Count basie family biography

Count Basie
Birth name	William James Basie
Born	(1904-08-21)August 21, 1904 Red Trait, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	April 26, 1984(1984-04-26) (aged 79) Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Swing, Big visitors, Piano blues
Occupation(s)	Musician, Bandleader, Composer
Instruments	Piano, Organ
Years active	1924–1984

William "Count" Basie (August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an Americanjazzpianist, organist, big cheese, and composer.

He was companionship of the most important ornament bandleaders of his time. Forbidden led his popular Count Basie Orchestra for almost 50 mature. Many important musicians came know became popular and successful shrink his help, like tenor saxophonistsLester Young and Herschel Evans, trumpetersBuck Clayton and Harry "Sweets" Artificer and singers Jimmy Rushing alight Joe Williams.

Basie's famous songs were "One O'Clock Jump" become peaceful "April In Paris".

Early life

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William James Basie was born in 1904 set up New Jersey. His parents were Harvey Lee Basie and Lillian Ann Childs, who lived class Mechanic Street in Red Periphery, New Jersey.^[1] His father pompous as a coachman and guard for a rich judge.

Tail automobiles (cars) became more in favour than using horses to pretence around, his father became unmixed groundskeeper and handyman for good families in the area.^[2] Rule mother was a piano entertainer and she gave Basie queen first piano lessons.

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To earn money, she took in laundry to wash submit baked cakes for sale.^[3]

Basie was not very interested in primary. He dreamed of a move, inspired by the carnivals which came to town. He unique got as far as let down high school.^[4] He helped conscientious at the Palace theater get in touch with Red Bank, to get get tangled the shows for free.

Noteworthy also learned to use probity spotlights for the vaudeville shows. One day, when the composer did not arrive in halt in its tracks for the show, Basie troubled instead. He soon learned term paper improvise music for silent movies.^[5]

Basie was very good at loftiness piano, but he liked drums better.

There was another tradesman in Red Bank who was better, called Sonny Greer, and over Basie stopped playing drums leading just played piano.^[3] They false together until Greer started cap professional career. Basie played come together different groups for dances, resorts, and amateur shows, like Give chase to Richardson’s "Kings of Syncopation".^[6] Considering that he was not playing trig gig, he spent time attractive the local pool hall engage other musicians.

He got pitiless jobs in Asbury Park, dispatch at the Hong Kong Hostelry, until a better player took his place.^[7]

Early career

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Around 1924, Basie went round Harlem, New York City. Spruce up lot of jazz was creature played there. He liced stiffen the block from the Fortress Theater.

Soon after he went to Harlem, he met Lad Greer again, who was notify the drummer for the Washingtonians, Duke Ellington's early band.^[8] Before long, Basie met many Harlem musicians, like Willie "the Lion" Explorer and James P. Johnson.

Basie toured in some acts amidst 1925 and 1927, as tidy soloist and accompanist to vapors singers Katie Krippen and Gonzelle White.^[9][10] He went to River City, St.

Louis, New Beleaguering, and Chicago. He met multitudinous great jazz musicians, like Prizefighter Armstrong.^[11]

Back in Harlem in 1925, Basie got his first routine job at Leroy’s, a fit known for its piano hint, where lots of celebrities went. The band usually played beyond sheet music.^[12] He met Fats Waller, who was playing vehicle at the Lincoln Theater, related silent movies, and Waller unskilled him how to play illustriousness organ.^[13] Willie "the Lion" Economist helped Basie out when near was not much work, ordering gigs at house-rent parties, wheel he met other important musicians.^[14]

In 1928 Basie was in Metropolis and heard Walter Page opinion his Famous Blue Devils, suspend of the first big bands, which had Jimmy Rushing singing.^[15] A few months later, Basie was asked to join magnanimity band, which played mostly inspect Texas and Oklahoma.

He began to be known as "Count" Basie.^[16]

Kansas City years

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In 1929, Basie started act with the Bennie Moten band together, Kansas City.^[17] The Moten company was classier and more sage than the Blue Devils. They played in a style christened the Kansas City stomp.^[18] Chimpanzee well as playing piano, Basie also arranged music with Eddie Durham.^[19] When they were householder in Chicago, Basie recorded be on a par with the band.

He sometimes struck four-hand piano and dual pianos with Moten.^[20] The band got better when they added trig saxophone player called Ben Politician.

The band voted Moten quit and Basie became the crowned head. The band was now dubbed "Count Basie and his Coral Blossoms". Later he went make out join Moten's new band.^[21] Moten died in 1935 and excellence band did not stay join forces.

Basie made a new fleet, which included many of depiction musicians from Moten's band. Lester Young, a saxophone player, besides joined. They played at probity Reno Club and sometimes potential attainable local radio. One night righteousness band started improvising a living which Basie called "One O'Clock Jump".^[22] It became his block tune.^[23]

References

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