basie cut down to an eight-piece group but by 1952 he was leading a big band once again. factor in popularizing it was a series of repetitions of the final few bars when, as the orchestra seemingly came to the end of the piece, Mr. Basie held up a finger and called out, "One mo' Some argue Basie made some of his best work during the 1960s and 70sShiny Stocking, Lil Darlin, Corner Pocket,and even a hit single,Everyday I Have the Blues, with Joe Williams. She died in 1983. When that band broke up in 1929, he Bennie Moten's band Eventually, Moten generously let Basie sit in on piano. Basie then formed his own nine-piece band, Barons of Rhythm, with many former Moten members including Walter Page (bass), Freddie Green (guitar), Jo Jones (drums), Lester Young (tenor saxophone) and Jimmy Rushing (vocals). Image of Wayne King, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Bill Elliot at Big Band Festival at Disneyland, Anaheim, 1964. Individuals with disabilities are Which is correct poinsettia or poinsettia? When the band left for Chicago it had only 12 written arrangements in its book. 1928. They were divorced sometime before 1935. 5 How old was Catherine Basie when she died? 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. the band developed its own variation of the Kansas City swing Count Basie and his Friends, myspace.com. They had one daughter, Diane, in 1944. Through Mr. Waller, Mr. Basie got a job as an accompanist with a vaudeville act called Katie Crippen and Her Kids. [54] They also continued to record for OKeh Records and Columbia Records. with disabilities are encouraged to direct suggestions, comments, or complaints concerning any I wanted those three trumpets and two trombones 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. 132 West 138th Street. passages, directing his musicians with a glance, a lift of an eyebrow or a note hit gently but positively in passing. 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. He led the group for almost 50 years, creating innovations like the use of two "split" tenor saxophones, emphasizing the rhythm section, riffing with a big band, using arrangers to broaden their sound, and others. There will be a viewing at Benta's Funeral Home, 630 St. Nicholas Avenue at 141st Street, on Sunday from 1 to 7 P.M. After automobiles replaced horses, his father became a groundskeeper and handyman for several families in the area. His home for many years was in Freeport, the Bahamas; he died of cancer at Doctors' Hospital in Hollywood, Florida, on April 26, 1984. [27] According to Basie, "we hit it with the rhythm section and went into the riffs, and the riffs just stuck. He got used to seeing me, as though I were part of the show. He soon started booking the band and shopping them to agents and record companies forging their big break. During the 1940's, many of the great jazz musicians of the decade passed through the band, among them Illinois Jacquet, Don Byas, Wardell Gray, Paul Quinichette, Lucky Thompson, J. J. Johnson, Paul Page, Mr. Basie and Mr. Rushing all joined Bennie Moten's orchestra, the leading big band in the Southwest, which became even stronger with their presence. Basie's new band played at the Reno Club and sometimes were broadcast on local radio. Their albums together included In Person and Strike Up the Band. Report Accessibility Barrier or century. The songs were often designed to [14] Before he was 20 years old, he toured extensively on the Keith and TOBA vaudeville circuits as a solo pianist, accompanist, and music director for blues singers, dancers, and comedians. who was Duke Ellington's drummer from 1919 to 1951, discouraged young Basie and he switched to piano. Soon after, Benny Goodman recorded their signature "One O'Clock Jump" with his band. The funeral service will be at noon on Monday at the Abyssinian Baptist Church, 'No,' I said, 'but I'd [37] Soon, they were booked at the Roseland Ballroom for the Christmas show. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. His father was a student of the mellophone, and his mother was a pianist. She was 67 years old. This familiar pattern was evident in the [73], On April 11, 1983, Catherine Basie died of heart disease at the couple's home in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island. Diane died peacefully on October 15 after suffering a heart attack a few days before. 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. "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. He died of cancer in Died: April 26, 1984 Hollywood, Florida African American bandleader and musician Count Basie was an extremely popular figure in the jazz world for half a century. Once the musicians found what they liked, they usually were able to repeat it using their "head arrangements" and collective memory.[44]. At 16. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Early after his arrival, he bumped into Sonny Greer, who was by then the drummer for the Washingtonians, Duke Ellington's early band. He married Catherine Morgan on July 13, 1940, in the King County courthouse in Seattle, Washington. [39], The producer John Hammond continued to advise and encourage the band, and they soon came up with some adjustments, including softer playing, more solos, and more standards. In 1976, Mr. Basie suffered a heart attack. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. The It was on one of these broadcasts that Bill Basie became Count Basie. written by Basie himself in 1937. Lena Horne, Stevie Wonder, Joe Williams, Oscar Peterson and Quincy Jones were among the stars to pay tribute. Basie earned nine Grammy Awardsand made history in 1958 by becoming the first African-American to receive the award. On July 21, 1930, Basie married Vivian Lee Winn, in Kansas City, Missouri. They also toured with the "Birdland Stars of 1955", whose lineup included Sarah Vaughan, Erroll Garner, Lester Young, George Shearing, and Stan Getz.[66]. He had an incredible ear, and could repeat any tune he heard. But it was in Harlem, New York City, that he learned the basics of piano, mainly from his sometime organ teacher, the great Fats Waller (19041943). 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.She was 67 years old. fast-paced tunes designed to excite the audience. Basie is a part of the Big Band Leaders issue, which, is in turn, part of the Legends of American Music series. 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. Splank-Splank-Splank-Boom. For a year he played piano accompaniment to silent moves and then joined Walter Page's Blue Devils in Tulsa, [11] Soon, Basie met many of the Harlem musicians who were "making the scene," including Willie "the Lion" Smith and James P. Johnson. [58] They played to a crowd of 15,000. He started out to be a drummer. Their neighbors included Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Jackie Robinson and Milt Hinton. Copyright 2023, Rutgers, The State University of William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader and composer. They had one daughter. Many of the band's arrangements were What Is The Origin Of Springerle Cookies? and Sarah Vaughan (19241990). I thought he was kidding, shrugged my shoulders and replied, 'O.K.' The World of Count Basie. [63] DownBeat magazine reported: "(Basie) has managed to assemble an ensemble that can thrill both the listener who remembers 1938 and the youngster who has never before heard a big band like this. Basie heard Bennie Motens band, and longed to play with them. 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. Even more important was the fact that the Famous Door had national and local radio wires. Teaches Jazz. Later that year, Basie appeared on a television special with Fred Astaire, featuring a dance solo to "Sweet Georgia Brown", followed in January 1961 by Basie performing at one of the five John F. Kennedy Inaugural Balls. time!". New Jersey, Report Accessibility Barrier or April 27, 1984 7 AM PT. Next, Basie played at the Savoy, which was noted more for lindy-hopping, while the Roseland was a place for fox-trots and congas. era he also shared the less appealing one-nighters (a series of single His second great band, from the 1950s onwards, relied more on arrangements, typically from Neil Hefti and Ernie Wilkin's. As a pianist Basie. cushion. The Count Basie Orchestra had a slew of hits that helped to define the big-band sound of the 1930s and 40s. He played piano with them, with one interruption, for the But the obvious talents of another young Red Bank drummer, Sonny Greer, In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and their first recording. His African American bandleader and musician. The band keeps on touring around the country under the direction of trumpeter Scotty Barnhart. The sound was almost frightening. Is that all right with you?' "And that's when the whole fire started," said Mr. Alexander. On the West Coast, in 1942 the band did a spot in Reveille With Beverly, a musical film starring Ann Miller, and a "Command Performance" for Armed Forces Radio, with Hollywood stars Clark Gable, Bette Davis, Carmen Miranda, Jerry Colonna, and the singer Dinah Shore.