Count Basie
William "Count" Basie (August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was a prominent American jazz pianist, organist, and bandleader. Next to Duke Ellington, Count Basie has come to embody big band jazz beyond the boundaries of the swing era in which his music originated. For his contribution to classic jazz and his anticipation of modern developments, he is regarded as one of jazz music’s all time greats. Basie is well known for his inimitable, succinct statements on the piano, but it has also been said that his real instrument was his band. Energy-generating dialogue between himself and the band, as well as between complementary soloists of his band, has been Basie’s trademark throughout his career. In addition, a soulful blues atmosphere pervades his work, which sets him apart from the white bands of the swing era.
Early life
Basie was born in Red Bank, New Jersey to Harvey Lee Basie, and Lillian Ann Childs and lived on Mechanic Street. Later, he would be referred to as the “Kid from Red Bank” (the title of a tune). Bill had a brother, LeRoy Basie. His father worked as coachman for a wealthy family. After automobiles replaced horses, his father became a groundskeeper and handyman for several families in the area. His mother took in laundry, and was Basie's first piano teacher when he was a child. He was taught organ informally by Fats Waller. Along with Waller, James P. Johnson, Willie “The Lion” Smith, Lucky Roberts and other pianists of the Harlem stride tradition would be Basie’s prime influence.
Basie toured the Theater Owners Bookers Association (T.O.B.A.) vaudeville circuit, starting in 1924, as a soloist and accompanist to blues singers. His touring took him to Kansas City, Missouri, where he met many jazz musicians in the area. Sometimes, he would also accompany silent movies. Kansas City was then an important transit point and a musical scene connected to nightlife, similar to that of New Orleans’ Storyville, had began to thrive there, giving birth to a distinctive Kansas City style. In 1928 Basie joined Walter Page's Blue Devils, and the following year became the pianist with the Bennie Moten band based in Kansas City.
The Moten Years
Around 1930, Bennie Moten’s band was a good “territory band” located in the Midwest. Bennie Moten himself was a capable but unremarkable ragtime pianist who had the good sense to put to use the young pianist he had recruited: Bill Basie. Except for Basie, the really outstanding musician of the band was trumpeter “Hot Lips” Page. The band had had its successes (notably a 1928 version of South) but it was still a few steps away from the swing era. Occasionally, one could hear an accordion in the ensembles, which gave it a pleasant but unsophisticated rural sound.
Within a mere two years, the band had absorbed several of the best elements of Walter Page’s Blue Devils, a competing band that had dissolved. These included Page himself, a formidable bassist who gave the band a powerful new swing and made it unrecognizable. Basie’ piano had become gradually more present (Moten Swing, Prince of Wails) and he soon came to all but own the band. He started his own band in 1934, but eventually returned to Moten's band. When Moten died in 1935, the band soon dissembled. In 1936, Basie, along with several of Moten’s key alumni, resurrected it under a new name, Barons of Rhythm, soon to become the Count Basie Orchestra.
The Classic Band: Basie’s “First Testament”
At the end of 1936 Basie moved his band from Kansas City. Firstly they honed their repertoire at a long engagement at a Chicago club. It was at this time that he was first called "Count" Basie by a local disk jockey. In Chicago, in October 1936, members of the band participated in a recording session which producer John H. Hammond later described as "the only perfect, completely perfect recording session I've ever had anything to do with". Soon the band was expanded to the full big band size (13 musicians). By the end of 1936 they began playing in New York City where the Count Basie Orchestra remained until 1950.
Basie’s music was characterized by his trademark "jumping" beat and the contrapuntal accents of his own piano. Basie also showcased some of the best blues singers of the era: Billie Holiday, Helen Humes, and later Big Joe Turner and Joe Williams. Most congenial to the band was Jimmy Rushing, called “Mr. Five by Five” (due to his short stature and large abdomen). Rushing epitomized the spirit of Basie’s orchestral blues, a blues that was more soulful and often humorous than literally blue. Even more importantly, Count Basie was a highly successful band-leader who was able to hold onto some of the greatest jazz musicians of the 1930s and early 1940s, like Buck Clayton and Lester Young, and the band's brilliant rhythm section, Walter Page, Freddie Green, and Jo Jones. He was also able to hire great arrangers that knew how to use the band's abilities, like Eddie Durham and Jimmy Mundy.
With his newly formed band, Basie quickly brought the Kansas City style of jazz to perfection. While not fundamentally different from the style played by other swing era bands in New York or Chicago, this way of playing was characterized by a supple, light beat and the astute use of riffs – short melodic patterns played repeatedly, especially towards the end of a piece, to heighten the atmosphere. The alternating playing of several riffs could go on indefinitely, until a climax was reached. Unfortunately, the recordings of that era were limited to about three minutes, so they cannot fully convey the equivalent of the band’s live performances.
Another Basie innovation was the introduction of two tenor saxophones “dueling” with each other. The first, historical pair consisted of Lester Young, with his detached, cool sound and Herschel Evans with his more traditional, intensely hot style. This was the starting point of a long history of saxophone duels within the Basie Band and beyond. On trumpet also, the elegant Buck Clayton and the powerful Harry “Sweets Edison” were a perfect complement to each other. On trombone too, there were usually two major voices at any given time, including Bennie Morton, Dickie Wells, and Vic Dickenson.
Basie the pianist
Most of the time, Basie played very few notes, but these were perfectly chosen to fill the silence he used with equal mastery. His unique, crisp style can immediately be recognized by anyone who knows anything about jazz (only Nat Pierce has been somewhat successful at imitating him). At times, his piano was reminiscent of Earl Hines’s jumpy and ethereal rhythmic playing (Moten Swing, with Bennie Moten). Much of the time, the stable and powerful qualities of his stride piano heritage were obvious. His playing was often pure Fats Waller, with the stomping left hand the pearly flurries of the right hand (John’s Idea, 1937), except that it was also pure Basie. Over the years, Basie’s subtle sense of rhythm, combined with his powerful stride playing, would produce a unique synthesis that gradually evolved into his signature minimalist style. He would play next to nothing but fill the room with his few notes.
Many tunes also highlight Basie’s double role as soloist and accompanist of his key players (e.g., in Roseland Shuffle, 1937, in his dialogue with Lester Young). Occasionally, Basie would also produce piano solos (How Long Blues, 1938) or contribute extended solos to his band’s performances (Boogie Woogie). His solo playing is generally peaceful without being sad and is highly enjoyable.
The Basie rhythm section
Basie’s rhythm section has often been described as the best in jazz history. It was certainly the most cohesive of its time and has reached proverbial fame. Starting with Basie’s presence in the Moten band, it came into being over the years when, first, Walter Page’s bass gave real swing to the band. Later, Jo Jones on drums introduced the even 4 beats that contrasted with earlier drummers emphasizing 2 beats out of 4. Jones was also a formidable soloist. When finally Freddie Green added his guitar to the band, the section was complete. Over the next 50 years, Green would practically play nothing but a succession of chords that completed the even dynamism of the section. Interestingly, each time a new element of that section was added, the already existing members toned down their playing without changing it, to reach the perfect balance that made it famous. Much of that subtle quality was lost once Jones and Page departed, but even the more muscular nature of drumming in the New Testament band maintained the essence of that quality thanks to the lasting presence of Freddie Green and Basie himself.
Basie’s “New Testament”
The big band era appeared to be at an end, but (after downsizing to a septette and octette in 1950) Basie reformed his band as an even larger 16-piece orchestra in 1952 and led it until his death. Basie remained faithful to the Kansas City style and helped keep jazz alive with his distinctive piano playing. The new band gave its real meaning to the name big band. Its huge sound was brassier than that of the first band. It also relied on sophisticated arrangements, while the first band had mostly relied on star soloists and their ability to play “head arrangements.” These were simple arrangements learned by heart by musicians who, for all their talent, were poor sight readers. In that sense, the new band was more professional and less dependent on particular key players. Any capable musician could fit in and replace a departing member of the band. What was gained in weight and in sophistication was perhaps compensated by a slight loss in originality over time. The new soloists of the band, while excellent, were not quite of the historical caliber of a Lester Young. The emotion-laden sound of the ensembles and Basie’s own input became all the more important.
Basie and modern jazz
With his New Testament band, Basie moved into the special realm of classic jazz being played in the era of bop and modern jazz – concurrently with developments that were of a totally different nature. While he and his musicians remained swing musicians in essence, they did evolve with the times, creating the big band music of after the swing era. The major soloists who passed through the new band through the years include Clark Terry on flugelhorn, Joe Newman on trumpet, Paul Gonsalves, Frank Foster, Frank Wess, and Eddie “Lockjaw Davis on tenor, Sonny Paine and Louis Bellson (a white musician) on drums, and many more. All of them could be considered epigones of the swing era or representatives of a new middle-of-the-road style, mixing elements of classic jazz with the complexities and atmosphere of modern jazz.
The vocalists
By the mid 1950s, the Basie Band had become one of the preeminent backing big bands for the finest jazz vocalists of the time. Joe Williams was spectacularly featured on the 1957 album One o'Clock Jump, and 1956's Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings. In 1942 Basie moved to Queens New York with Catherine Morgan after being married for a few years. In 1960, he appeared as himself (along with his band) in the Jerry Lewis film Cinderfella.
Ella Fitzgerald, the quintessential swing singer, recorded several times with the Count Basie Orchestra. These records are highly regarded by critics. Fitzgerald's 1963 album Ella and Basie! is remembered as one of Fitzgerald's greatest recordings. With the 'New Testament' Basie band in full swing, and arrangements written by a youthful Quincy Jones, this album proved a swinging respite from the 'Songbook' recordings and constant touring that Fitzgerald was engaged in during this period. She toured with the Basie Orchestra in the mid-1970s and Fitzgerald and a much tamer Basie band also met on the 1979 albums Digital III at Montreux, A Classy Pair, and A Perfect Match.
Frank Sinatra had an equally fruitful relationship with Basie, 1963's Sinatra-Basie and 1964's It Might As Well Be Swing (both arranged by Quincy Jones) are two of the highest points at the peak of Sinatra's artistry. Jones provided the punchy arrangements for the Basie band on Sinatra's biggest selling album, the live Sinatra at the Sands.
The later years
In the 60s, Basie was often compelled to compromise on the choice of his material to maintain his band. But by the 70s, his fame had reached a peak, including with the public at large, not unlike the popularity achieved by Louis Armstrong. He was named the greatest jazz musician on earth by the British publication Melody Maker and was invited to perform for Queen Elizabeth before even Duke Ellington was. Count Basie died of pancreatic cancer in Hollywood, Florida on April 26, 1984 at the age of seventy-nine. The Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey was named in his honor.
Legacy
One O'Clock Jump was Basie’ long-standing signature number. Jumpin' at the Woodside was another of Count Basie's more popular numbers. Later, Basie would be known for his band's version's of April In Paris, Everyday (I have the Blues) and Lil' Darlin.
Jerry Lewis used Blues in Hoss' Flat, from Basie's Chairman of the Board album, as the basis for his own "Chairman of the Board" routine in the movie Errand Boy, in which Lewis pantomimed the movements of a corporate executive holding a board meeting. (In the early 1980s, Lewis revived the routine during the live broadcast of one of his Muscular Dystrophy Association telethons.) Blues in Hoss' Flat, composed by Basie band member Frank Foster, was also the longtime theme song of San Francisco and New York radio DJ Al "Jazzbeaux" Collins.
Basie and his band made a cameo appearance in Mel Brooks' 1974 comedy film Blazing Saddles and in several other movies.
Basie is one of the producers of the "world's greatest music" that Brenda Fricker's "Pigeon Lady" character claims to have heard in Carnegie Hall in 1992 in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
Quotation
“Indeed, Basie's status as a great musician was not a matter of extension and elaboration of blues idiom basics as was the case of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. Basie's claim to fame and prestige was based on his refinement of the fundamentals that make jazz music swing.
The Basie hallmark was always simplicity, but it is a simplicity that is the result of a distillation that produced music that was as refined, subtle and elegant as it was earthy and robust. There is no better example of the ungaudy in the work of any other American artist in any medium.
Count Basie's music is not about protest. It is about celebration, and celebration is about achievement, whether material or better still existential (intrinsically personal) and what it generates is a sense of well-being that even becomes exhilaration!” Albert Murray
Bibliography
- Basie, Count. Count Basie Collection (Artist Transcriptions) Hal Leonard Corporat, 2004
- --------, The Piano Style of Count Basie: Some of Basie's Best of Advanced Piano, Alfred Publishing Company, 2001
- Murray, Albert et al.Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography of Count Basie. Count Basie as told to Albert Murray, Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2002.
- Dance, Stanley. The World of Count Basie New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1980.
Discography
See the Rutgers University website below.
External links
- A Centennial Celebration of the Life and Music of Count Basie Very complete website with extensive biographical information by Dan Morgenstern, photo essays, and musical samples and video, as well as a very complete bibliography. Rutgers University’s Institute of Jazz Studies.
- PBS
- IMDB Appearance in movies and soundtracks form recordings
- NY Times Obituary, April 27, 1984
Samples
- Download sample of "Jumpin' at the Woodside" by Count Basie & His Orchestra.
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